Every family has them, information on their ancestor that appears to have been around since the beginning of time. However, due to diligent researching and documentation some of that information has been debunked; but you still see the now disproved story repeated time and time again. The Joh. "Hans" Adam Bible family was definitely not immune to such family legends and myths.
Descendants that were around in the 1800's more than likely passed on what they heard around the old fireplace from their elders. Those same elders more than likely heard it from their elders as well. No matter how well meaning these elders tried to be in passing their family's heritage on to their offspring, memories fade over time, embellishment to some stories are bound to happen and probably the distinction between "grandmas" was not very clear or even possibly assumed by those listening. Our earliest ancestors did not seem that creative when dishing out given names, we still get confused today on who is who, no fault should be given to those ancestors who were living between us and the emigrant if they did confuse their grandmas, grandpas, aunts, or uncles.
These family legends and myths, no matter how exasperating they are to hear today, did serve a purpose in their time. They served to keep the interest of one's ancestors alive, and sometimes bring them back to life. They were a starting place for one to prove one's link to that ancestor that seemed so interesting. It also gives you a sinking feeling in your stomach when you find one of these myths and/or legends to be false, in your heart you really do want most of them to be true.
Below you will find some of the myths and the legends of the Joh. "Hans" Adam Biebel/Bible family. Although many of them are very interesting, we really do wish to see them "go away."
We have no clue as to when this myth actually got started, although we can tell you why it remained with this family through many, many decades of Bible/Biebel researchers. Up until the 1990's there was no documentation and/or records of any Joh. "Hans" Adam Biebel's marriage. The first mention of the name Eve with Adam's name was in the Hanover Lutheran Church baptismal records of their son Christian. The captain of the ship that Adam emigrated on only recorded the names of males who were over 17. We are guessing that many earlier researchers may have *assumed* that Adam came alone, and married this Eve after arriving.
In fact there is a story about Adam walking down the street and seeing this lovely Irish lass in her yard and saying to himself "I'm going to marry that girl." Very romantic, but untrue.
Adam's son John married a Rebecca Coffelt and they settled in Marion Co. Tennessee. Rebecca's parents were Philip Coffelt and Eleanor "Nelly" Ryan. John and Rebecca named one of their daughters Susannah Ryan Bible "after her grandmother." Eleanor Ryan's father's given name was Edward. Edward mentions Eleanor Coffelt in his will.
The story is true about AN Eleanor Ryan, 16 years of age, along with her brother, being kidnapped by indians. The incident took place in Marion Co, Virginia (now West Virginia), however this Ryan female's father was named John. The story regarding this incident was recorded first in Virginia Gazette of 1763 and preserved in the Draper Manuscripts (microfilm JJ, volume 1). The story is also retold in Glenn D. Lough's 1969 book "Now and Long Ago, A History of Marion County Area." It also appeared on December 8, 1763 in the The Pennsylvania Gazette which printed an "Extract of a Letter from Colonel Adam Stephen," dated Winchester, October 18, 1763 with more information on one "Eleanor Ryan".
But this particular "Eleanor Ryan", who was eventually transformed into "Eve Ryan", would have been too young to have a child in 1752 when Adam and Eve's son was born. It turns out that there were three actual people who, in the process of time, became one person in a fable. There was one person who was captured by Indians, another person who was the daughter of Edward Coffelt, and the third person was the wife of Joh. "Hans" Adam Bible.
Moreover, it seems that there are many families who have the eerily similar story right down to the brother who died when escaping! The main difference is the name of the girl who was kidnapped who varies according to the family involved.
The placing of Hans Adam Biebel in Konigsbach, Germany was an honest error, one that has been corrected by documentation, but its usage as his birthplace continues on.
During the mid-1960's a Bible descendant was stationed in Germany and had decided it was time to find out where his ancestor came from within that country. His search led him to some church documents in Konigsbach with the name Hans Adam Biebel contained in them. Upon returning to the states, he mentioned this information to other researchers, and the word spread like wild fire.
Thirty years later, Terri Strotman and Bridgett Schneider started corresponding, along with Jack Bible, sharing what information they possessed. To try and find other Bible researchers and to try and gather more information Terri and Bridgett posted messages to a few mailing lists (but not the same ones). Terri received an answer to one of her posts first, and the answer was a shocker. She was told from a well known genealogist that Hans Adam Biebel emigrated from Goersdorf, Alsace, and he provided proof. The next day Bridgett received the same information, but her advisor was in Australia. To say the least they were in shock and a bit dismayed.
What a stressful time that was. Here we were, totally unknown to any other Bibles. Plus Terri (although her maiden name was Bible) wasn't even sure where she fit into the family at that time. So before we set out to "set the record straight," we researched the credentials of the person who claimed our ancestor was from Alsace, not Konigsbach; and it turned out she was highly regarded and meticulous expert in German immigration whose work is considered to be very nearly infallible. We felt an obligation to share this information, but we really felt uncomfortable about it. Fortunately, everything worked out very well. Donahue Bible, the person who researched the earlier Konigsbach information in 1966, is an amazing, generous, and ethical person. He was shocked at first, but took it upon himself to actually travel to Alsace to check out our information. He actually hired an archivist from the French Archives to research the family! He was convinced and then felt obligated to correct his own information and share that correction personally.
Behind the Davy Crockett Inn in Hamblen County, Tennessee, sits a conestoga wagon. This wagon was used to bring Bible's from Virginia (from an area that is now in West Virginia) to Greene County Tennessee in the early 1790's and is in great shape. The folks at the Inn have stated that the wagon brought Philip Bible and his family to Tennessee. As it turns out the descendants of Philip possessed the wagon last and were the one's to turn the wagon over to the Inn. However, the wagon actually belonged to and brought the Christian Bible family to the county. Again, Donahue Bible came to the rescue to straighten out this misinformation.
Lewis (Ludwig) Bible lies in rest at the Sugar Grove Cemetery in Tippecanoe County, Indiana. Upon his tombstone is engraved "Dies at 107 yrs, 8 mo, 24d." DOD is 24 December 1863.
Granted, Lewis died as a very old man. He was alive when the Revolutionary War broke out, when the War of 1812 was fought and also the War between the States. He saw a lot in his lifetime, probably both good and bad, but he didn't see 107 years of it. The census information, combined with his listing on the 1787 VA tax list as being between age 16-21 at that time; indicates that Lewis was probably born between 1766 and 1771. You can follow the census recordings by going to his individual page in our database
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