Sharon Gattshall, left and Barb Hildebrand, right with the recovered William Kerr Kennedy Bible. Thank you Erin Kelley for making the trade with me. I was able to purchase a replacement bible on ebay for Erin and she returned this bible back to Ohio. See the story below. Inside of the bible was the name Gladys Kraner. I found out that Gladys is a granddaughter of William and Mary Kennedy. Samira Kennedy was the daughter of Mary Lance Kennedy and William Kerr Kennedy. Homer Jones was the first-born child of Ellsworth Jones & Samira Kennedy and their 2nd daughter was Gladys Marie Jones (3/16/1909-1/21/2009) who married Harold Leonard Kraner (6/16/1910-1/29/1995) in 1930. This is her obituary. She must have kept the bible until she died in 2009 and at that time it was sold on ebay. The bible was certainly used since the cover is off and the bible needs rebound. It was a very beautiful, leather, gold embossed bible and must have cost quite a bit in 1875.
Gladys M. Kraner, 99, of 801 North Park Road, Crestline, died Wednesday, January 21, 2009 at Galion Extended Care Unit, Galion.
Gladys was born in New Winchester, on March 16, 1909 to the late Homer and Ethel (Neal) Jones. She married Harold L. Kraner on June, 25, 1930 and he preceded her January 29, 1995.
Gladys was a very active member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Crestline. She was a member of the Golden Age Club, Crestline Women's Club, and the Crestline Historical Society. She worked on the Election Board for many years. She enjoyed reading, playing cards, traveling, cooking and trying new recipes. Gladys worked at the former Theller's Drug Store and former Fashion Wise Dress Shop, Crestline. Her grandsons and great grandchildren were her pride and joy.
She is survived by two daughters, Patricia Bise and Deirdre Sherer, both of Crestline. Four grandsons, Ricki Salvati, Crestline, Michael and Pam Miller, Lewis Center, Bret and Sharon Ruhe, Galion, Brian Ruhe, Crestline, six great grandchildren and one great-great grandson. She is also survived by several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded by her sister, Violet Kraner.
Friends may call from 5-7 P.M. on Friday, January 23, 2009 at the Mark A. Schneider Funeral Home, Crestline. Funeral services will be held at the Mark A. Schneider Funeral Home, Crestline on Saturday, January 24 at 10:30 A.M, with Pastor Diana Seaman officiating. Burial will follow in Oakwood Cemetery, Bucyrus.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Trinity Lutheran Church, in care of the funeral home.
Amazing Story - Photos of William Kerr Kennedy and Mary Lance Kennedy Bible
Thank you to Erin Kelley for these pictures. An amazing story, Erin purchased a bible many years ago on ebay. She was curious of who the bible belonged to and searched the internet. She found this Baker Family website and matched the names with the engraving on front of the bible. She posted a comment and we were able to talk. She was gracious enough to take her time to take some pictures of the bible and send them to me. This is the William Kerr Kennedy and Mary Lance Kennedy's bible. It has a publisher date of 1875. These are handwritten dates of the marriages, births and deaths. It is amazing that someone would have this bible and be able to find the family it originated from. Erin says she enjoys reading the bible and uses it as reference. Thank you Erin for taking your time to share these pictures with our family.