Culwell Family Bible
Contributed by
Durham Caldwell
© 2002
The following entries are from a very beat-up Bible published in 1829 and given to me in the 1970s by my father, William Guthrie Caldwell.My father probably got the Bible from his father or found it in the family home in Westmoreland. Its cover is missing as well as the entire text after the first two verses of Psalm XXX. Entries were made on both sides of blank pages at the front of the book. Ink has seeped through the pages making some of the entries difficult or even impossible to read. (I did the best I could in transcribing the pages.) Entries appear to have been made at different times. I suspect the Bible belonged to William and Mary (Butler) Caldwell. It covers the same names included in the back pages of the 1828 Bible which are listed above. But note the spelling is Culwell, leading me to believe these entries are older than those in the 1828 Bible.
William Culwell was born October the 30 1807
Died Nov 29, 1885 (This was added to the original entry.)
Mary Culwell was bornd July the 15 1813 and she died July the 7 1850
(This entire entry seems to have been made at the same time.)
Julia Caldwell Rhodes Born November 10. 1831
Henry Culwell was born in July the 24 day 1833 (Part of this entry is illegible.)
Hardy Culwell was born June the 5 in the year 1835
David Young Culwell was bornd December the 15 day 1837
Sarah Emily Culwell was bornd July the 26th 1840
Mary Elizabeth Culwell was bornd on May the 5 1842
Martha Jean Culwell was bornd March the 23 1844
Frances Culwell was bornd May the 25 -1846 (A first name, before Frances, is obliterated.)
Ruby Culwell was borned april the 15 1848
(NOTE: An entry above Henry's name is unreadable due to a combination of faded ink and
seepage from the other side of the page. It quite likely was an entry for Julia. The Julia entry
which follows Mary and which uses the Caldwell spelling as well as her married name appears to
be in pencil and to have been added after the other entries. The entry for Mary is repeated or
perhaps written first at the bottom of Page 2 of the Bible, under the listing of the books
of the Old and New Testaments. In each case, a number probably 0 has been inked out and
replaced by a 3 to make the date 1813. There is a faded, probably pencilled entry above entry for
William. The only words I can make out appear to be born Sept. 27 1833. The entry for David
shares a page with what appears to be a verse, difficult to read and possibly in a child's hand, I
don't vouch for the words: