Greetings!

I have been researching the Shays for quite some time now with the bulk of my sources coming from handwritten documents passed down to me by my great aunt. My cousin, Jane Martin, passed on this message where you mention finding a piece of paper that lists the marriages of William Shay and Ruth Ann Shay. Ruth Shay married Levi Ketchum Sharp - these are my 3x great grandparents. this piece of paper you hold could help us tear down a brick wall! I have a couple of questions:

1. What bible is it? Are you related to this family?

2. Are the names spelled as you've spelled them in this post? For instance, is William's middle name spelled "Barzalel" and is Ruth's name written as "Ruthan"? Are you able to scan the paper and email it? I'd LOVE to see it!

We have it recorded in family notes as "Barzilil" (if I recall correctly without pulling them out- he is seen on the census records and other documents as "B.L. Shay". At some point I was able to determine that his name must have been "Bars Lil", but this might not be correct. Ruth's name is recorded in our documents as "Ruth Ann". The spelling in my family papers could be inaccurate. As I'm sure you know, illiteracy and other factors made spelling errors a common occurency back then.

Thank you for posting this information! My email address is iberiansquaw@verizon.net - feel free to email me at my personal address if you find it easier than replying to this post on the message boards.

I hope to hear from you soon!

Dawn Sharp Welch