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Object Description

Object Name

Bible

Object ID

2012.049.001

Title

Illustrated Bible belonging to William McDonald Sr.

Date

1872.

Description

One large Bible. The Bible has a brown leather cover and it is heavily embossed in gold. The centre reads "Holy Bible" in elegant gold script. The embossed gold cover is raised up around the title. The Bible has two brass claps. The spine reads "Holy Bible / References / Bible Dictionary and Cities of the Bible / 1300 Illustrations." The back cover also reads "Holy Bible" and it is decorated the same as the front cover. The title page of the Bible reads "The Holy Bible: / Containing the / Old and New Testament, Translated out of the Original Tongues, / Apocrypha, Concordance and Psalms. / To Which Are Appended A / Comprehensive Bible Dictionary, In Which Every Important Scriptural Word Is Fully Explained." The authors are listed as: Rev. Alfred Nevin, D.D., Rev Thomas H. Horne, D.D., Rev. Wm. H. Munroe, Rev. John Eadie, D.D., I.L.D., Rev. Wm. F. B. Jackson, Prof. A.L. Rawson. This Bible was published by A.J. Holman & Co, Philadelphia, in 1874.

A page on the inside shows this Bible was awarded an honorable mention by the American Institute for Illustrated Family Bibles at the 1873 exhibition. The Bible includes a holy matrimony certification page with a colourful border which has been filled in for "Alexander McDonald of the Township of Perry Muskoka - Ontario and Annie McLean of Township of Perry Muskoka - Ontario." They were married on October 9th 1878. This is followed by pages for marriages, births and deaths. The back of the Bible has a small section for photographs, and it contains four photographs: one is the portrait of a man, the second is a portrait of a couple, and the third is the portrait of 5 young women. The back of the third photo reads: "Quincy Mass." The fourth is a portrait of an older woman. There is also a sticker inside reading "No. 0258 / M.R. Gately/Bookseller and Binder/ 8 Bromfield Street/ Boston, Mass."

This Bible has been owned by William McDonald Sr. and his wife Grace McDonald, James Smith (Grace's brother), Georgina Smith (nee Porter), P. Y. Porter, his oldest daughter Maxine Johnson, and Maxine's daughter Penny.

People/Subject

McDonald, Clifford Borden

Son of William McDonald Sr. and Grace McDonald Sr. (nee Smith).
Term Source: 1990 and counting, pg 47, 83 (MacKinnon), HPC Records (HPC-292/1084)

McDonald, Grace, Sr. (nee Smith)

Grace McDonald Sr. (nee Smith) was the daughter of James P. Smith and Mary McQuicken. Married to William McDonald Sr. She passed away in 1934.
Term Source: 1990 and counting pg. 44, 82-3 (MacKinnon) / HPC Records (HPC-291/1083)

McDonald, William, Sr.

William McDonald Sr. was born in 1862 in Inverness, Scotland. He arrived in Canada at aged 14 in approximately 1880 (originally from Isle of Skye). He was one of 5 brothers and 1 sister. The parents and 6 children settled in Birks Falls, Ontario. Two other brothers - James and Hugh - came to BC with William in 1889. The brothers worked in sawmills throughout the Valley and William settled in Langley in 1895, establishing the McDonald Cedar Mill. William and James continued to work in many mills in the Valley. William married Grace Smith on April 1st, 1891 at her parents home at Lochiel, south Langley. The couples' first home was a homestead on LeFeuvre Road near Aldergrove. Their children were Barbara, James (Jim), William (Bill) Jr., Gordon (born in Murrayville 1875, killed in the First World War), Daisy, Clifford (b. 1911), Grace, and Geordie. William Sr. died in January 1918.

Porter, Philip Young (P.Y.)

Philip Young Porter, known as P. Y., was born on September 15, 1890, in Ontario, to George E. Porter and Margaret Smith. The family came to Vancouver around 1891, and came to Langley in 1897, settling in the Murrayville area. Philip Young (PY) Porter began working for the Murrayville General Store in 1912 following a short stint as a blacksmith. Philip married Eleanor (Nellie) Agnes Powell in Vancouver on June 11, 1913. He continued his employment with the store when Seth Witton purchased it two years later. PY became the local postmaster in 1916 and eventually bought the store from Witton in 1917. Porter employed Ab Sherritt and Mr. Crockett to do extensive renovations in the late 1930's and the "new" P. Y. Porter General Merchandise store was completed in 1939. P.Y. ran the store for many years but gave the daily management of it over to his son Eldon (a.k.a. Eldy) in the late 1950's. P.Y. continued to help out until 1971 when he finally retired. Philip died on January 1, 1988.

Smith, Georgina (nee Porter)

Georgina Porter was the sister of Bertha McDonald and P.Y. Porter. She married to James N. Smith.
Term Source: HPC Record (HPC-332/1103)

Smith, James N.

James N. Smith was born June 27, 1888 to parents James P. Smith and Mary Smith (nee McQuicken). He married Georgina Porter and became a chiropractor.
Term Source: HPC Record (HPC-270/1066)

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