Greetings-- I am new to this list having only about three weeks ago finally clawed my way up my family tree through John Finch, son of Thomas and Mary (Calvert) Finch, to the Calvert line (William Calvert & Elizabeth Nodding, parents of Mary). In e-mail communications with Dan Whitmire, he led me to this mailing list and the discussion that appeared in August 1999 about a Calvert bible that was said to last be owned by a Lee Finch. I do not have this bible nor have I ever seen it (sorry!), but I may have some information relevant to finding it. I apologize for the length and detail of this message, but it seemed necessary to convince somebody that this information is believable. According to Ella Foy O'Gorman's 1947 book (http://www.code-co.com/rcf/ancestry/OGorman.htm), Cynthia Calvert was the daughter of William Jr (son of William & Elizabeth (Nodding) Calvert) and Elizabeth Fine. She had a brother, also named William, who married Martha Mitchell in Cooper Co MO in 1837. William and Martha appear in the Federal censuses for 1840 Cooper MO, 1850 Chariton MO (where he is a cooper), and 1860 Carroll MO (where he is now a farmer, and blind), along with their children. Sometime between 1860 and 1867 Martha died and is now buried in the Big Creek Cemetery between Carrollton and Bosworth in Carroll Co MO. Some of my relatives visited this cemetery two years ago searching for Finch graves but made note of the Calvert ones as well since there was a family legend of a Calvert connection. The stones were eroded and difficult to read so I have no exact date, but it is definitely the right Martha since the stone says, "Martha A wife of W. Calvert" and is buried next to William and "William M. son of W & M.A. Calvert" (born 1846, unknown to O'Gorman but clearly listed in the censuses with William and Martha). The 1867 date is known from Carroll County marriage records that show William Calvert marrying Mary Finch in Jan 1867. Mary was a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Calvert) Finch (listed by O'Gorman as Polly Ann) and a sister to John Finch. William and Mary Calvert, along with William's children, are shown in the 1870 Carroll MO census. In the 1880 census, Mary Calvert is shown in Carroll MO living with William's youngest son, George, and widowed. The Big Creek Cemetery gravestones are difficult to read, but William is buried there beside Martha. Sources differ on his death date, but agree it was in the first half of 1880 (the census was in June). Mary (Finch) Calvert had a brother named Elbridge, who married Minerva Misner in Carroll Co in 1860. They appear in the 1860 Carroll MO census and similarly in 1870 with their children. The 1876 Carroll MO atlas and plat map (http://www.carolnet.com/cchs/publicat.htm) shows their farm in twp 53N,R22W. However, in the 1880 census, Minerva is listed as widowed and she and her children are living with Mary Calvert and George in Carrollton twp (T53N,R23W). Thus it appears that both William and Elbridge died and Minerva and her kids moved in with her sister-in-law. The critical point in all of this is that Elbridge and Minerva had a son named Robert Lee Finch, born Dec 1863, and listed in both the 1870 and 1880 censuses as Lee. Mary (Finch) Calvert is also buried in the Big Creek Cemetery and her stone is engraved "Mary A Calvert nee Finch Born Aug 19, 1821 Died Nov 1, 1889". As Mary married late (age 45), she appears to have had no children. If a bible listing Cynthia Calvert had been owned by William Calvert (the 3rd) it might very well have followed this path and been handed down to this Lee Finch. While it might seem more correct that it would have gone to one of William's children, Lee was a legitimate Calvert descendant as well. The Carroll County marriage record index lists Lee Finch marrying Lucretia Hubbard in Oct 1892. The 1900 Carroll MO census shows Robert L Finch and Luticia, living with Pet Hubbard, sister-in-law. He is a carpenter living in Bosworth, married 7 years. There are no children. The 1910 and 1920 Carroll MO censuses are similar, showing no children. Copies of some notes passed on to me via a circuitous family route, supposedly written by a granddaughter of John Finch probably in the early 1930s while living in Bosworth MO, list a Lee Finch, son of Elbridge and Minervia Finch, having married a Loutittie Hubbard, and having had no children. (These notes only list names and relationships (no dates or places) and are not completely reliable. I consider them useful mainly as hints of where to look for better sources of info. They also do not give any information about even the