John Henry Sasser married Nancy Kirby on March 12,1812, at Smithfield, Johnston, Co., NC. Henry and Nancy Kirby obtained their marriage bond February 26, 1812. In the winter of 1825 he decided to leave Smithfield, Johnston Co., NC. and headed west. They took, not only supplies for the long journey, but ten children with them. The youngest was around twelve months old, the oldest was thirteen years old.

They were; 1. Keziah, 2. Dixon (Dickson), 3. Malinda ( Lindy),4. Adin Thomas, 5. Arthur, 6. Piety, 7. Barden, 8. Martha Patsy, 9. William Henry Crawford , 10. James Henderson . The route would have crossed the eastern tip of Tennessee near Johnson City. This is about 270 miles west of Smithfield NC. It is generally thought the family remained in Tennessee for one growing season. After spending the growing season, and after harvest time he continued on to Laurel County Kentucky, another 150 miles.. Four more children were born after their arrival in Laurel Co., Kentucky. They were; 11. Jesse, 12. Nancy, 13 Patience, 14. Barbara.

Barbara Sasser and her mother Nancy Sasser is said to have died in NC in 1837 while on a "visit with her relatives". it is said that she received news that her brother was dying. She insisted on going "back Home", even though she was far-advanced in pregnancy. Her husband accompanied her, taking along their youngest child-- 3 year old Patience. They traveled on horseback. the trip was reportedly "too much" for Nancy, who died following delivery of a daughter. Nancy Kirby was probably buried in her home town, Smithfield (Johnston Co) NC. Nancy's brother, Jesse Kirby survived her by some 13 years. He left a will dated December 1849 and probated 1850.

In 1850 John Henry lived with his Children, Dixon SASSER , James Henderson SASSER ., Jesse SASSER, Nancy SASSER and Patience SASSER in Laurel County on his farm. He died at the age of 80. He is buried on his farm.

1988 Branches of Laurel List : Sasser, John H. Age, 80 b. Johnston Co. North Carolina; d. 01-11-1859 Laurel Co.

The cemetery where Henry is buried has many graves with only rough rocks without names as markers. In the midst of these somewhat to the right of the center of the graveyard is one marked by two large, rather scraggly cedar trees at the foot and the head. In between the two trees is a stone with the following inscription:

 

At the bottom of the stone one reads further:

There is a bunch of artificial flowers at the foot of the grave that were place there recently enough at least to be recognized as such. The cemetery is not well taken care of, and a lot of graves have sunk in. But bushes and trees have not been permitted to take it over. There is a barbed wire fence around it, with a gate. The only other gravestones with names are side by side and near the entrance, reading as follows:

It is said that James T. Sasser, A. H. Sasser and Tollie Sasser's son in law, Glen Rush, have cleaned and fenced the Sasser Cemetery where it is thought that Henry Sasser is buried. These are the great great grandsons of Henry who was the first Sasser to come to this community from North Carolina in about 1826. There are about 22 graves but only two are marked with names. The others are marked with field stones. Trees growing in this place were 30 to 50 years old. Henry Sasser died in 1859 and it is believed that he was laid to rest between or by two cedar trees. There are two giant cedars there that are standing about straight east and west but no stones could be found.

This Cemetery is listed in the "Southeastern Laurel County Cemeteries" on page 351 but seems to be combined with another which, in fact, is about a mile south of this one. This cemetery is about 0.4 miles off the Blackwater road (1803) just beyond the Blackwater Baptist church.

John Henry Sasser’s occupation In laurel,: farmer, wagon maker, school teacher and minister (from census).

Up through 1825, the winter seasons had been mostly mild, with no hard freezes, storms or floods in Laurel Co., Ky., KY. Combined with the prospect the next growing season would be prosperous, and indications the economy had signs of improving, added fuel to the great westward migration. The large unsettled areas in Eastern Kentucky were at last being settled . The patterns of settlements followed the creek and rivers. The homes were built above the flood plains of the streams. The old wagon-way known as "Boone’s Trace" crossed Laurel CO. It crossed over the spot the court house stands on mow.

Before 1826 there was apparently no one living in the Laurel area who was licensed to perform marriages. Marriages were probably by common law type or they lived together until a licensed minister passed by. In March 1826, a minister by the name of Samuel Smith, who was an ordained minister in the Methodist denomination was given permission to marry folks in Laurel

Roads were made by residents of the area. They were made to serve each family with out any large scale plan. Thus the they were winding dirt in the summer, and in the spring they were muddy, making travel difficult.

