1857 Family Bible Edson Legate (Leegate/Leggatt) & Mary Malvina Williams

This particular family bible was published back in 1857 and is in fairly good condition for a bible of it's age with yellowed and mildewed pages, but with both covers intact.

The family information starts with the marriage of Elson B. "Leegate" to Mary M. Williams on 6 September 1855 and records Elson's death as 10 Sept., 1870. Looking online, we find that Elson B. Legate (note different spelling) married Mary Malvina Williams (her full name!) on 6 Sept., 1855 and the location as Sangamon, Illinois. There is a record of an Elson Legate born 17 January 1828 at Charlemont, Franklin, Massachusetts to Thomas and Almira Legate. Almira's maiden name is shown elsewhere as Parker, and Thomas Legate is shown as born 8 July 1799 to Thomas Leggatt (note spelling change) and his wife Mary Farwell. This Thomas was shown as born 6 May 1771.

The Thomas Leggatt born 1771 is shown as the son of Robert Leggatt (b: 20 July 1740) and Mary Colburn (b: 4 Oct 1742). Robert in turn is listed as the son of Thomas Leggatt (b: 27 Feb 1704 d: c1745) and Magdelane Dupree.

Three of the children of Elson B. Legate and Mary M. Williams are reported in the bible as:

William Albion

Edwin Barnes

James Williams

Taking a quick look at the 1880 Census shows the following:

Living at Elgin, Kane, Illinois

Mary Legate, widow, age 46 (born c.1834 Massachusetts), father born NY, mother born unknown

Wilber Legate, son, age 21 (b: c.1859 Illinois), with both parents born Massachusetts

James Legate, son, age 17 (b: c.1863 Illinois), with both parents born Massachusetts

Edwin Legate, son, age 19 (b: c.1861 Illinois), with both parents born Massachusetts

A note in the flyleaf indicates that Mary M. Legate (maiden name Williams) was living at Mango, Florida by 1886. If this is the same Elson Legate born to Thomas and Almira, then the family tree extends back to before the American Revolution.

Taking a look only for Mary Malvina Williams, we are also in luck. Even with a commonly found surname as Williams, I found her listed as born 12 April 1834 in Charlemont, Franklin, Massachusetts, and died 5 Jan 1920 in Elgin, Cook & Kane, Illinois. Her parents are listed as:

Father: Simeon Hodges Williams, born 1 July 1801, and died 18 Feb 1868 in Shelburne Falls, Franklin, Massachusetts.

Mother: Sylvia Dickinson, born 25 October 1805 in West Briton, Hartford, Connecticut, and died 30 December 1878 in Elgin, Cook or Kane, Illinois. They married 20 Sep 1832 at Charlemont, Franklin, Massachusetts. Mary had a brother, James Montgomery Williams, born 13 Aug 1840 and a sister born 27 Dec 1836. Simeon Hodges Williams' parents are given as John Williams and Susanna Hodges.

Sylvia Dickinson's parents are listed as Levi Dwight Dickinson b c.1763 and Levinia Barnes 8 July 1767 in Southington, Hartford, Connecticut. Lots of Dickinson relatives can be found online with a simple search of Levi's name.

To take a closer look at this family bible, the eBay item number is 280530478256.

Bowman-Grim-Painter Of Frederick, Virginia Family Bible

Taking a look at this old family bible that is up for auction on ebay, we find a bunch of family genealogical information on the Bowman and Grim families of Frederick, Virginia. The bible itself was published way back in 1829 at Lunenburg, Massachusetts. The first entry is for the marriage of John Bowman and Mary Ann Grim who married 16 March 1822 at Frederick, Virginia.

Other names shown in the bible include Charls Welty Painter, a Samuel S. Painter who married Noira Bowman. The ebay seller mentions it appears they wed possibly in 1860, but looking online shows that a Samuel "L." Painter married a "Noine D. Bowman at Shenandoah, Virginia on May 30th, 1880. Obviously I am unsure if this is the same family as that mentioned in the family bible, so more research would be needed.

If you want to take a closer look at this bible, check on ebay item number 270603448951. The seller says they are a descendent of these families having received the bible with other effects from his grandmother about ten years ago.