Hist. Mss. 1-873
Jacob Nold, 1765-1834
German Bible, 1712
1 Box (Oversize in Room 23)

Inventory

BOX 1 (OVERSIZE)

Wooden Case
Specifically built to hold and display Bible
Built by John and Carole Mellinger

1712 Martin Luther German Bible
This Bible was bought by Michael Scheel (d. 1770) in 1715. He belonged to the Reformed Church in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It was subsequently owned by a granddaughter, Susanna Sells who married Jacob Nold (1765-1834) in 1786. They lived in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. In 1817 the Nolds moved to the Mahoning/ Columbiana counties near Leetonia, Ohio, where Nold continued to serve as a Mennonite bishop until his death in 1834. After this the Bible was passed down through the Nold family.

Fragments found in Bible (Folder 1)
Text for the sermon: Luke 7:4, The Young Man from Nain (with English transcript); probably from same era as Bible (18th century)
Appointments for Services - transcript of German manuscript listing appointments of ministers for October, 1813; includes Jacob Noll (Nold)
Broadleaf published by Herold der Wahrheit, 1 page, no date. "Ein Trauer=Lied, von einer betruebten Mutter fuer ihre drei Kinder" and "Ein Trost=Wort von den Kindern zu den Eltern." A song of mourning from a mother who is heavy of heart for her three children; a word of comfort from the children to their parents.

Description of Bible, photographs, etc. (Folder 2)
Two photographs of Bible in its case
Photocopy of will of Michael Scheel, 1770
Article on the New Goshenhoppen Reformed Church of which Michael Scheel was a member, 1731
Transcript of an interview by Leonard Gross of Wilmer Swope which included discussion of the Nold Bible; February 1, 1990

(See also attached article on the Bible)

THE 1712 MARTIN LUTHER GERMAN BIBLE
Bought by Michael Scheel (d. 1770) in 1715
Owned by Bishop Jacob Nold (1765-1834),
and Passed on by the Nold Family

1. INTRODUCTION

This 1712 German Bible is found in the Jacob Nold (1765-1834) Collection (Hist. Mss. 1-873) at the Archives of the Mennonite Church, Goshen, Indiana. The title of the Bible is as follows: BIBLIA, DIE GANZE HEILIGE SCHRIFFT/ALTEN UND NEUEN TESTAMENTS/VERTEUTSCHET DURCH DOCTOR MARTIN LUTHER. Bassel/In Verlegung Johann Ludwig Brandm_ller. Im Jahr Christi M.DCC.XII. Translation is as follows: "Bible, The Whole Holy Writings/Old and New Testaments/translated by Doctor Martin Luther. Basel/Publication by Johann Ludwig Brandm_ller. In the year of our Lord, 1712."

The Bible, dated 1712, was bought by Michael Scheel (d. 1770) in 1715. It entered the Nold family when granddaughter Susanna Sells married Jacob Nold (1765-1834) in 1786. Nold was a Mennonite Bishop in Pennsylvania and Ohio. After being passed through several generations, the Bible was presented to the Archives of the Mennonite Church in 1990 by John and Carole Mellinger, Leetonia, Ohio, on behalf of the Nold Family.

2. MICHAEL SCHEEL (died 1770)

On the fourth page of the Bible is a fractur by Michael Scheel. In the poem Scheel claims possession of the Bible which he bought in 1715. It is written in German script and reads as follows;

Michael Scheel I am called. Christ Jesus is my Savior. This Bible has come into my possession. I
bought it to find how to learn to trust God, to love my
neighbors, to live Christian, to die saved, to inherit
heaven. Year 1715. This book is mine and whoever
takes it from me does not do well and may well be a
thief.