Doctors was probably pretty hard to find for Sasser’s. For the most part, they relied on Midwives to attend births, and herb doctors for treatment of all sort of sicknesses.

It is most certain Henry Sasser’s first home was made from the logs from the virgin forests that surrounded them. The fireplace most likely was made out of massive square hewn rock with a large chimney. The fireplace was used for heating and cooking with only the main room heated. It was very seldom that more than one room had heat in it. The fireplace hearth was a meeting for family gatherings. Such meetings might have included telling of tales, gossiping or entertaining visitors. In Henry Sasser’s first home there were no glass windows, only coarse slab board shutters. The doors were made out of the same slab board wood. Many log houses were built in a day or two with the help of neighbors. Henry’s trade in the 1830 census is listed as a wagon maker & logger. He most likely had the skills to notch the logs for joining in the corners of the houses. Even the farm tools were made out of wood, sometimes including plowshares.

Henry and Nancy Sasser now had ten children to raise and educate . Most likely, they all slept, bathed and dressed near the heat of the fireplace. Bathing was done in a large wash pan or a stave cedar water bucket. Privies, or the near by woods were the only source of bathroom accommodations. Privacy was for the most part non-existent.

For entertainment, the Sasser family had to provide their own. Weddings were a big fanfare. There was feasting, pranking and dancing. Sometimes after the wedding, the festivities included house raising and furnishing for the couple. Square Dancing and log rolling were also popular forms of entertainment in-between special occasions.

Life in Laurel was rough for the Sasser’s. Living off the land required a lot of work. There were always the threat of serious illnesses, and death. The families ‘set up’ with the ill and held vigil overnight for the dead. The Sasser’s would have been dependent upon the crops they grew and animals from the forest. They grew flax to make thread from, sheep for wool. Most early settlers in Kentucky brought their bean, pea, onion, and corn seeds with them from North Carolina. Handed down from generation to generation was an oral planting schedule for each crop based on the moon.

Religion played an important part in the Henry Sasser’s family life as well as all settlers of early Laurel Co. Kentucky. So religious service could be held, early churches were crude and made out of logs. Around 1820 the Laurel River Baptist Association held its first meeting. The minister of the Laurel River Baptist Association could be from the local residents of the area. There was no formal training required.

The church members could choose their own minister for as long as the members choose to keep him. One congregation honor the other by accepting "letters of good standing". Following the Civil War two primitive Baptist congregations were organized. One, the Pilgrim’s Rest Church Was founded in April 1884 by T.J. Gilbert. The religion of Henry and Nancy Sasser is not known at this time. We do know Adin was the clerk at The Union Church after the Civil War. We do know that Adin Sasser’s son Henry Sasser was a Baptist minister. There is no documented reason to not assume that the Baptist’s largely dominated the religion in Laurel since 1815.. Other religions were available, including Methodist, the most competitive.

Schooling for Henry and Nancy Sasser’s children and grandchildren was hard to find. There were very few schools in Laurel Co. Kentucky. Much of the ‘schooling’ was probably done at home Nancy is said to have died in 1836. Her youngest, Patience Sasser was 3 years old, her oldest Keziah Sasser was 23. Henry was left with all 13 children. Keziah was the first to leave home. She married Peter Tuttle in December 03,1838. Patience Sasser was the last to leave. She married Joseph Tuttle in October 25, 1852.

John Henry Sasser died January 11, 1859, seven years after his last child married.

