William Stone (25Aug1772 - 1856) Family Bible

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Transcription of pages by Colonial Dames Riley Sr. / Poage "transcription"

Below are excerpts from several emails between "cousins" about the discovery of William Stone's family Bible. As you will discover it has been donated to the "National Society of Colonial Dames XVII Century library" in DC. This was done prior to Tillie's discovery of any of the Stone cousins. As a side note, while my wife (Sara) and I were visiting one of my nephews last summer (2009), we came upon a typed transcripton of the first 3 written pages of the Bible. It was family "stuff" from my mother Sarah Louise Stone (1905-1979), who was the daughter of James A Stone (1870-1931), who was the son of William Riley Stone (1837-?), who was the son of William Stone, Jr (1810-1879), who was the son of William Stone (1772-1856), whose Bible it was. Neither me nor my siblings knew anything about the typed transcription of the Bible. This is a real conundrum for it appears as if typewriters in the US did not existence until after 1829 when William Burt of the US patented his typographer machine. Looking at a picture of my great grandfather (William Riley Stone 1837-?), I find it hard to believe that he or his familey owned or used a typewriter. And if my grandfather had possession of the Bible, then I believe it would not have ended up in Eastern Virginia. I grew up in the house he built and died in and feel that if he ever had position it would have ended up in Bristol, Va. (about as far as you can get from Eastern Va and still be in Va.) I do see the possiblity that my grandfather (James A Stone 1870-1931) had access to a typewriter and made the transcription while the Bible was in his father's possession. As far as I know we do not know the date or whereabouts of my great grandfather's death. This missing information might explain how the Bible ended up in Eastern Virgina.
Fritz 02Jul2010

An additional transcription has been discovered in the possession of Cecil Jerome Stone Jr's family. "Jerry" was the grandson of Poage Stone who was associated with Stone Lumber Co. in Bristol. Stone Lumber was started by Riley Sr's sons in 1894, James A & Riley Jr. You will see from this transcription that Riley Sr "made" the transcription from "The" Bible. At this point Riley Sr was 76 yrs old, Jim was 44 yrs old, Riley Jr was 38 yrs old & Poage was 54 yrs old.
I just digested that Poage's parents follow William's 1772 family on the typed sheet. Of course, this suggests to me that Poage was doing the typing and that maybe Riley Sr's notes were not typed. More ... later.
Fritz 13Sep2010

10/15/2008 Email from Tillie to Sandy

Dear Sandy, What a small world we live in! How exciting to hear that someone who knows a connection to this family has been made aware of its location. When my parents bought a home in Matthews County, VA, there were quite a few things left to be disposed of. Mother, being into genealogy, and also having had an Episcopal minister for a father, recognized the signifigance of an old Bible. She tried to locate a family member, before the use of computers, and had absolutely no luck! As we cleared out the house when my parents were deceased, I kept the Bible. However, not having any additional info on who previously had owned it, and due to its age, my sister and I decided it should go to the library in DC that the Colonial Dames XVII Century houses in its headquarters building, hoping someone might have a connection. If you ever go to DC, perhaps you could stop by and convince them to let you read all the inscriptions in the front. It is kept in a locked showcase, as an historical book. I am so heavily involved in many projects, that I really don't have time to get involved with another, but wish you well in developing your circle of 'electronic cousins'. Fondly, Tillie

10/15/2008 Email from Catharine to Sandy

Hi Sandy, and thank you for passing on Tillie's story about how the Stone family Bible came to be in D.C. I have been there, held it, and wondered and marveled that my ancestor, William Stone "seenyear" entered all those births. One of the mysteries the Bible brought forth was his use of "ME" when he entered his birthplace as Guilford. Since two-letter mail codes were not invented, turns out it didn't mean Maine. It meant "me" as in himself being born in Guilford, N.C. Catharine

10/15/2008 Email to all cousins

This is such great news and want to extend a HEARTY and heartfelt thanks to Sandy and everyone else for persisting with finding this precious piece of our Stone family history. I will be going to DC on business in November and will definitely make time to go there and see it - and hopefully hold it! What a treat this is!! I am fortunate to have my grandmother's bible (Emma Stone) and great-grandfather's bible (Robert Marion Stone) and sure wish I could find my gggrandfather, Franklin(g) (s/o William 'Seenyear') Stone's bible. If anyone knows where it might be - if there is one, I would love to talk with you about getting copies of any pages that are written on. Thanks again to all for staying in touch and for keeping this on our collective radar. Best, Lynn P.