The names and birth dates of their five children are recorded on the third leaf of the Bible, probably in the hand of Michael Scheel. It is also written in German script and listed as follows:

Jacob Scheel was born March 6, 1718
Abraham Scheel was born March 16, 1720
Mary Scheel was born May 16, 1723
Michael Scheel was born July 23, 1726
John Scheel was born January 20, 1729

Michael and his wife Veronica lived in Hereford township in Berks County, Pennsylvania. They were members of the New Goshenhopper Reformed Church in Upper Hanover Township, Montgomery County. Michael Scheel died in 1770. His will can be found in the Philadelphia County Courthouse.

3. PASSING ON OF BIBLE TO SUSANNA SELLS AND JACOB NOLD

It is known that Susanna Sells, the granddaughter of Michael Scheel, was a subsequent owner of the Bible. She and Jacob Nold were married October 26, 1786. Of Jacob and Susanna's eight children, the first three are listed in German script on the second leaf of the Bible. Presumably written by Jacob or Susanna, they are listed as follows:

Henry Nold was born August 4, 1787
Mary was born June 19, 1791 and died 1795
Valentine II was born March 7, 1794 and died November 11, 1794

Jacob Nold (1765-1834) was a farmer but known for his work in the Mennonite Church. He became a bishop and was ordained to Swamp Mennonite Church, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on March 26, 1786. In 1813, Nold and others made a preaching trip to eastern Ohio.

In 1817, Jacob and Susanna Nold moved their family and the Bible to Mahoning/Columbiana Counties, Leetonia area of Ohio. Jacob became the first bishop of the Mennonite Church is Eastern Ohio. He is recognized for helping establish churches in the Leetonia area.

4. DESCRIPTION OF BIBLE

The Bible is an illustrated folio Bible and printed in German script. It is approximately 37 x 22 x 9 cm/14_ x 8_ x 3_ inches. The cover of the Bible is made of boards covered with leather. It has brass corner plates and side clips, with the bottom clip missing. Pox acid marks are seen on the pages but considered a normal amount for the age of the book. Both binding hinges on the spine are cracked. Also the top strap at the head of the spine is missing and the bottom strap of the spine is loose.

The first few pages in the Bible are as follows:

Cover

Front pastedown Blank

First Front Flyleaf
recto (right hand side) Blank
verso (left-hand side) "1860 - 1787 = 73"

Second Front Flyleaf
recto (right hand side) List of Jacob and Susanna Nold's children, born between 1787-1794
verso (left-hand side) Blank

Third Front Flyleaf
recto (right hand side) List of Michael and Veronica Scheel's children, born between 1718-1729
verso (left-hand side) "Solo deo"


Fourth Front Flyleaf
recto (right hand side) Fractur, 1715, done by Michael Scheel, when he bought the Bible
verso (left-hand side) Blank

Fifth Front Flyleaf
recto (right hand side) Pasted in illustration "Biblia..."
verso (left-hand side) Blank

Title Page "Biblia... Basel, 1712"

[Page 2] Blank

Page 3 "Vorrede..." Includes signatures of "Heinrich Sell" and "Georg Schlotter" and date "1824"

There is also one notation found in the main text of the bible. It is as follows:

Notation found at Luke 7:16 Notation "*de 18:18" is inserted in Luke 7:16. Maybe it refers to loose fragment found at back of Bible.

There were also some loose fragments found at the back of the Bible:

Sermon Fragment On one side it reads, "Der Rede Luk. 7:4". On the other side "... Luk. 7:11-17." The style of writing is older and could date back to Michael's time (1715).

Broadleaf Fragment One same broadleaf is found "Ein Trauer-Lied" and "Ein Trost-Wort." Published by Herold der Wahrheit.

Small musical Fragment Includes notes "Gott Wils ..."

Typed out 1813 Appointments "Appointments for Services" on October 1813, for Abraham Wismer from Bucks Co. and Jacob Noll (Nold) from the Swamp on a visit in Conestoga, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. "Copied from an old manuscript in German in possession of Mary Caldwell, Leetonia, Ohio, R.2." It was written up by Deacon Martin Mellinger, October 23, 1813. These two pages were typed out by "H.S. Bender."

