Historical information
Large leather-bound illustrated family Bible published in the United States c.1871 and printed in the German language. The Bible contains a family register section recording births and deaths, as well as a dedicated section for family photographs. The volume is richly illustrated throughout and reflects the importance of religion and family record keeping within German Lutheran communities of the nineteenth century.
The Bible belonged to the Seeber family of Westgarthtown. The Seeber family lived in a house on High Street, opposite the present-day Lalor Railway Station, for almost one hundred years. Family patriarch John Seeber worked as a shoemaker and operated his business from the family home. Many members of the Seeber family are buried in the Westgarthtown Lutheran Cemetery.
The Bible was retained within the Seeber family for generations and was donated to Ziebell's Farmhouse Museum by Helen Pearce, granddaughter of Agnes Seeber, the youngest child of John and Johanna Seeber.
