Would most Catholic families have kept a family bible?

[Deer243]

Would the majority of Catholic families (with Irish origins if that makes any difference) have kept a family bible?

[barryd]

If they could afford one?
If they could read?

[Deer243]

The ancestors came over from Ireland in the early 1800s and worked as mill workers/general labourers in Manchester, I don't know if they would have been able to read or not.

[Billyblue]

AS a general rule, I'd say no.
My family certainly has never had one.
But maybe things are different in Ireland and UK

Dawn M

[eadaoin]

We certainly didn't have one. One section of OH's side had one - maybe dating from 1880s or so.

OH's family also has a "birthday book" (like a diary), given by greatgrandmother Kate to her son Andrew in about 1895. All the birthdays since then have been written in, down to my 2-year-old grandchild.
(unfortunately, Kate's birthday wasn't entered!)

[Deer243]

Okay, that's interesting to know. Thanks for all the help!

[newburychap]

More likely to have one in protestant families - especially non-conformists, nothing they like better than a bit of bible study.  Catholics tend to leave that sort of thing to the priest.

[aghadowey]

I ssuspect that the answer just depends on the family- if they could read or had the means to get one as was mentioned earlier.

My Aunt Florence's family had one which they brought from Ireland to New York and it stayed in the family until the mid-1960s. Apparently it was filled with names, dates and places going back probably till early 1800s.

[Dulaigh]

Catholics would not  have a bible. They might have a prayer book or a Missal.