10/17/2008 Email to all cousins of transcript of letter to Catharine from Tillie

PDF of letter
"Dear Catharine: "I have really enjoyed talking with you by telephone, and only wish that our time in Washington could be a 'time of meeting', rather than a week apart! I am just grateful to hear that someone has surfaced who can make use of the bible which almost got discarded by uninterested persons! Thank goodness that mother was such a 'pack rat'! Also found in the house when they purchased it, were boxes of old wooden puzzles, the kind with all sort of intricate puzzle shapes (numbers, animals, tools, fleur-de-lis, etc.) that I remember playing with as a child. They had all been dumped on the floor to a room! She scooped up all the pieces, placing them in any box available, and saved them. Before she died, my daughters and I reconstructed them...quite a chore, with no pictures to go by, and with all the pieces mixed up. Fortunately, we enjoyed this kind of challenge. I got some large pieces of cardboard to place them on, and we would try to connect colors, etc., until we finally, after several months, had the job accomplished. There were 10 puzzles in all...only one which was perfect, the others missing 1-3 pieces each. It so happened that there were 9 grandchildren, so we decided that each one should receive one of the puzzles, and the daughter who worked the most deligently (sic) in the course of reconstructing them into workable puzzles was given the 'perfect' one, also. Now all the grandchildren have a relic of days past to play with (and they all love puzzles!). "Enclosed are copies (of my copies) made from the Stone bible, prior to donating it to the National Society of Colonial Dames XVII Century library. This is just in case you cannot actually hold the Bible. It is in a locked case in the museum, and unless an executive officer with keys is present, I'm afraid that might be the case. I have also sent a copy of all CDXVIIC chapters in California, as I do not know in what part of the state Calabasas is. If you should decide to become a prospective member, I will be glad to write a letter to the chapter you choose, and suggest an invite from its members! "Fondly, Tillie" When I get back to work on Monday, I will scan in the really dark and hard-to-read photocopy Tillie sent me, and e-mail it to the rest of you. Blessings, Catharine

July 01, 2010 Email from Tillie to Fred who forwarded to Sara

Mr. Stone, I must apologize!!! I placed your nice letter on my desk in the 'to-do' pile, and it just got deeper and deeper. I'm making an attempt to empty that pile, and ran across your letter. I can give you very little information on the property. My parents, Robert F. and Matilda Selden, purchased the house sometime in the early 1960's, when my father retired. They also bought Bellevue, an old house in Susan, VA., on Pepper Creek and the Mobjack Bay. Bellevue was in need of a great deal of restoration (it had been vacant since Hurricane Hazel and flooded the basement to within 6" of the ceiling, no operational facilities, etc., and my father wanted to restore it in his retirement). They wanted a place they could live in during this project, and the Realtor who they purchased Bellevue through (Katherine Cooke, now d'cd) recommended a little 2 bedroom house in a section of Matthews Court House, known as "Irvingville" - a short little street with 4 or 5 like houses on each side, just east of the Courthouse, and the main house at the far end. This served as their home in residence while working on the larger property. The previous owner had died, and I am not able to provide her name. Our understanding was that she had died, and none of my siblings recalls what her name was. The house was vacant at time of purchase except for the puzzles, some old canned goods, trash and the Bible. It was assumed that no one was interested in those items, since they were left in a corner of the living room in a pile, presumably to be thrown away. After both parents died, the house was again sold, I believe by the same Katherine Cooke, and that would have been in 1982. I never had an address for what we called 'Ivingville" - just a Gen. Del. address for Susan, VA. My mother was a member of Colonial Dames XVII Century, but unfortunately due to declining health, never became active. However, both my parents were very much interested in history and genealogy. They did a lot of excavation work at Bellevue prior to the building of a new wing, and with the help of children and grandchildren sifting piles of dirt, were able to accumulate quite a collection of broken china pieces, nails, etc. dating well into the early 1800's. We donated this collection the the Matthews Historical Society upon their deaths. My father helped restore a small house in the center of the courthouse, and the lighthouse in the Bay (only accessible by boat since the hurricane), and loved doing all of that, to the detriment of not finishing off Bellevue as planned, prior to his final illness. Mother had very carefully saved the Stone Bible, knowing it may be of value to someone. I decided that rather than continue holding on to it, I would donate it to the National Society CDXII Century library in DC. I'm sorry I haven't been able to give you any definite help in this plea. It's been too long ago to remember any names that may be of help. Perhaps you could write to the Matthews Historical Society, Matthews, VA, and ask if they could be of help. Another suggestion - Matthews, VA isn't too far from Matthews, NC.- a nice days' drive. Perhaps you and several of your cousins interested, could come up there for a visit, and do some 'digging' for the information you wish to find. Being surrounded by a lot of water, there are motels and several restaurants available. I hope you will eventually be able to locate information on your oldest ancestor (William's father). Half the fun in looking for someone is the frustration and work involved! I know - I have followed suit with the genealogical trait inherited from my parents, and thoroughly enjoyed it, even it's 'hard to find' resources. Hopefuly, the success of finding who you are looking for will be your reward! Sincerely, Tillie