Benjamin Stafford, Morgan County, Indiana pioneer was my GGG Grandfather. As stated in a previous post, Benjamin was mentioned in two history books about Morgan County—The Counties of Morgan, Monroe & Brown, Indiana and The Pioneers of Morgan County, Memoirs of Noah J. Major.

Both books indicate that Mr. Stafford was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He reported that he had read his Bible through “nearly 50 times” from age 61 to 73. However, he did not learn to read until he was 40 years old.

I have a New Testament that is well worn with very little of the binding left. His name is in the front cover.

Perhaps this is the Bible that he read so many times. It obviously didn’t just sit on a shelf. The date under his name “February 2, 1872” could have been the date he received the Bible. He would have been 61 years old.

Two more pages from the Bible list the birth dates for Benjamin, his wife, Susan and their children.

Regardless of whether this is the Bible mentioned in the history books, it obviously belonged to Benjamin. To me it is another connection to this ancestor—to think that he held this book over 145 years ago. Pretty cool!

© MJM 2017