The Bible is kept in a display case built by John and Carole Mellinger. The case is wooden, measuring 21_" wide x 17" deep x 5" high, and has a glass cover. There is a support bar in the case so the Bible can be opened to one of the first few pages for display.

Joe Springer, curator of the Mennonite Historical Library, was not able to put an appraisal price on the Bible, but indicated the value is much increased by the fractur done by Michael Scheel, as found pasted into the Bible.

5. PROVENANCE (HISTORY OF USE OF BIBLE)

Michael Scheel purchased the Bible in 1715. He used the Bible at least until 1729, when he recorded the birth of his fifth child, John Scheel. He and his wife lived in Hereford Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. One could assume that he kept the Bible until his death in 1770, when it was passed down to one of his children or grandchildren.

One of the next owners of the Bible was a granddaughter Susanna Sells, who married Jacob Nold in 1786. This Susanna could be the daughter of Michael Scheel, Jr. (1726-). Or it could be the daughter of Mary Scheel (1723-) who married Henry Sells in 1723. For example, on the seventh page of the Bible is the signature of Henrich Sells. If the signature is that of Mary's husband, it would seem the Bible was passed from Michael Scheel to his daughter Mary who married Henry Sells in 1723. Then one would need to assume that the name "Sells" is a version of the German "Scheel".

Jacob and Susanna Nold used the Bible from 1787-1794 when they wrote the first three of their eight children's names in it. They lived in Bucks County, Pennsylvania until 1817 when they moved to Mahoning and Colombiana Counties, in the Leetonia area of Ohio. Jacob Nold died in 1834.

The Bible was then passed to their daughter, Susanna Nold. This was the fourth generation to use the Bible. Susanna Nold married George Schlotter. There is a penciled signature on the seventh page of the Bible. The Signature reads "Georg Schlotter" and is followed by the year 1824.

There is no record of Jacob Nold's son, Jacob Nold Jr. (1798-1864), using the book. Jacob Nold Jr. was also active in the Mennonite Church in Ohio. He became the first Mennonite deacon in the Leetonia area and is known as an important figure in Mennonite Ohio history,

The next owner of the Bible was Hannah Schlotter Caldwell, who received it from her parents, Susanna and George Schlotter. Hannah then passed the Bible to her daughter Mary Caldwell. After that, the Bible may have been given to Stelle Riehl. It was eventually passed on to John and Carole Mellinger, Leetonia, Ohio. It was the Mellingers who built the specially-made wooden box to house and display the Bible. They presented the Bible to the Archives of the Mennonite Church in 1990, on behalf of the Nold Family.

6. SOURCES OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE BIBLE

Alderfer, Joel. Telephone conversation with Dennis Stoesz, July 20, 1992, about church background of Michael Scheel.
Battle, J. H. ed. HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY, 1887.
Green-Watson, May Mathis. NOLD FAMILY HISTORY AND GENEALOGICAL BACKGROUND. Watsonia: Corpus Christi, Texas. November 1, 1941.
Gross, Leonard. Telephone conversation with Wilmer Swope, December 11, 1989, concerning the Bible.
Hartzler, J.S. and Daniel Kauffman. MENNONITE CHURCH HISTORY. Scottdale: Mennonite Book and Tract Society, 1905.
Sperling, Jennie. SOME DESCENDANTS OF HENRY SELL OF UPPER SAUCON TWP. LEHIGH COUNTY PA. Lansdale Pa: December, ?.
Springer, Joe, Curator, Mennonite Historical Library, Goshen College, on the appraisal of Bible's condition and value, November 15, 1990.
Swope, Wilmer, ""Nold, Jacob (1765-1834)", MENNONITE ENCYCLOPEDIA, 1954-59.

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November 1990, Inventory by Val Bontrager
History Practicum Student, Goshen College
Updated July 30, 1993, By Dennis Stoesz
Archives of the Mennonite Church, Goshen, Indiana