March 28, 2019
Seven years ago I wrote about the kindness of a genealogist from across the country that sent me the long-lost Bible and four journals of my 1st cousin, Ransom Ferdinand Smith (1864-1940), who lived in Woodstock, New Hampshire.
To learn the details of this story, about the kindness of a stranger who returned these items to me through a serendipitous chain of events, read my 2012 article: Genealogy Serendipity: Ancestor’s Bible & Journals Returned to Family
Well, it’s happened again.
Today I received two of Ransom Smith’s diaries and a small book that he received as a Christmas gift in 1879.
Wow. Very kind of her to send these to us.
And look at these details, from his October 1927 diary.
- 9 October 1927: “We sat up with Herbert at night.”
- 10 October 1927: “Herbert seems about the same very sick.”
- 11 October 1927: “Herbert has not much change.”
And then the news.
- 12 October 1927: “Herbert past away 20 min after twelve to night.” [i.e., on 13 October 1927]
- 13 October 1927: “Rainy. We are brave as possible.”
- 14 October 1927: “Made plans for funeral.”
- 15 October 1927: “Herbert was laid at rest, flowers were lovely. We took him to Woodstock.”
Herbert was their son, Alfred Herbert Smith (1897-1927). So, they called him Herbert.
He was buried in Woodstock Cemetery in Woodstock, New Hampshire.
But for the kindness of another, we would not have these diaries.
It’s a great day for genealogy!
Mr. Kemp,
My name is Joel Wagnon, 900 Dawnwood Dr. Orange, Tx. 409-886-3702, 84 yrs old, ordained deacon at First Baptist Church of Orange. Ihave in my possession an 1845 KJ Bible that has been in our church library for quite a few years. I have been searching for relatives of the Johnson family that owned this Bible. I have sent many emails to persons near here and also to El Paso Tx. where some of this family moved. I have been doing genealogy for about 35 years, but when I located your page a few minutes ago I thought why not contact Mr. Kemp, pick his brain. I have scaned the pages with genealogy data into my computer. Any thing that you might do to assist in this quest will be appreciated by me and the Johnson family to whom this Bible should go. Thank you so very much, may God bless you and yours.
Joel Wagnon
Awesome! I have seen so many family Bibles with so much information going for extremely high prices on eBay, etc. It’s a shame they aren’t going back to the families that they were from. I think it’s awesome that someone had the kindness to do this.