parents of Mary (Calvert) Finch, much less her grandparents.) The Big Creek Cemetery contains the marker "FINCH Luticia 1864-1948 Robert L. 1863-1938". So whenever the bible was last seen, it could very well have still been owned by Lee. But without any children, it would likely have been given to another Calvert descendant. However, these granddaughter's notes also refer to "the old Calvert bible which cousin Tennie has put in the bank for safe keeping." Unfortunately, this is all that the notes say about this bible--there is nothing about what was in it. But it seems that this must be the same bible that was supposedly owned by Lee Finch. The "cousin Tennie" would have been Mary Elizabeth Tennessee Finch, born in Mar 1862, and who appears in the 1870 and 1880 Carroll MO censuses with her parents Noding C and Sarah F Finch. Noding was another brother to John, Mary, and Elbridge, thus Lee and Tennie would have been first cousins. The gd's notes say that Tennie married Marion Culver (no date or location known). A possible reason why the bible went to Tennie was that Marion Culver, according to the gd's notes, was a director of a local bank. There was yet another brother to John, Mary, Elbridge, and Noding: William Finch. William had a daughter, Blanche, born ca 1864 in Carroll MO, who married James H Long in Mar 1896 according to the Carroll County marriage index. The gd's notes say they had a son named Roy. However, something must have happened to James and Blanche, as the notes say Roy was raised by Marion and Tennie Culver. The 1900 Carroll MO census lists Marion Culver with wife Tenna (married 7 years and no children born) and George, an adopted son, born Mar 1900. The 1910 Carroll MO census shows Marion and Tennie living with Roy, an adopted son age 10. So his full name was probably George Roy Long Culver. Finally, the 1920 Carroll MO census shows Marion and Tenna with Roy, and again no other children. There is no mention of other children in the gd's notes, so it seems certain that Marion and Tennie had no children of their own. But if Tennie last had the bible, she probably would have passed it on to Roy since, in spite of his being adopted, he was still a true Calvert descendant. The gd's notes say Roy Long Culver married Minnie Harlin (no date or location known) and that they had three children: Marion, a second son (no name listed), and a daughter (no name listed). At least that was the situation when these notes were written, probably about 1931. Listed with Marion, Tenna, and Roy in the 1920 census also were Minnie, daughter-in-law age 22, and Marion H, grandson aged 10/12 (census taken in Jan 1920). The Social Security Death Index (http://www.rootsweb.com) contains Roy Culver, born 18 Mar 1900, died Aug 1979, and last address in Carrollton, MO. It also shows Minnie Culver, born 11 Apr 1898, died Jan 1977, and last address Carrollton, MO. So this is almost certainly Roy's wife. The SSDI also lists Marion Culver, born 6 Mar 1919, died Jul 1984, last address Griffith, IN, and Orval Culver, born 17 Nov 1922, died 12 May 1998, and last address Carrollton, MO. So Orval seems likely to be the second, unnamed son of Roy and Minnie. John Finch died young and his family was scattered. Additionally, subsequent generations also suffered tragedies and were scattered as well, so that now I do not have any relatives in Carroll County that I know. Moreover, I do not live near Missouri. But it seems very likely that this Calvert bible, if it still exists, has followed the above path and that these Culvers, if they do not have the bible, may at least know where it is. Marion H Culver's Griffith, Indiana, death may not be as useful, due to the 1984 date, but the Carrollton, Missouri, newspaper would almost certainly have printed obituaries or death/funeral notices of the other Culvers above, and they might give names of surviving relatives. If somebody could go to Carrollton and check the Carrollton library, and if Roy or Minnie's notices indicate a son Orval and Orval's notice lists somebody still alive since 1998, we might be very close to finding out what this bible has to say about William Calvert, Sr and his parents. As a final note, everything I have said here is either very old or from public records. But I hope that the search that follows this respects the privacy of any of these living relatives and does not post their names here without their consent and, as well, that the search be organized enough so that multiple hordes of wild-eyed genealogists do not suddenly descend upon these innocent folks! Steve --- Steve Gillispie <[email protected]>