HATCHER FAMILY BIBLE This family bible is a King James I version. It was printed and published by M. Carey & Son of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1819. In my opinion, the first owners of the bible were John Hatcher, Junior, and his wife, Margaret (Lord) Hatcher. She was commonly known by the nickname Peggy. At their deaths, they were residents of Crawford County, Georgia. John Hatcher, Junior, was the fourth child of Major John and Mary (Brady) Hatcher. At the time of their deaths, they were residents of Wilkinson County, Georgia. After the bible was acquired, either by gift or purchase, someone carefully entered the names and birth dates of all of the children of John and Peggy Hatcher. At the time of this entry, eleven of their children had been born. These names were entered in chronological order by date of birth. The last entry was Francis Narcisa Hatcher who was born 1 May 1831. With all of these entries being made at the same time, there is a strong possibility that the bible may have been acquired just after Francis' birth. Since these children were apparently the first to be entered, this certainly creates a presumption that the bible was first the property of John and Peggy Hatcher. Immediately following these entries, the names and birth dates of the two remaining children of John and Peggy Hatcher were entered in an entirely different handwriting. These thirteen children constituted all of their offspring. See page 678 and the comments following. We find in the bible, at page 680, the birth and death dates of John and Peggy Hatcher. Also on this page are listed John's father and mother, Major John and Mary (Brady) Hatcher, along with their birth dates and date of their marriage. Only the year of birth was given for Mary. Following this information, the names and birth dates of the first four children born to Major John and Mary (Brady) Hatcher were shown. This included John, Junior, as he was their fourth child. Evidence clearly points to John and Peggy Hatcher being the first owners of this bible. The only piece of important vital statistical information that is missing, regarding their individual family, is the date of their own marriage. At some point following the death of John and Peggy Hatcher, the bible passed to their son Robert Hatcher, who married Abselia Elizabeth Burnett. This was a perfectly natural transition as Robert was the administrator of the estate of his father, and in all probability that of his mother. She died last, in the year 1854. This is predictably the year that Robert became owner of the bible. Robert's ownership continued for many years. The names and birth dates of twelve of his known children are entered on the two loose pages found in the bible. The last name on the second loose page might possibly be another child of Robert. On page 677 are shown the names and marriage dates of five of his children. Two other names are listed on this page. A marriage date is shown for one person and not the other. Both of these females, Maryann and Anice Virginia Hatcher, might possibly be daughters of Robert. Robert Hatcher's death on 4 May 1871 is recorded in the bible. His wife, Abselia Elizabeth (Burnett) Hatcher, died 16 August 1874. Her death is not listed. Sometime thereafter, the bible passed to Robert's twelfth child, Josephine Louisa Hatcher, who married Jack Causey. The next owner of the bible was Elizabeth Mary Hancock who was commonly known as "Lizzie May." She was the daughter of Erastus Jerome and Martha Obedience (Hatcher) Hancock. Josephine Louisa Causey, known to her nieces and nephews as Aunt Josie, passed away 4 August 1950. Aunt Josie's children had no particular interest in the bible. Knowing of their cousin Lizzie May's keen interest in family genealogy, they offered it to her. She accepted it gladly. Lizzie May distinctly remembered their removing it from a shelf and handing it to her. Lizzie May Hancock was a remarkable lady. She was intelligent, well educated and family oriented. It was from her that I learned much of the history of the chain of ownership of the bible, and its contents, as I have related herein. She was a fountain of information on the Hatcher and Hancock families, as well as other families of Crawford County, Georgia. Unfortunately, I was not privileged to learn about Lizzy May until early 1983 when I heard of her ownership of the bible. I first met her in Macon, Georgia, in September 1983. Although I communicated with her frequently thereafter, I never saw her again. She died 11 December 1986 at the age of 92. Lizzie May left the bible to a niece, Charlotte Burnett Thrasher, of Macon, Georgia. It is still in her possession. Charlotte is the daughter of Lizzie May's sister, Annie Maude Hancock, who married John Chester Burnett. Charlotte is a lover of family history so the bible is in good hands. She has reviewed my analysis of the bible, and its probable chain of ownership, and is in agreement with it. It is apparently believed by some Hatcher descendants that the first owner of this bible was Jeremiah B. Hatcher. In my opinion, this is erroneous. This Jeremiah was the first child of John and Peggy Hatcher. He was born 26 February 1813. His name appears on page 678.
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Maryann Hatcher
was Married