The bible of Brice Suffield, Co K, 33rd Volunteer Illinois Infantry

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1st Lieutenant
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Excellent story on how persistence paid off, identifying a soldier's relic.

The story begins 15 years ago, when a friend gave me some old letters, newspapers and books found in a house in South Danville. I remember looking everything over, then storing the box on a shelf in a closet.

Last week, while hunting for something else, I stumbled into the box again.

The old Bible, swaddled in Saran Wrap, caught my eye. It’s small — 31/2 inches by 51/2 inches — and in sad shape. The back cover is gone; the front one is detached. Everything before Leviticus 26 is missing. The leather spine is crumbling. The type is tiny, tiny, tiny.

Two things caught my eye.

On the last page, in ink: “Mrs. Joseph Jones, South Danville, Ills.”

Also, a little penciled note: “This Bible was given my mother, Mary Jones, by an old man for being allowed to sleep in our barn — very cold & deep snow on ground. He said he carried it thru the Civil War.”

http://www.commercial-news.com/comm...cle_6bfdcbd8-7b35-579e-8d1b-bf9ed52b7fad.html
 
Excellent story on how persistence paid off, identifying a soldier's relic.



http://www.commercial-news.com/comm...cle_6bfdcbd8-7b35-579e-8d1b-bf9ed52b7fad.html

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I came across this thread today while doing some genealogical research. The old Bible in the newspaper article belonged to my great great grandfather!

Brice Suffield is a revered figure in our family and has quite a story. He came from England in 1842 with his extended family when he was a child. These families were Baptist and when the Civil War broke out he wanted to serve but was against the idea of killing anyone, so he volunteered to be a hospital steward.

Brice became so experienced in nursing the wounded that he was able to do all medical procedures except surgery. After the war was over, he became a itinerant preacher and traveled where he felt led to go, which is probably how he ended up in a stranger’s barn during a snowstorm. He wrote books that reflected his passions: "The Nurse Guide, for All Women Who Desire a Healthy Family," and "The Constitution and Purpose of Miracles and Philosophy of Answered Prayers."

Brice’s only surviving child—my great grandmother Una Suffield—told the family that Brice had a trunk of items that went missing when he died at a boarding house in Danville, Illinois in 1910. The trunk contained his dearest treasures including his Civil War uniform. None of those things came down to the family. I don’t know if they were thrown out or taken by someone living in the home.

Una Suffield married an older widower by the name of Will Asbury Connelly. Will Connelly was a news reporter in Springfield, Illinois. He moved to Danville from Springfield to become editor of a local newspaper. Will’s father and grandfather—John Connelly and his son John Connelly Jr.—were contemporaries of Abraham Lincoln. They served in various political offices in Springfield but as Democrats. John Connelly Sr. had moved from Washington, DC to Springfield in 1837 with his wife and 10 children to become the Federal land commissioner for the area. The Connelly family knew and did business with Lincoln for many years, long before he was elected president and became the pivotal figure in the Civil War.
 
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I came across this thread today while doing some genealogical research. The old Bible in the newspaper article belonged to my great great grandfather!

Brice Suffield is a revered figure in our family and has quite a story. He came from England in 1842 with his extended family when he was a child. These families were Baptist and when the Civil War broke out he wanted to serve but was against the idea of killing anyone, so he volunteered to be a hospital steward.

Brice became so experienced in nursing the wounded that he was able to do all medical procedures except surgery. After the war was over, he became a itinerant preacher and traveled where he felt led to go, which is probably how he ended up in a stranger’s barn during a snowstorm. He wrote books that reflected his passions: "The Nurse Guide, for All Women Who Desire a Healthy Family," and "The Constitution and Purpose of Miracles."

Brice’s only surviving child—my great grandmother Una Suffield—told the family that Brice had a trunk of items that went missing when he died at a boarding house in Danville, Illinois in 1910. The trunk contained his dearest treasures including his Civil War uniform. None of those things came down to the family. I don’t know if they were thrown out or taken by someone living in the home.

Una Suffield married an older widower by the name of Will Asbury Connelly. Will Connelly was a news reporter in Springfield, Illinois. He moved to Danville from Springfield to become editor of a local newspaper. Will’s father and grandfather—John Connelly and his son John Connelly Jr.—were contemporaries of Abraham Lincoln. They served in various political offices in Springfield but as Democrats. John Connelly Sr. had moved from Washington, DC to Springfield in 1837 with his wife and 10 children to become the Federal land commissioner for the area. The Connelly family knew and did business with Lincoln for many years, long before he was elected president and became the pivotal figure in the Civil War.
Welcome to the forum from South Florida and the Reenactors Forum and thanks for sharing your family history with us.
 
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