1. Keziah Sasser was the first born to Henry and Nancy Sasser. She was born on January 31, 1813 in Johnston County North Carolina. She married Peter Tuttle, son of William Peter Tuttle and Elizabeth Smith. Peter had seven brothers and sisters. Keziah and Peter had eight children. All eight remained in the Laurel Co. Area.
1. Dixon (Dickson) Sasser was the second born to Henry and Nancy Sasser. He was born January 01, 1814 in Johnston County North Carolina. He married Sallie Ann Tuttle and they had eight children. Dixon on June 26,1854 owned 200 acres in Ky. Dixon’s son John M Sasser lived in Marion County Arkansas in 1905, Oklahoma in 1907. He, and his children ; Rufse, Jesse, Fred, Effie L Leroy and Woodrow W, , are in the 1920 census living in Cleveland Co. Ok. Cleveland County is just South of Oklahoma County.
1. Malinda ( Lindy) Sasser married Millington "Milton" Blalock Jones. Millington "Milton" Blalock Jones was the son of John Jones and Unice ' Nancy". Malinda had ten children with Milton and possibly one with Anderson Jones. It appears that all their children remained in the Laurel Co. Area.
1. Adin Sasser was the fourth of fourteen children born to Henry and Nancy Sasser. Adin Sasser married Elizabeth Clementine Waggoner on October 02, 1838 in Laurel Co., Kentucky Co.. Adin and Elizabeth were married at Elizabeth’s home. Adin served in the 24^th Kentucky Volunteers Company H. He mustered in on Dec 31, 1861, in the dead of Winter, and he was in the service 27 days before he was sent to the hospital. He was in the service 18 months in all and he spent most of that time in the hospital. Adin was never able to work after his discharge. Adin died November 04, 1869. The exact date of Elizabeth’s death is not known. It is thought to have been in the fall of 1868. Adin and Elizabeth had eleven children. The youngest was Lucinda Francis Sasser . Lucinda was eight years old at the time of her father’s death. Henry, Rebecca, Elizabeth and Nancy were all married before 1869. Eli, Mahala, Louisa, Joseph, Lucinda were not. I do not know what happen to Mary Sasser b. 1853. . Thomas, Adin’s fourth child was killed in the Civil war. Henry Sasser, the oldest, was 30 years old the time of Adin’s death. Five of Henry’s children were already born. Henry, being the oldest was left to take care of the family when Adin volunteered for duty in the 24^th Kentucky Volunteers Company H. I will cover more on Adin later.
1. Arthur Sasser was the fifth child born to Henry and Nancy Sasser. He was born in Johnston County North Carolina. He married Levina Weaver on September 07, 1840. She is the daughter of Peter Alexander Weaver, Sr. and Ann Chestnut. They had nine children His daughter Barbara Jane Sasser married Evan Jones. Here is a letter written to him by his nephew "January 29th, 1863, Camp opposite of Yazoo River, Louisiana Dear Uncle,

