1809 Massachusetts Bible Society Bible

This is a very old Bible with Massachusetts Bible Society imprinted on the front cover. The first page is in  poor condition and can only be partly read. It has the date of 1809. The back of that page reads The property of Bootn is all that can be read. Please see the photographs. One of the most fascinating items of this Bible is on the inside of the back cover. It is a sentence that reads "A negro child born the 6th of June 1742".

The last page of the Bible is 958 and Revelations. So the Bible is not complete. It is very worn. However it is a great part of history for the Massachusetts Bible Society.

The Bible was found in an estate in NH. The house which it was found in was built in1908. Many of the items were from a wealthy family that lived in Stoneham MA in the late 1880's and early 1900's.

Here is a little of the history of The Bible Society. The Bible Society remains active today.

On Saturday, June 17, 1809, William Ellery Channing, William Phillips and Thomas Dawes petitioned the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the use of the Representative chamber on July 6. The meeting was to invite "many persons of all denominations" to gather and organize a Bible society in the Commonwealth. Channing was the "liberal Christian" minister of Federal Street Church, Phillips a wealthy Boston merchant and " orthodox Christian" who was representative to the legislature, and Dawes a " liberal" who served as a respected judge at several levels. The petition was swiftly granted.