Grandma Gert’s Bible

Bible Records are a wonderful tool for a family historian. Sometimes an old Bible provides the only records of births, marriages and deaths. Each set of records written in a Bible need to be examined carefully.

Were the entries written at the time of the event?
Are the entries all in the same handwriting?
Does the thickness of the ink change, indicating a different writing utensil?
Was the owner of the Bible alive when the entries were made?

Birthday Bible

In 1950, F. Gertrude “Gert” Rector Gentzkow (1909-1973) received this Bible as a birthday gift from her eldest daughter, Loretta.

Bible, imprinted with Gertrude Gentzkow¹Holy Bible King James Version. Cleveland OH: World Publishing Company, [no printing date]. Owned by grandson Richard Johnson, Raleigh NC, 2018.

Grandma did not write family information directly on the pages of her Bible. Instead, she kept 6 sheets of family history notes tucked inside. Here is one of the sheets:

This page is headed: Mother [her mother’s mother’s lineage]

In the top left corner, she is doing some subtraction to come up with a birth year. I assume that Grandma wrote this piece of family history in 1946, since that’s the date she is subtracting from.

Lee – Cox – Flowers

Great Grand mother Flowers. [Gert’s great grandmother was Elizabeth Ann Flowers (1837-1911), she was the third wife of Oscar Pile (1819-1902)]. Their 7 children were:

• Allen, [married] Helen Boyd
• Benjamin, [married] Nona Pendleton
• William Oscar, [married] Etta Snow
• Lola, [married] M. Lovett
• Dolly Dollie, born Oct 15, 1870, [married] Garnett [she was born at] Columbia Kty
• Minnie, [married her half-cousin Seldon] Pile
• Lorena [married Maurice] Grubbs

On the left are notations about other relations:

• Henry Washington Pile was Oscar’s step-brother [by John Pile’s second wife].
• Margaret Pile, married Bill Hurt. Margaret was a child of Oscar’s fist wife Martha Craig

________________________________

Dollie Pile Pyle [Gert’s maternal grandmother]
married
James Edmon Garnett
Jan. 25 – 27? 1887

Their 3 children:

• Mae Pettrits,²I am unsure why her name is spelled Pettrits in the Bible note. At least Grandma Gert was consistent. Aug. 29, 1890
• Ferris
• John Edmon

________________________________

Mae Pettrits [Gert’s mother]
Married Gillison G. Rector

What is Gospel?

What is true?

Most of Grandma Gert’s family history notes are true, but not all are accurate. She wrote down what she knew. All of the handwriting is the same, so it is very likely that just one person [Grandma] wrote down these notes. There are differing ink weights, so the notes were amended.

Gert Rector Gentzkow and her mother, M. Pettris Garnett Rector³California, date unknown [likely mid-late 1940s] Photographic copy made by Karrie Blees, June 15, 1996.

Could this photo be from 1946?
There is a family story that Gert and Frank had marital troubles and she took her children to California to be with her parents. Did she interview her mother? Are Gert’s Bible papers connected to that visit?

I am grateful that Grandma Gert was interested in family history. Her notes provide clues and corroborate family details.

Do you have an old family Bible?

SOURCES

• 1
  Holy Bible King James Version. Cleveland OH: World Publishing Company, [no printing date]. Owned by grandson Richard Johnson, Raleigh NC, 2018.
• 2
  I am unsure why her name is spelled Pettrits in the Bible note. At least Grandma Gert was consistent.
• 3
  California, date unknown [likely mid-late 1940s] Photographic copy made by Karrie Blees, June 15, 1996.