Onslow County, NC - Dove-White-Shepherd Bible ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DOVE/WHITE/SHEPHERD BIBLE This is an African American Bible with the oldest dates most of us have seen for Africans Americans. The Bible is in the possession of Teana Bryant who found it in the papers of her father’s barn after Floyd flooded the area. It is falling apart and the front page with the year of publication is gone; however, it looks like a late 1800’s early 1900’s edition, far too late to have had this information written down as the events occurred. The genealogical page is in the same handwriting with the exception of the last entry and all of it is extremely easy to read and obviously written by an educated person. The later entries were for people who lived in Lenoir County and were related to Teana’s aunt by marriage. We ran a query on all the local lists trying to determine whom these people were and where they were from and Victor Jones of New Bern found them in the Onslow Census. Although Bible entries years after the fact are suspect, the Census tends to support these dates and the people and their relationships. The Dove family was historically a free black family based out of Craven County but they are also found in Lenoir County today and probably Onslow. Teane states - How they came to own this bible is a mystery to me but it was passed down to my grandmother by her sister then to my mother, then to my father and I retrieved it from the flood of the century (Sand Hill area). I have never seen a bible quite this old but it has Greek /Hebrew/ a copy of the Moabite stone with inscription in Phoenician alphabet/ all of the ancients alphabet- From the earliest to Coptic. I think I have found my Shephard/Dove/White connection to Ida McCoy. In the marriage record - Lenoir County. 3/21/1917 D.C. Shephard age 49 to Ida McCoy 36 FAMILY RECORD BIRTHS Annie Dove born Feb 1st 1811 Susan White born April 1st 1831 George Shepherd born March 6, 1810 Nancy White born Dec. 20, 1859 William White born Aug. 6, 1860 Hester Shepherd born April 15, 1864 Elizabeth Shepherd born June 5th 1865 Ivey James Shepherd born Oct. 22, 1866 Danil Council Shepherd borne May 27, 1868 H. Jackson Shepherd born July 8, 1869 Madison James Shepherd born July 28, 1872 Susan Caroline Shepherd born Nov. 30, 1873 All of the above are in the same handwriting Chales James Wares Born Oct the 1 1920 Authr (could have been the beginning of an entry for Arthur Outlaw a nephew of Ida) Liza Dov MARRIAGES Almetd Mathew born Mar 1911 NOTE by Teana - Almeta Mathew born Mar. 16, 1911( Was my mother's first cousin) This bible probably belonged to Ida McCoy Shepherd Battle. Her first marriage was to a Shepherd but I am not sure of this. From Victor Jones Martha and others, It appears the family is in Onslow County. The 1880 Census Richlands Township, Onslow County shows George Shephard, black, male, aged 79, as a farmer. His wife is Susan Shephard, b, f, 40, keeping house. The following are also listed: Nancy J. White, dau, single, female, b, 21 Hester Shephard, dau, single, female, b, 15 William White, Son, single, male, b, 20 Ivy Shephard, son, single, male, b, 14 Council Shephard, son, single, male, b, 12 Andrew Shephard, son, single, male, b, 11 James M. Shephard, son, single, male, b, 9 Susan C. Shephard, dau, single, female, b, 7 Henry S. Gentry, Gson, single, male, b, 6 Adia L. Shephard, dau, single, female, b, 13 I did the search on www.familysearch.org 1880 Census index. Best wishes, Victor --- Victor T. Jones, Jr. Local History and Genealogy Librarian New Bern-Craven County Public Library 400 Johnson Street New Bern, NC 28560-4098 ___________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Martha Mewborn Marble ___________________________________________________________________