Much of the genealogical data we have for the Stephen Shell, Harmon Shell, and Lemmon Shell families comes from family Bible records. These records are from two Bibles of the same 1802 publication by Mathew Carey of Philadelphia, likely obtained when these families were in Newberry County, South Carolina. Mathew Carey was Irish Catholic and these are Catholic Bibles, including the Apocrypha. The Bibles likely sold for about $8.50 each at the time, the equivalent of about $104.00 today.

Apparently, they both eventually came into the possession of Pettus Wales Chick Shell, who passed them to his niece Clytee Rebecca Evans. Dr. Clytee Evans was a professor of biology at the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus. She was instrumental in the foundation of the University of Southern Misssissippi's Gulf Coast Research Laboratory and an avid genealogical researcher. She contributed transcriptions of the family records pages from these Bibles to the Fort Assumption, Tennessee chapter of the DAR for inclusion in their Mid-South Bible Records.

Contact with family members in Mississippi revealed that Dr. Evans died in September of 1981. At that time, the Harmon and Lemmon Shell Bible was passed to her niece, Caroline Justice, who in turn passed it to her son and daughter-in-law, Hugh and Vicki Cooper. On July 1, 2003, Caroline and Vicki graciously offered the Bible for scans of its records pages, making Harmon and Lemmon Shell's original artifact available for perusal by the multitude of their descendants. We are very grateful for their generous contribution.

The Stephen Shell family Bible, also in the possession of Dr. Evans at the time of her death, has not yet been located. We are still contacting family members in hopes of securing permission to accomplish the same non-destructive digital preservation of its records pages. If you have any information or ideas regarding the whereabouts of this Bible, please contact me at danshell@bledsoe.net.

• The misspelling of Harmon Shell's name as Herman and Hermon is understandable upon examination of the original. Is this a difference in spelling or simply handwriting style?
• Omission of the date in notation of Precious Shell's death reflects omission in the original.
• Magnification and contrast adjustment of the blank in the year in notation of the birth of Melissa Elizabeth Curtiss reveals what may be a "2", as in 1842. It was probably originally written in pencil and was already too faded to see by the time someone traced over this data with ink.
• Where "1" appears as the date in the notation of John E. Shell's birth (1 Oct 1803), the DAR transcription is almost illegible. It was previously reported here as a "7", but close examination of the original reveals the same stylized "1" employed in the year, as in 1803.
• The marriage date between Lemmon and Dorotha Shell of 19 Feb 1801 in this transcription is incorrect. The original clearly reads 15 Mar 1792.
• Marthy E. Dugan is listed as Martha E. Shell in Stephen Shell's Bible (#205) and her birthdate there is March 6, 1807. In the Harmon and Lemmon Shell Bible it appears that the original date was 1808 and some attempt was made to alter it to 1809.
• Margaret C. Dugan's death date is listed in the transcription as December 27, 1811. Comparison of the "7" to others on the page reveals an obvious difference from this character, which magnification confirms is a "9", as in December 29, 1811.
• The recording of Mary Shell's birthdate is omitted entirely. It reads "Mary Shell Daughter of Hermon and Elizabeth his wife was born August the 31 1812."