Monday, September 3, 2007

Stinson Bible Records

The Buckingham Stinsons are long-time bible readers and owners, we just aren't good bible record keepers. In a burned county like Buckingham, family bibles can make up for lost information. We have some, but not much.

My first cousin, Kenneth Bryant (son of Richard Bryant & Verna Stinson) in New Canton, has bible records that clearly show births, deaths, and marriages going back to my father's and our grandfather's (John Thomas Stinson) generations. That's Kenneth above, pictured at his parents' marker at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Kenneth's bible even has data on the birth, marriage and death of David Washington Stinson, our great grandfather. The marriage recording states David married Cornelia Frances Norvell on 2 November 1865 and that the marriage was performed by the Reverend Thomas N. Johnson. But the most exciting inscription is a tiny note that states that Cornelia was the daughter of Thomas A. Norvell. That single note gives us another generation and family line that ties the Buckingham Stinsons to Revolutionary War patriot, George Norvell. ...but that's a story for future blog entry!

There's another "Stinson" bible, often called the "Harris/Carter/Stinson Bible" with tantalizing information. Photos of the pages are available online from the Library of Virginia. Click on the link to the left to get to the LVA catalog page. Once there, click on the "bible image record" link to see the pages. On page #4 of the bible images is a list of births of Stinson children dating from 1805 through 1821. These children: Washington, Sarah, George, David, John, Mary, Martha, Elizabeth Ann and Joseph are widely believed to be the children of Archibald Stinson, although the recorder did not attribute them to anyone. It's a frustrating omission, as it would have provided confirmation of our lineage back to Alexander Stinson, Sr. As it is, these siblings remain connected to Archibald only through circumstantial evidence. We have no proof. It remains the most vexing Buckingham Stinson family history challenge.

The bible pages are photocopies of the original and were generously donated to LVA by Idalyn Stinson of Miami Springs, Florida. Mrs. Stinson is the widow of Hubert Stinson who descended from Joseph Stinson, the youngest Stinson on the list of births.

Information from Kenneth's Bible

Father: John T. Stinson, b. 5 Oct 1866, Buckingham Co., VA, m. 9 May 1892, d. 28 Nov 1946
Mother: Ida [T.] Maxey, b. 10 Jan 1877, Buckingham Co. VA, m. 9 May 1892, d. 10 June 1921

Children:
Etta G. Stinson, b. 23 Dec 1892, Buckingham Co., VA, m. Aug
Wiley C. Stinson, b. 21 Aug 1894, Buckingham Co., VA, m. 16 May 1918, d. 7 Mar 1963
Charlie R. Stinson, b. 17 Feb 1896, Buckingham Co., VA, d. 26 June 1897
Dewey L. Stinson, b. 7 Apr 1898, Buckingham Co., VA, m. 25 Oct 1924, d. 24 Feb 19??
John W. Stinson, b. 20 Feb. 1900, Buckingham Co., VA, m. 22 Dec 1920, d. 2 Mar 1959
Harry L. Stinson, b. 1 Sept 1902, Buckingham Co., VA, m. 9 Oct 1926
Leslie E. Stinson, b. 6 Sept 1904, Buckingham Co., VA, m. 6 Sept 1934, d. 14 Mar 1966
Aubrey R. Stinson, b. 30 Jan 1907, Buckingham Co., VA, d. 1 Apr 1963
Stewart B. Stinson, b. 5 Apr 1909, Buckingham Co., VA, d. 1 Apr 1968
Verna K. Stinson, b. 27 Oct 1913, Buckingham Co., VA, m. 12 Apr 1929, d. 20 May 1972
Zephania T. Stinson, b. 11 Feb 1918, Buckingham Co., VA, m. 24 Dec 1937, d. 13 Aug 1963
Ida Estelle Stinson, b. 4 May 1921

John T. Stinson & Lizzie Martin m. 10 Dec 1924

Family Record Deaths
Thomas A. Norvell died the 7th of April 1882, age 64
Elizabeth Norvell died the 13th of Dec 1885, age 60
Joseph Stinson died the 15th of June 1883, age 10 mos., 5 days
Jane R. Stinson died the 5th of March 1886
Departed this life Cornelia Frances Stinson, June 7th 1898
A.E. Bransford died Feb 27 1905
D. W. Stinson died May 11th 1914

Marriage Certificate: John Thomas Stinson and Ida Thomas Stinson were solemnly united by me in the bonds of Holy Matrimony at Arvonia on the ninth day of May in the year of our Lord One Thousand eight hundred and ninty two.

Family Record Marriages
Married Nov 2 1865 by Rev. Thos. N. Johnson, Mr. David W. Stinson and Miss Cornelia F. Norvell, daughter of Thos. A. Norvell.
D.W. Stinson and M.L. Bransford [was] married Nov 14 1901

1 comment:

Edna Barney said...

You have made a very nice start to your new genealogy blog, Kathy. The Stinson bible record page you have linked to was done in a very orderly manner. All of the Branch children are listed on the left side of the page; the Carter children are at the right hand top of the page, and under the drawn line are the Stinson children, all siblings to each other and in proper birth order. Whoever made the entries knew the families and who their respective parents were.