Matthew Scott Family
Bible

Transcribed and contributed by Patricia Kenyon

The Scott family Bible came to me through my grandmother, Lillie Scott Kenyon and my father, Frederick Ralph Kenyon. It is leather bound; its condition is quite tattered and worn; it includes illustrations. The first pages—including the title page—are missing or in pieces. On the inside front cover is a small sticker, “Sold by Tracy Doolittle, No. 37 State Street, Albany.” The New Testament’s title page is intact: “Brattleborough, Vt. Printed and Published by Holbrook and Fessenden, 1828. 

The following was printed on newsprint in columns which were cut out and pasted onto the first family record page following the Apocrypha. The different spellings of the name Semanthia (Samanthia) are in the original.

Genealogical Account of Matthew Scott’s Family Record.

    I was born November 24^th, 1782. I was married November 15^th, 1801, to Hannah, daughter of Samuel and Thankful Sackit, who was born June 21^st, 1771. Semanthia, daughter of Matthew and Hannah Scott, was born September 24^th, 1802. Alanson, eldest son of Matthew and Hannah Scott, was born December 8^th, 1804. Ransom, second son, was born August 9^th, 1807. Alvin, third son, was born November 5^th, 1810. Hiram, fourth son, was born April 14^th, 1813.

    Deaths—Alvin died June 18^th, 1833. Hiram died October 26^th, 1841. Hannah died February 17^th, 1852. 

    The above may be read in the following manner:

 Fifteenth of November, eighteen hundred and one,
Was a day that completed what before had begun—
In anticipation of new scenes in life,
And which constituted us husband and wife.

Eighteen hundred and two, twenty-fourth of September,
We were blest with a daughter, as I well remember;
We called her Samanthia, namesake of an aunt,
Thus we favored tradition you will readily grant.

On the eighth of December, eighteen hundred and four,
The Lord condescended to bless us once more;
He gave us a son, Alanson by name,
And thus on our gratitude held a just claim.

On the ninth day of August, eighteen hundred and seven,
We were called on again to give thanks to high heaven;
For Ransom, our son, was born at that time,
As here you may see it written in rhyme.

 On the fifth of November, eighteen hundred and seven [sic],
As you may perceive by the work of my pen,
Was the birth-day of Alvin, the third of our sons,
And so the Lord blest us with such little ones.

On the fourteenth of April, eighteen hundred thirteen,
Was the birth-day of Hiram, as here may be seen,
He being the youngest, and likewise the last,
And so the first twelve years of rural life past.

The initial letters of our childrens’ names,
From oldest to youngest, as the sequel explains,
Form a singular acrostic, and you’ll scarce find another,
For the letters spell Sara , the name of my mother.

 The family circle being thus made complete,
The Lord gave us bread, and the Lord gave us meat—
With some light afflictions to humble our pride,
And show us our duty in him to confide.

 Thus passed on the time for twenty odd years,
Till Alvin, our son, was seized by disease,
Which refused to be check’d by medical skill,
And death soon took place, for it was the Lord’s will.

Eighteen hundred thirty-three put an end to the strife,
On the eighteenth of June he departed this life,
Aged twenty-two years, seven months, thirteen days—
He yielded his life to the God whom he praised.

In the year eighteen hundred forty and one,
The Lord called for Hiram, who was our fourth son—
Twenty-sixth of October God called him away,
Aged twenty-eight years, six months and twelve days.

In the year eighteen hundred fifty and two,
My beloved companion was called to pass through
The struggles of death, and to yield up her life,
And leave this vain world with its care and its strife.

 In the month February, the seventeenth day,
She departed this life, and a silent corpse lay.
Her years had rolled on to four score and one,
Seven months and twenty-seven revolves of the sun.

 She is gone, the partner of my youth;
She ever loved and practiced truth;
Her even temper, gentle mean,
In all her ways was plainly seen.

 Till years of care, and toil, and pain,
Had mared that nobler part the brain,
And reason being quite disthroned,
Her nearest friends were hardly owned.

 For months her mind was wrecked and toss’d,
Till muscular strength being almost lost;
The body lulling into sleep,
Would leave the mind alone to weep.

 Her faltering lips would often say,
“Our bread, Lord, give us day by day,
And as in heaven thy will is done,
So be it on this earth begun.”

 Amen, amen, my soul replied,
O may that prayer not be denied;
But whilst on earth thy supplient stays,
O fill her heart with prayer and praise.

 At length she swooned and dropped away—
Her spirit left the mouldering clay;
Her form retained a peaceful smile—
Thus ended all her earthly toil.

 What’s loss to me is gain to her—
Then let us in God’s will concur;
And with a humble, contrite heart,
May I maintain the christian’s[sic] part.

 She rests, she rests with Christ, her head,
Who for our sins has groaned and bled,
Jesus will raise her at that day,
When all this world shall pass away.

 Then hush, ye weeping heart, be still,
Yield and submit to heaven’s will—
Jesus has called her to appear,
And serve him in a nobler sphere.

 Whilst life may last and health be given,
Help me to tread the path to heaven;
And, in obedience to thy laws,
Honor and magnify thy cause.

 That when this flesh shall droop and die,
My soul may soar and raise on high,
And join with those who have gone before,
To sing God’s praise for evermore.

 My family record in rhyme has been given—
Speaks of union being formed and union being riven—
Of offspring bestowed and taken away—
Of ages computed by years, months and days.

 Thus far I’ve recorded some scenes that transpired
For fifty full years, as the case has required.
Whose lot it may be to continue these lines,
Remains a secret to all finite minds.

Family Record (page two). Entries handwritten in ink at different times and in different styles.

Family Record (page three). Entries handwritten in ink (last one in pencil) at different times and in different styles.

 Family Record (page four). Entries handwritten in ink at different times and in different styles.

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