The 1851 Bible of Miles and "Bettie" Bryant Crocker

Miles and Bettie Crocker came to Lafayette County from Spartanburg County S C after the Civil War at the encouragement of his wife's brothers, sisters and their Kirby cousins. They settled one and one half mile East of Paris on parts of Sections 32, 29 and 30 Township 10 Range 2.
Here they operated a grist mill, a saw mill, a cotton gin and a blacksmith shop all under one roof as well as farmed while rearing nine children, one a son, Thomas died near Abbeville at age 17. {source: An Abbeville merchant's journal records M. Crocker bought a shroud for his son in 1877, since the 1870 MS Census list a son Thomas then we know that it was Thomas who died in Abbeville, buried in a sandstone marked grave in the Crocker Cemetery. emc]

All but six of this family are buried in the Crocker family graveyard 11/2 mi east of Paris on CR 428 which is all that remians of the Crocker's hugh 675 acres farm of 1895 when it reverted back to the owners of the Deeds of Trust at the death of Miles Crocker.
The Crocker family was left with a 162 acre homestead in section 32 and the one acre cemetery.
Local people still call the large timber area Crocker Woods and the small creek Crocker Creek and Crocker "HOLE".
These are presently owned by the Gandys and Morgan Heirs, all except the one acre cemetery, which belongs to the people buried there and their heirs.

This bible is 3 1/2 inches thick and 9 1/2 inches in length. 

It had been used daily apparently due to the fact,the front and back covers are sewn on with thread. 


The entire first chapter of Genesis is missing as well as a title page and any introduction.
 

It's first page is numbered 3, GENESIS II, verse 3. 

It has both the Old and New Testaments. 


The fly page of the Old may have read similar as the New to wit,



Any thing in [] are words of this author.



THE NEW TESTAMENT OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST,


with


BRIEF NOTES AND INSTRUCTIONS: 
containing
 THE REFERENCES AND MARGINAL READINGS of THE POLYGLOT BIBLE. 





 PUBLISHED BY THE 
 AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY,





 NEW YORK: 150 NASSAU-STREET.


 [It was published in 1851]

click here

FAMILY RECORD
MARRIAGES
Miles Crocker and Elizabeth Briant [aka Bryant]was marid [married] August the 31 1842. J. A. Crocker & S. A. Webb was married Dec 23 1875 J. T. Mathis and S. C. Crocker was married Dec 28, 1876 W. W. Holowell [Hollowell] and S. W. Crocker was married Jan 13 1881 W. D. Kestler and M. R. Crocker was married March 12th 1882. A. L. Lackey and R. E. Crocker was married Dec 25 1883

