Ramsey
In 1766, John and Elizabeth Ramsey had a small cottage in Ayr, Scotland. John was a seaman and
Elizabeth tended to the home. Each of their children received a small King James bible when they were baptized. In July of 1772, their son Robert received his first bible when he was baptized only one day after he was born. Robert followed in his fathers footsteps as he enjoyed the life of a seaman, sailing the seven seas. In 1798 Robert became a citizen of the New America’s and called Charleston, South Carolina his home. In July of 1806 Robert Ramsey married Tabitha Beaver in the Mossy Creek area of Jefferson County Tennessee.
McKenzie
In 1812, Robert and Tabitha Ramsey, along with their three children, were living in Rutherford county Tennessee. Their oldest daughter Elizabeth is given the task of writing the family history on the blank pages of Roberts childhood bible, which is now called the Family Bible. In 1831, at 24 years old, Elizabeth is given the Family Bible when she left home to begin teaching at a common school in the remote area of western Tennessee. There she met John McKenzie and the two were married in the fall of 1837. In 1855 the family moved to Clark county Arkansas where John began a new occupation making leather goods. In October of 1856, Elizabeth gave the Family Bible to her daughter Mary Jane when she married Benjamin Cullen Love.
Love
Mary Jane Love became a woman of the American Civil War enduring the chaotic times that war brings. In 1863, Union troops begin to pour into Arkansas. Many county and local governments ceased to function as judges, sheriffs and other political leaders fled the area. With courts closed and jails opened, what was once a civilized society turned into total chaos as bands of criminals roamed about freely without any fear of reprisal. Mary Jane is small in stature and whenever faced with challenges throughout her life, her intelligence and determination would always make up for her size. She was an avid reader with a good understanding concerning the dynamics of war. The Family Bible is her most prized possession and no matter how bad things would become, she knew that her creator God, Jehovah Jireh would provide and yet at the same time, she would have to apply her spiritual protection in a physical world. Benjamin returned from the Civil War in November of 1864 to find his home burned to the ground, his farm ransacked and his family permanently scarred.
In 1878 Mary Jane died while giving birth to her 6th child. Benjamin named the baby Mary Elizabeth after her mother and grandmother. The Family Bible is given to her son, James Michael Love and at nine years old, he can feel the spiritual energy instilled within its pages. In 1889 he married Hester Ann Hopkins. Together they have 11 children and teach most of them to read from the Family Bible. In 1898 James began preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout Indian Territory armed with nothing more than the Family Bible and became known throughout the area as Brother Love. For the next 30 years, Brother Love traveled throughout Arkansas preaching the word of God.
Artist: Neil Diamond
Burns
On November 26th, 1928, Hester Ann, the beautiful bride of James Michael Love passed away in Texarkana Arkansas. With two teenage girls still at home, James decided to live with his daughter, Lillie Rebecca, who was now married to Emmett Burns. Several years later, James gave the Family Bible to his daughter Lillie and moved back to Scott County Arkansas. Lillie would cherish the old family Bible and tell her children the stories that her dad told to her concerning the history of the Family Bible.
After surviving World War 1, The Great Depression and World War 2, Lillie Rebecca passed away long before her time and was buried in Texarkana Arkansas, on July 29th, 1960. Lillie’s sister Zelma Rose acquired the Family Bible and in 1968 gave it to Dorothy Corrine, Lillie’s youngest daughter. It is the height of the Cold War and Dorothy is working for an engineering firm contracted to the Atomic Energy Commission developing and testing Nuclear Weapons at one of the most secured areas in the world, the Nevada Test Site. As she studied the Family Bible, she realized that she knew nothing about the individuals who are written within the bible and began searching for clues. Working a full time job and taking care of a family severely hindered her ability to do any type of serious research. She put the bible in a safe place and hoped to be able to continue her research when life was not so complicated.
The Family Bible 