6. Piety Sasser was the sixth child born to Henry and Nancy Sasser. She was born in Johnston County North Carolina. She married William Umphlete. Son of James Umphlete and Elizabeth Langley. They had thirteen children. Piety’s husband died of pneumonia and was taken to Kentucky. He died in E. Bernstadt. Piety took the wagon and brought his body back home. The roots of the Humfleets--the spelling of whose name previously was "Umfleet" and sometimes varied from "Umphleet" to "Umphlete"--go back to the early period of English settlement (at least to the mid-1600s) in America. The first account we have locates them in what is now Nansamond County, Virginia. They generally are thought to have come from England, and there are suggestions that the name indicates some early association with that country's "home fleet," although one branch of the family has preserved a tradition of "black Dutch" origin, whatever that means. In any case, following many generations of marriages to people in other families, the Humfleets must have come to represent an amalgam of various European nationalities. From the Old Dominion, the family spread to the adjacent colonies, particularly to Edgecombe County, North Carolina by the early 1700s. We now know that our ancestry goes back to Job Umphleet, who died in North Carolina in 1806. Job's father may have been named William, but we still are not sure about that. Job gave the name James to one of his sons. James, better known as Jim, was born perhaps as early as 1765 (or possibly as much as ten years later) in either Chowan County or Gates County, North Carolina. It is with Grandfather (add two to five greats for most of us nearly a quarter of a millennium after his birth) Jim for whom the fog begins to make way for the clear light of history. It was Grandfather Jim and Grandmother Elizabeth (nee Langley) who moved westward in the footsteps of Daniel Boone along the famous Wilderness Road across the mountains through Cumberland Gap to Kentucky shortly after 1810 from their previous home in Wayne County, North Carolina. Apparently two of Grandfather's brothers and some of the Langleys moved with them or perhaps followed them soon afterwards. We know from the church letter that still exists that before the family's westward migration Grandmother had been a member of the Baptist Church at Little Buffalo, in Johnston County. Paralleling the story that has often explained how the Appalachians came to be settled, tradition says that these pioneers, like so many others, had their eyes on the rich lands of the Bluegrass region of central Kentucky but that a member of the family--Grandfather's brother, according to one version--became ill and the family stopped to care for him. As the story goes, the Umphleets then decided that the land right there in Knox County, Kentucky--at the place that would always be known as Mt. Olivet--was as good as any they might find elsewhere and that there was no need to go on to the Bluegrass. After all, the hills in that part of Southeastern Kentucky (near the Laurel County line today) are not typical of the rough terrain of areas further east that are less suitable for agriculture. Grandfather Jim acquired about a thousand acres of land at Mt. Olivet. With their numerous sons and daughters, they must have been prosperous farmers. There is a tax receipt for the year 1844--fourteen years after Grandfather's death--showing payment of $205.00, certainly no small amount for that time. It is said that Grandfather's brothers went further west, one to Boyle County, Kentucky and another one to Arkansas. Also representing the continuing process of dispersal, one of Grandfather's and Grandmother's sons is said eventually to have moved to Iowa. The Umfleets of Mt. Olivet hardly epitomized the stereotypically isolated Kentucky Mountaineers. After all, they lived right on the main road along which so many funneled eastward and westward though Cumberland Gap. It would be interesting to speculate about what famous figures in early nineteenth American history stopped to spend the night at Grandfather Jim's house at Mt. Olivet. With Jim's son William (born in 1806 and better known as Bill) and the latter's wife Piety (nee Sasser, daughter of Henry Sasser and Nancy Kirby Sasser) now heading a household at Mt. Olivet that included seventeen children, the Umfleets had a renewed front porch view of history as rival armies alternately poured along the road during the 1860s. Although most people in the Mountains of the eastern parts of Kentucky and Tennessee--where the absence of large-scale agriculture made slavery fairly uncommon--favored the Union cause, the Umphleets embraced the Confederacy. Why they did so is not clear. Perhaps it was a matter of loyalties developing after members of the family got recruited by whatever side. In any case, considerable enthusiasm seems to have developed, for there is a story about a female relative visiting at Mt. Olivet who stood outside the house chanting "Hurrah for Jeff Davis!" as the Union troops passed by on their way to Cumberland Gap and decisive battles beyond. But these years did not produce much fun. Even the house is said to have burned, with what had been started as a barn now being finished by the women and boys to serve instead as the Humfleet home, for all the men were now gone. The three sons who served in the Confederate Army eventually returned home. But Grandmother's brothers in the Union Army were not so fortunate; one died during the war, while another became terribly disabled and did not long survive the end of the conflict. Still, the saddest news at Mt. Olivet related to Grandfather's arrest on accusations--false, as tradition says--that he had cut a Union Army telegraph line. He was taken away as a prisoner of war to Sandusky Island, Ohio, in Lake Erie. His suffering there must have been horrible, for it inspired a fellow prisoner in November 1862, when Grandfather's ordeal was only beginning, to write a hymn in his honor. According to one tradition, President Lincoln finally pardoned Grandfather, but the attempt to get home--by foot much of the way, or so the story has passed down to us--proved worse than prison. In January of 1865 word reached Grandmother that her husband had perished from pneumonia only a few miles away, at East Bernstedt, in Laurel County, where she took the wagon to bring his body the rest of the way home. According to one of his granddaughters who was born only ten years later, even the body did not get all the way back for burial at Mt. Olivet, and instead Grandfather Bill was laid to rest up the road at the Robinson Graveyard. A new generation flourished as Grandfather Bill's son Arthur (Arter, as he was known), born in 1847, and his wife Minerva (nee =Sprinkle) reared their nine children at the old home place. Grandfather Arthur's siblings--only ten of whom reached adulthood--mostly lived nearby. One brother, Uncle Harvey, married Grandmother Minerva's sister Sarah, while Uncle Jonathan wedded another Sprinkle sister, Aunt Melvina. The Three Sprinkle sisters who married Humfleets were daughters of Harold Smith Sprinkle and Tabitha Trent Sprinkle. One of Grandfather's brothers and one of his sisters married siblings from the Tuttle family and eventually moved with their children to Indiana. Grandmother Minerva died when she was only fifty-three, in 1900, while Grandfather Arthur lived on to 1929--to the ripe old age of eighty-two. Several of their children excelled in school and became teachers, while their double first cousin, Daniel Humfleet, son of Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Melvina, was to become a dean at Union College during the 1920s. These people merely represent some examples of the achievements of Grandfather Jim's and Grandmother Elizabeth's great-grandchildren--later generations have repeated such accomplishments many times over--as members of the family increasingly left the land for a variety of occupational pursuits, often in faraway places. Some of the descendants of these early Humfleets have continued to keep the connection with the place alive. After retiring from careers as teachers in Michigan, Lois Humfleet Warfield--a granddaughter of Arthur and Minerva--and her husband, Edward Warfield, now live at the site of the old Humfleet home. The Warfields symbolized the family's continuity and its connection with that spot by incorporating stones from the old chimney, which had stood for decades as the only remnant of the nineteenth century structure, into their fireplace. Perhaps even more moving is the metal box kept in the Warfield's home in which Grandmother Elizabeth's church letter from Little Buffalo, the tax receipts going back to the 1830s, and the hymn in honor of Grandfather Bill, along with so many other papers that document the life of the Humfleets during these past two centuries, have amazingly survived. The Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, to which Grandmother Elizabeth's membership was transferred from Little Buffalo and for which the Humfleets donated the land, stands close by. The graveyard to the back of the house makes this a place of pilgrimage for the many descendants of Grandfather Jim and Grandmother Elizabeth and guarantees that the family's presence at Mt. Olivet will never end. The Humfleet Family by Glenn Perry
7. Barden Sasser was the seventh child born to Henry and Nancy Sasser. He was born in Johnston Co. North Carolina. He married Pherbe Jones, daughter of Millington "Milton" Blalock Jones and Elizabeth Jones. They had eleven children. Barden is buried on land owned by Theo Gilbert of London Kentucky. Theo is Malinda Sasser Gilbert’s son. Barden owned eight acres of land July 28^th 1880. Abraham Henry Sasser moved to Enterprise Oregon August 30, 1903 by train. They arrived in Wallowa County Oregon on September 3, 1903.
1. Martha Patsy Sasser was the eight child born to Henry and Nancy Sasser. She was born in Johnston Co. North Carolina. She married Joesph E Botkin, son of John Botkin and Esma Hale. They had fourteen children.
2. William Henry Crawford Sasser was the ninth child born to Henry and Nancy Sasser. He married Rhoda Gilbert and had ten children. Their son James Buchanan Sasser moved to Pattawatomie County Oklahoma by 1920. Pattawatomie Co., the same county Eli Sasser lived.
3. James Henderson Sasser was the tenth child born to Henry and Nancy Sasser. He was born in Johnston Co., North Carolina. He married Martha Hubbard daughter of Isham Hubbard and Jane Lone. They had nine children.
4. Jesse Sasser was the eleventh child born and the first child born in Laurel Co., Kentucky to Henry and Nancy Sasser. He married Nancy Gilbert and had five children. Jesse was named after his maternal grandfather, Jesse Kirby
5. Nancy Sasser was the twelfth child born to Henry and Nancy Sasser and the second child born in Laurel CO. Kentucky. She married William H Williams son of John Williams and Barbary Weaver. They had Ten children.
6. Patience Sasser was the thirteenth child born to henry and Nancy Sasser and the third child born in Laurel Co. Kentucky. She married Joseph Tuttle son of James Tuttle and Elizabeth Yeager. They had eleven children.
7. Barbara Sasser was the fourteen child born to Henry and Nancy Sasser. It is believed that she died with her mother on a trip back to North Carolina.

