Product Details

An 1853 American Bible Society Holy Bible with exceptional documented Civil War and family provenance. Originally given to Priscilla Greenhalgh by her Aunt Alice in 1853, Priscilla later presented it to her husband, Calvin Stowell, when he enlisted with Company D, 11th Illinois Infantry on October 9, 1864. In her 1912 handwritten inscription to granddaughter Ellen Bassett, Priscilla wrote that Calvin "carried it wherever he went" during the Civil War. On June 24, 1912, Priscilla presented the Bible to Ellen, writing in part: "This bible was given to me 59 years ago... I gave it to Grand-Pa who went to the army... and he carried it wherever he went... You must keep this in remembrance of Grandfather and Grandmother." This remarkable inscription preserves the Bible's history in the family's own words and creates an unbroken provenance spanning nearly sixty years. Condition as shown.