Lot 524
1800s Woolman Family Bible Record Pages
Sold August 27, 2026
- Price realized
- $24
- Estimate
- $1,000–$2,000
Price realized is the winning bid (hammer price) and excludes buyer’s premium.
About this lot
Country of Origin: USA
Period: Early 19th Century
Manufacturer: Unspecified, Leaves consistent with Large Philadelphia Matthew Carey / Carey Imprints
Dimensions: Approx. 19 x 14.5 in.
Condition: Wear due to age such as water damage, smudges, discoloration and fading.
Additional Information: Set of four early American Bible family record leaves, numbered 677–680 and printed with the heading “FAMILY RECORD,” containing extensive handwritten genealogical information relating to the historically significant Woolman family of Burlington County, New Jersey.
Most importantly, the records document John Woolman (1720–1772), the prominent American Quaker minister, author and early abolitionist. His entry records his birth as the 19th day of the 8th month, 1720, corresponding to October 19, 1720 under the Quaker calendar then in use. The identification is supported by the accompanying entries for his parents, Samuel Woolman and Elizabeth Burr Woolman, together with the matching sequence of his known brothers and sisters.
Other identifiable family members include John Woolman’s brother Uriah Woolman (1728–1804), a Philadelphia merchant whose surviving account books are held by the New York Public Library. Uriah was also elected/returned as a Burlington County representative to the New Jersey Assembly in 1786, although contemporary records indicate that he declined to take his seat.
The records further include Jonah Woolman, another brother of John Woolman, together with Jonah’s wife Martha Mullen Woolman and later generations of their family. This continuation provides substantial genealogical evidence connecting the earlier Woolman entries with subsequent descendants.
Later portions also record members of the related Tash family, including Thomas H. Tash, Elizabeth H. Tash and Mary H. Tash. Genealogical sources identify these individuals within the family of Joseph Tash and Mary Haines; Mary H. Tash later married John B. Burr.
The printed page numbering and design correspond closely with family record sections found in large American Bibles issued by Matthew Carey and related Philadelphia publishers during the early 19th century. Accordingly, the 18th century Woolman information appears to have been retrospectively copied into an early 19th century family Bible rather than written contemporaneously at the time of John Woolman’s 1720 birth.
An unusual and historically significant group of early American family records preserving the genealogy and exact birth entry of John Woolman, one of colonial America’s best known Quaker abolitionists and religious writers.
Lot details
- Lot
- 524
- Category
- Books and Paper Items › Documents
- Estimate
- $1,000–$2,000
- Closed
- August 27, 2026
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