Seven Generations of the Family Bible

Edinburgh, Scotland – 1766 One particular bible is printed in the Kincaid and Bell print shop and makes its way to its first family in Ayr, Scotland. For over 250 years, this small Family Bible would weave its way throughout the United States of America beginning in Charleston, South Carolina, in the late 1790's, ending up in Tennessee in 2001, where it remains today. Its recorded journey introduces seven different generations and a multitude of characters. Some with an adventurous and exciting story to tell and some not so exciting. The characters are real and their stories are real. This Family Bible has stretched the fabric of time from the horse drawn wagons in Scotland, through the American Civil War, and into the Cold War with the testing of nuclear weapons.

It had been more than a year since Mom had passed away, and I was finally ready to start organizing her things. Her clothes were still in the closet, and the same sheets were on her bed. Her favorite coffee cup was still in the Keurig, waiting for another brew. While looking through the piles of documents on her desk, I reflected on the amazing life she had lived. A single mom with two children throughout the late 1950s, putting herself through college and later working for NASA on the Apollo program as well as the Department of Energy on the nuclear weapons testing program. She would go on to speak before the US Congress and write a book concerning her time at the Nevada Test Site. To say that she was an overachiever would be an understatement. While looking through the piles of documents on her desk, I came across some handwritten notes concerning a Bible that had been in the family for more than 250 years. I remember the day Mom had received the Bible and we always wondered about the bullet hole. We figured that Grandpa Love had acquired it while preaching throughout the Ozarks in the late 1800s. For more than fifty years, Mom had attempted to track the Bible back to its original owners, but real life had a way of complicating the process. It was not that long ago that she had made several trips to Arkansas, searching for clues. As I read through the old family notes, some dating back more than 100 years, I decided to take the files to the kitchen table for a more thorough examination. While making a cup of coffee, I removed the Bible from the safe and placed it on the table next to me. It was there I decided to continue Mom's work. Eventually, I was able to identify seven generations that had carried the Bible. I discovered who'd had it, when they'd had it, and where they were beginning in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1766, to Tennessee, USA, where it remains today. The following novel is based on that research.

Born in Pensacola, Florida, Steve spent his wonder years growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada. Most of his working career was spent in the motorsports industry, building and racing cars and motorcycles on a professional level. Other occupations included Ironworker welder, over-the-road trucker, factory-trained motorcycle mechanic, factory-trained auto mechanic, miner, and he also lived and worked in several top-secret areas of the Nevada Test Site. During the last several years of his working career, he held a mechanical engineering position with Army Special Forces at Fort Campbell Kentucky. After retiring in 2018, Steve began a new chapter in his book of life, writing a historical novel about the family Bible. While doing research for the book, he began to realize that our life is but a span. A small dash between two numbers. Nothing more than a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes (James 4:14). Steve encourages his family and friends to make the most of what little time they have by leaving lasting impressions for their posterity. For a time will come when no one will remember who we were.