Descendants of Arthur Sasser

1 Sasser, Arthur died 1815 in Johnston Co. NC.

In commemoration of the 220th anniversary of Henry Sasser's birth, it seems appropriate for me to post--with apologies to those who were members of the list when I shared the same material nearly a year ago--what I copied from his Bible when it was temporarily in the possession of my mother's late sister, Lucy Taylor Stanfield, in Lexington, Kentucky in November 1972. I had heard about the existence of this Bible from my grandmother, Sarah Humfleet Taylor, in 1955 and first saw it at the home of Rhoda Glass when Aunt Lucy took me there during the summer of 1959. Please note that, as I have recently been reminded (most recently, by our cousin Pat Mellor) , the date of the patriarch's birth was mistakenly (presumably by him) written as 1878 rather than as 1778. I had typed it as 1778, but when I recently went back to my original handwritten notes I saw that I had copied it as 1878 with a red mark under the obviously wrong digit.
I have recently been asked whether Henry Sasser's mother's maiden name, Bishop, was written above her name. I find it odd that I did not copy this if it indeed was written there at that time (as opposed to being inserted by someone later). I did know this name in the 1950s, but I am not completely sure whether I got it from the Bible or from my grandmother, although. I believe my source was the latter. As I mentioned once before, my grandmother knew Nancy's maiden name (Kirby) and her father's first name (Jesse) quite well,
although neither is in the Bible.
At least two people (neither of whom is on the list) have promised to send me copies of the Xerox copies they have in their possession. When I do get such copies, I will we glad to share them with others.
Here is the material from the Henry Sasser Bible:


