Not all ancestors are represented on this page. 

As research continues, additional ancestors and documentation will be included.

Family Bibles were often available from mail order catalogues or offered by door-to-door salesmen. Even non-religious families may have owned a family Bible. The major selling factor was the “Records” or “Register” section, usually located in the center or between the Old and New Testaments. When the Bible was purchased or received as a gift, these pages were blank, waiting for pen and ink to fill the lines with names, dates of births, marriages and deaths.​​​​​​​

Bible records can be used as a substitute for vital records, if the publication or printing date of the Bible was prior to the date of the event. If the entries are all in the same penmanship and ink or writing tool, that is an indication they were probably copied from another source and written at a later date. Those entries are an indirect source and may include clues to locate the vital records. Sometimes they are the only record available.

Most Bibles contain more than one surname, especially in the marriage records section. Bible records will often be the key to an elusive maiden name or a clue to locate the birth date and place of an ancestor. Some Bibles may also include baptismal information and/or names of godparents.

The presentation page, usually located in the front of the Bible, may also contain names and family relationships.Familyhistorydaily.com

The following pages were taken from the bible owned by the James Joseph Bohnert and Rose Anna (nee Gibbar) Bohnert family.

Most of the entries are in the handwriting of our mother, Rose Anna (nee Gibbar) Bohnert. 

These Bible pages are from a family Bible owned by James Ruben Hager (1846 - 1915). James Ruben Hager was a veteran of the Civil War. These Bible pages were contributed by Sandra (nee Brown) Ponder, who received them from her mother, Jeanette (nee Gibbar) Brown. Jeanette received them from her mother (our Grandmother), Mary Eleanora (nee Belsha) Gibbar. James Ruben Hager was Mary Eleanora (nee Belsha) Gibbar's grandfather.

There is a variety of handwriting on the pages, some of which is in the hand of Mary Eleanora (nee Belsha) Gibbar (notation made on last page). The other handwriting is unknown. Thehe signature on the inside cover is likely not that of James Ruben Hager.