BIBLE RECORD: James and Rebecca Ansley - Smith Co, TX Submitted by Dan Armstrong 28 June 2004 Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ***************************************************************** The Bible is actually just the New Testament. It was published in 1834 by C. Alexander & Co. in Philadelphia. This transcription of the family records from the Bible of James and Rebecca Ansley is literal. Every effort has been made to recreate the original, including pagination, page ornamentation, positioning of entries on the page, and even including misspellings of family names. Anything of that nature which requires explanation is followed by [brackets]. This transcription was made by a great-great-grandson of James and Rebecca, Daniel Curtis Armstrong, in June of 2003. TRANSCRIPTION OF THE JAMES AND REBECCA ANSLEY BIBLE ******************************************************* F A M I L Y R E C O R D. ******************************************************* MARRIAGES. MARRIAGES. James Ansley and Thos J Caswell and Rebecca Harrison Pemelia, H., Ansley was Marrid [sic] December Aug 10, 1858 The 27 A.D. 1830 Thomas Zorn and Francis A. Ansley was Marrid December the 23 A.D. 1852 J. C. Ansley and America F. Singleton was Marrid Oct the 12, 1859 1846 [? sic] ******************************************************* F A M I L Y R E C O R D. ******************************************************* BIRTHS. DEATHS. James Ansley William Ansley was born on the departed this Life 6 of April in the year October, 5, 1852 of our Lord, 1803 Rebecca Harrison Richmond Ansly [sic] was born on August Departed this Life the Ninth in the the ten of Febuary [sic] year of our Lord in year of our Lord 1807 1854 Francis A. Ansley James Ansley departed was born on the this Life the 14 of 15 of October in the Febuary [sic] 1854 year of our Lord, 1831 A. F. Ansley nee Eliza, Ann, Ansley Singleton Departed this Life Borned July the 10th the 25, of Febuary [sic] 1845 1854 ******************************************************* F A M I L Y R E C O R D. ******************************************************* BIRTHS. DEATHS. Lemuel Likergus Ansly [sic] Henritta Ansley was born July the 13 Departed this life Mar 10th 1839 in the year of our Lord Aged 59 years 4 months and 1847 25 days Augustus Adolphus Thomas Ansley Ansly [sic] was born Departed this life September on the 9 of November 30th 1837 Aged 70 years 2 months in the year of our and 3 days Lord 1850 Anne Fransis Rebecca F. Ansley Caswell was born 1864 Departed this life July the 27 [page torn] 1859 Aged 2 years 10 months and 14 days (Baby daughter. J. C. Ansley) Sarah Ann Clark nee Ansley Died Sept 7 1903 L L Ansley Died May 30 th 1926, on Sunday night at 9 30 ock Permelia Henrietta Born March-24-1838 Died April-10-1886 ******************************************************* F A M I L Y R E C O R D. ******************************************************* America Francis Singleton Ansley BIRTHS. DEATHS. Eliza Ann Ansley A. F. Ansley wife was born November of J. C. Ansley departed the 5 in the year of our this Life Oct the 6th Lord 1833 1915 at Tyler Tex Birth Josephus Constantine James William Ansley Ansly was born on the Born July 5 1844 11 of Febuary in the year of our Lord 1836 Permela [sic] Henrietta Ansly Rebecca Harrison Ansley Kinsey was born March 24, in the Died Jan 10-1883 year of our Lord 1838 Thomas Benjamin Ansly was born November the 22 in the the [sic] year of our Lord 1840 James William Ansley next column was born on July 5th 1844 [page torn] A F Ansley wife of J.C. Ansley: Died Oct. the 6th at 6:15 p.m. 1915 Mattie Parks Daughter of J.C. Ansley. Died May the 4th 1916 A. F. Ansley ne Singleton wife of J. C. Ansley Died 1915 Oct 6 Frances Ansley ne Zorn Died Dec the 19 [scratched out] 1920 ( ) Dec-21-1920 Joseph Constantine Ansley husband of America Francis Singleton died Dec 6th 1921 ******************************************************* NOTES ON THE JAMES & REBECCA ANSLEY BIBLE This is the Family Record from the Bible of James Ansley and Rebecca Harrison Ansley. The Bible was published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1834 and was part of the Ansley family’s belongings when they migrated from Georgia to the Starrville area near Tyler, Texas in 1854. During that journey, James Ansley, his brother Richmond, and his daughter Elizabeth Ann died of cholera. James and Richmond were buried near Greenwood, Louisiana and Elizabeth in Jefferson, Texas. Rebecca Harrison Ansley later married her brother-in-law, James Kinsey. Rebecca died in 1883 and is buried in the Antioch Cemetery northeast of Tyler. Her obituary can be viewed at http://files.usgwarchives.net/tx/smith/obits/1800s/kinseyrh.txt The Ansley Bible passed to James and Rebecca’s son Josephus Constantine Ansley, then to his daughter, Izora Lee Ansley Edwards, and then to her daughters Birdie Edwards Clements and then to Rena Edwards, who did not marry. When Rena died, her effects were auctioned off, but the Bible was salvaged and is now in the possession of a great- great-grandson of James and Rebecca Ansley, Dan C. Armstrong. According to family records in the possession of Dan Armstrong, on May 4, 1935, Martha Della Ansley, a granddaughter of James by his son Benjamin Thomas, wrote to Izora Ansley Edwards asking for information on the Ansley family history. Originally, Dan thought Izora had hand- copied the information from the Bible onto the back pages of Della’s letter and returned that letter to Della with the Bible records copied on it. However, Dan later came across a copy of a letter to Della from Izora’s daughter, Birdie Edwards Clements, dated May 18, 1935 stating that she (Birdie) had copied the information onto the back of Della’s letter. Apparently, since Birdie was then in possession of the Bible, Izora forwarded Della’s letter to Birdie to respond to. A perusal of these documents shows that the listing of events in Birdie’s handwriting is in the exact order as on the Bible records themselves. Also, there is mention in Birdie’s version that the birth information on James William Ansley “is torn out,” and the same mention is made regarding the birth of Anne Francis Caswell. Those two entries were on opposite sides of the same page of the original Bible. This also establishes that the missing (or “torn out”) part of that page had been missing since at least 1935. Birdie replied to Della in that same year. There is a date of July 5th, 1844, written in along the edges of the tear on the record of James William’s birth. This date is not mentioned in Izora’s copy. It also differs from the date in James William’s obituary where it appears as May 9, 1843. The letter from Della to Izora indicates that these two branches of the family were not close but had at least occasional contact. Della and Izora were first cousins.