Treasure Chest Thursday: The Springsteen Family Bible

Springsteen Family (Click for Family Tree)

Edited 22 October 2020: 

Recent research and analysis suggests that the Springsteen Family bible was most likely owned by Anna (Conner) Springsteen (1824-1887) and Jefferson Springsteen (1820-1909), not their daughter Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower as originally believed. Because the Bible was printed in 1876, 33 years after the marriage of Anna and Jeff, it was originally thought that the bible might instead belong to one of their daughters. Their daughter Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower however had her own family bible, which was printed in 1873 and given to her by her father- please see the blog post about the Beerbower family bible for more information. (We do not know descendants of Mary Elizabeth (Springsteen) Beckwith, their other daughter, nor have any of her heirlooms.) So perhaps this bible was purchased around 1876 to replace an earlier Springsteen Family bible that may have been lost or damaged. Another possibility is that Anna and Jeff may not have had a bible previously, although that would not have been typical for such a family. Many of the entries in this bible look as if they were done at the same time, not contemporaneously with the event, and they mostly contain the children, spouses, and grandchildren of Anna and Jeff. Their children were born between 1844 and 1860, so could not have been written in a book that was published 16 years after their last child was born.

Original Post:

We believe the Springsteen Family Bible was owned by Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower (1854-1939), who married Edgar Peter Beerbower (1849-1916) on 12 February 1873 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Their first child was born in 1874, and the second in 1876. Perhaps the bible was a gift from Anna’s parents to celebrate, and record, the births, marriages, and deaths in the new family, since it was printed in 1876.

The bible was passed down to Anna’s daughter, Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling, and then to Mary Theresa (Helbling) McMurray.

This and upcoming posts on the Springsteen family bible are based on black and white copies of the pertinent family pages, copied probably back in the 1970s. Please excuse the poor quality of the images.

More to come this week and next with all the family record pages from the Springsteen Family Bible.

 

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Family treasure chest.
2.  Added 22 Oct 2020: “Beerbower Family Bible-Dec. 31st, 1873,” Heritage Ramblings family history blog, 31 Dec 2014–
   https://heritageramblings.net/2014/12/31/beerbower-family-bible-dec-31st-1873/

 

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