Photo and Video by Max Feliu
Video Transcript
00;00;00;29 – 00;00;02;25
Stephen Farrell
It really is a once in a lifetime opportunity. This is the only African-American family Bible in a public institution here in Beaufort County, and it’s really remarkable that this was saved. But, it is not uncommon to find a family Bible. What is remarkable and rare is to have one donated with no family attachments, and then to be saved, and then to find that there is a sixth generation bearing the same name of the patriarch of the family.
00;00;33;03 – 00;00;35;02
William Keyes IV
It’s really special to be able to come back to Washington, North Carolina, and see a Bible that was owned by my great grandfather, and is really the only tangible connection that I have to a couple generations before me. Not very many people have a chance to do that. The prompt for doing more research really was the imminent birth of William the Sixth. I was 16 when my dad died. He was only ten when his dad died. And so, you can see that, I didn’t have forebears who were passing down these stories to me about, you know, my ancestors. Being named William the fourth. It begs the question, who were the other William’s who came before you? So that was really the impetus for me to start doing this research.
00;01;26;27 – 00;01;30;06
Stephen Farrell
It could have come from my home. It could have come from a distant relative. We have never been contacted, about the donation. It’s just special for us to have an African American family Bible preserved and maintained and being able to find the relatives. Because a lot of their history is not readily available in the area. It tells a broader story that is oftentimes overlooked, and it really connects multiple pieces of the puzzle of where we came from and where we’re going in the future.
00;01;55;21 – 00;02;00;22
William Keyes V
I think there’s always a piece of you that has some pride in knowing there’s a long line, especially coming from an African-American family. You know, this is the first time I’d heard that we come from a family that wasn’t enslaved. It’s a really cool, momentous occasion.
00;02;14;02 – 00;02;16;21
William Keyes IV
To be able to touch the Bible that was owned by the man for whom I’m named; it’s something that, obviously, I will never forget.
