The entries in this Bible were translated by library archivist Hedda Durnbaugh at Juniata College in Huntingdon, PA, Friday, April 25, 2008.

This Bible is the second edition of Christopher Saur Bibles printed in Germantown, PA, in 1763. This edition was printed by the son of the original Christopher Saur. The first Christopher Saur was a master of about thirty trades. He was the first to print a Bible in a European language in the Americas. Prior to this, the Oxford Press had a monopoly on printing. This particular Bible looks as if it were damaged by water at one point.

Ms. Durnbaugh said that the Bible is in good shape because it has no mold and that the first two parts of this kind of Bible to go are the latches and the front cover (which have happened in this case). The paper is made from rye, and is, therefore, durable.

Among her comments about the Bible, Ms. Durnbaugh noted that it was interesting that all of the entries were of births and only one marriage. The inscriptions are written in an old dialect of German and begin with George Leisey (2nd generation, Joseph & Sophia's son). The names are most likely of George and Barbara's family. It includes dates of births, marriages, and baptisms. Because the children were baptized as infants, the Leiseys were probably Lutheran or another form of reformist.

Also, Ms. Durnbaugh said it was common for people at this time to include the zodiac signs with the birth information. This was difficult for her to translate in the amount of time we had because neither of us is extremely familiar with the zodiac. For two of the entries, she wrote the zodiac name as it was written in German in the Bible.

The Bible has been passed down through the generations to my great-grandfather, Elias Evan Leisey. After his death 1979, it was sold at the estate sale. My grandfather, Harry Richard Leisey (Sr), bought it for $50. My father was an only child, so he inherited it in the early 1990s.

-Kate Leisey Carbaugh
May 11, 2008