The day and date of the children's ages born to Henry Sasser and
Nanny his wife
1. Keziah was born January ye 31st day 1813
2. Dixon was born January ye 1st day 1814
3. Lindy was born May ye 5th day 1815
4. Aden was born June ye 3rd day 1816
5. Arthur was born March 22nd 1818
6. Bardin was born October ye 15th day 1819
7. Piety was born July ye 20th day 1821
8. Patsey was born January ye 30th day 1823
9. Wm H Crawood was born March ye 29th day 1824
10. James Henderson was born October ye 8th day 1825
11.Jesse was born January 30st day 1828
12. Nancy was born July 24th day 1830
Henry Sasser son of William Sasser and Martha Sasser was born March the 29th 1878
Nanny Sasser wife to Henry Sasser was born June the 25th day 1792
[On another page?]
Henry Sasser and his wife Nanney Sasser was married March ye 10th day 1812
Wallie Sasser was born October 1 day 1852 [poor handwriting, in contrast to the elegant script found elsewhere]
Also found in the same bible:
H. Sasser his book bought of David Thompson Price $6.00
H. Sasser his Bible bought in Smithfield Price $6.50
[Also:]
Wallace Watson son of Littleton Watson and Zillah his wife was born June the 20th 1823
Since my recent posting of the material from the Henry Sasser Bible, I have been asked about the history of this Bible. Rhoda Glass as I mentioned, had possession of the Bible for a long time. A granddaughter of Jesse Sasser, she was a teacher in Lexington, Kentucky for many years. After retiring from the public schools, she even taught--or so I understood--at the University of Kentucky, presumably as an adjunct. I don't really know the history of the book before she got it. I had assumed that she inherited it from her mother, Francis Evelyn Sasser Glass, but I recently heard that it had been in the possession of Champ Sasser (son of Wallace Sasser and his second wife and grandson of Jesse Sasser), who lived just across the hill in Knox County from the Henry Sasser place at Blackwater. Allegedly, Rhoda borrowed it from Champ--who presumably was not considered the right sort of person to care for something with so much value to the family--and never returned it. But I cannot verify this story. When my grandmother told me about Rhoda Glass and the Bible in 1955 I inferred that Rhoda had had it for a long time.
Rhoda never married. She had nieces who would have been expected to inherit the Bible from her after her death in ca. 1972.
But apparently they were not interested in it and allowed my aunt, Lucy Taylor Stanfield, to take it to give to her aunt (my great aunt), Rebecca Taylor Deming (daughter of Susan Sasser Taylor and granddaughter of Jesse), in Nebraska. I understood that Aunt Becky was particularly sentimental about this Bible because of its association with her grandmother, Nancy Gilbert Sasser. But at the time I thought it was unfortunate for it to be given to somebody who had no children to hand it down to.
It was my understanding that Aunt Lucy would get the Bible back after Aunt Becky's death (in 1980). I even gathered that she would eventually give it to me. Although my interest in these matters was somewhat dormant in those days, I kept asking about the Bible. Aunt Lucy seemed almost to have forgotten about it in her old age. It was only a couple of years ago--after asking various people who seemed either not to know what I was talking about or not to think it was very important--that I found out that my mother's
brother, Robert Taylor, had obtained the Bible following Aunt Becky's death. Then I was told that he in turn had given it to my first cousin, Paul Harris, who now, or so I hear, has moved--following his retirement--from Cincinnati to Shelbyville, Indiana. Actually, I suppose it is Paul's wife, Yvonne, who was
especially interested in the Bible, for I know that she is intensely involved in genealogy, as she wrote to me about the matter in the early 1980s.
Expecting to see them now that they live fairly close to me as well as hoping to get a Xeroxed copy, I wrote to the Harrises almost a year ago after being unable to reach them by telephone. They have not answered my letter. I am going to inquire further about whether I have the wrong address. But now I have been told, as I reported a few months ago, that my first cousin and his wife have cut out the pages
with writing and deposited them in the Kentucky state archives in Frankfort. I had been hoping that someone would allow a museum or whatever to preserve the book. But the story is that the archives
would not take either the whole Bible or Xeroxed pages. Again, this is hearsay, but--assuming that it is true--should we be rejoicing that the pages are being preserved (at least until some archivist decides they are of no significance) or grieving over the book being mutilated? It would be interesting to hear everybody's opinion on the matter.
Glenn E. Perry
Department of Political Science
Indiana State University
Terre Haute, IN 47809 USA
E-Mail: psperry@sifac.indstate.edu (812)237-2505 (office)(812)234-5661 (home)