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FAMILY RECORD
BIRTHS
Miles Crocker was Bornd April 12th 1826 Elizabeth Crocker was bornd August 19th 1825 [her family called her BETTIE a nickname for ELIZABETH.] Lucinda Crocker was Bornd November 13 1849 [she was named in honor of Elizabeth's mother, Lucinda Kirby Bryant] Nancy E. Crocker was Bornd March 19 1851 [ We do not know for sure if this Nancy was named for her Great Grandmother Bryant. Nancy was the name of Bettie Bryant Crocker's Grandmother , Nancy Tolloson Bryant.] Susan K. Crocker was Bornd May 23 1852 James A. Crocker was Bornd December 7 1853 Julana Crocker was Bornd Feb. 17 1856 [All the above were born in Spartanburg County South Carolina] On side margin of page is written; DORAH A MATHIUS was Bornd Dec 26, 1880. [A grandchild, daughter of J T and Susan K Crocker Mathius.] In top margin of page is written: DOTTIE KATE MARTIN was Bornd May 31, 1902, [a grandchild, daughter of Wiley B. and Addie Crocker Martin.] Addie was the youngest of Miles and Elizabeth aka Bettie Crocker bornd in Lafayette County Jan 1868. Source the 1870 Lafayette County census. Note found in bible; FANCE B Crocker was Bornd May 27, 1857 [Frances aka Fanny B, was born in Spartanburg County South Carolina.] Others not named but taken from other legal records; JOHN HENRY CROCKER was born 07 Aug 1858, Spartanburg County SC SALLIE WEST CROCKER was born 08 Sep 1862, Spartanburg County S. C. THOMAS CROCKER was born Apr 1860, Spartanburg County SC MARY R CROCKER born 04 Apr 1863, Spartanburg County S C RHODA E CROCKER was bornd 02 Sep 1864, Spartanburg County S C On inside margin of New Testament title page. CLYDE M LACKEY was bornd Aug 12, 1885 [daughter of A L and Rhoda E Crocker Lackey, later became motherless orphan reared by Miles and "Bettie" Crocker.] ROBERT L. LACKEY bornd Aug 14 1887 [son of A L and Rhoda E Crocker Lackey, later became motherless orphan reared by Miles and "Bettie" Crocker.] I found on the same page the following notation: Miles Crocker Died Jan 9th 1895. Charles MILES died on this day, August 5, 1872 J P BRYANT died and was buried at Paris Miss. on the 10th of March 1873???. Does any one know the year he died , please email texannusa36@yahoo.com. His wife was counted on the 1880 Chickasaw Co MS census. She was the former Rhoda Caroline Kirby Green.
On the blank page before "THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. is the following notations. Click here Miles Crocker and Family Left Spartanburg S. C. 9th Nov. 1865 for the State of Mississipia and landed at A. T. Briants 11 Dec 1865. Bettie E. Crocker was born in Spartanburg South Carolina Aug 19th 1825 and Died at her home 1 1/2 Miles East of Paris Miss March 19, 1919 aged 93 yrs 7 months. J H Crocker
DEATHS: There weren't any Death Records per say, but found the above and a seperate loose sheet of paper in Bible with the following death records. S. A. Crocker[wife of James A Crocker]died June 23, 1896.[buried Crocker Family Graveyard beside her husband, J Alfred Crocker.] Maud Harvey died Aug. 1 1896 [daughter of Franklin and Hannah Bryant Harvey, niece of Bettie Briant Crocker, maybe buried in Crocker Family graveyard, her parents are buried in Paris Memorial Cemetery] A. T. Bryant died Aug the 4th 1896. [buried Providence Baptist Cemetery, Calhoun County, MS] Ada Crocker died Aug 10th 1896. [Oldest daughter of James Alfred and Sallie A Webb Crocker, buried in the Crocker Family graveyard beside her parents.] W. T. [William Tolleson] Bryant died Oct. 11, 1885. [Father of Lafayette Countians, A. T. Bryant, Bettie Crocker, Hannah Harvey , James Pinkney Bryant , Missouri Jane Harmon Vaughn, Mary Amanda Head, and Rev. William Kirby Bryant. He died and is buried in Spartanburg County SC. His wife was LUCINDA KIRBY BRYANT.]

This ends the Bible Records with notes of Miles and Elizabeth "Bettie" Bryant Crocker of Paris Lafayette County MS.

After the death of Bettie Crocker in 1919, this Family Bible belonged for many years to Clyde May Lackey Vaughn, the motherless orphan granddaughter who was reared by Miles and Bettie Bryant Crocker. After her death while visiting the Lackeys of Calhoun City MS in 1947, her youngest son, Sidney Vaughn of Grenada MS owned it and the Crocker Family Clock. He found it in his heart the summer of 2006 to allow his Crocker cousin, Evelyn Crocker, another great grandchild of Miles and Bettie Crocker to become the caretaker of the Crocker Family bible with understanding that it would be given to the SHGS when she could no longer care for it. It is now in Paris, Lafayette County MS 1 1/2 mile northwest of the farm where it was originally brought from SC in Dec 1865.

Gene Phillips, County Coordinator Jeff Kemp - State Coordinator Position Vacant - Assistant State Coordinator

Page last Modified: Friday, 09-Mar-2018 02:48:33 CST

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