- A woman from New Iberia was given a Catholic bible, dated back to the 1800s; but what she didn't expect to find were old, handwritten names.
- “I feel like it doesn’t matter what religion this book is, it holds truth for all of us.”
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
New Iberia. A city that has tons of history.
You can see some of that history in the names on the street signs, like Indest St., or Daspit Rd.; but it's the names in a 200-year-old book that has one local woman looking to connect the past with the present.
"I’ve never in my life seen this kind of bible, even at church.” Thousands of pages lined with gold, hundreds of thousands of verses, dating back to the 19th Century. "The stories are [from] before Jesus Christ, its copyright date is from, like, 1810.”
Five years ago, New Iberia resident Rose Nix was given a pretty rare gift. “I was kinda nervous," said Nix in an interview with KATC's Iberia Parish reporter, Anna Fischer, "and I kept it in a bag to make sure it didn’t get more damaged.”
According to Nix, she used to take care of a couple that previously owned Sorrel Electric in New Iberia "for many, many years.”
And after the couple passed:
“The bible was sitting there, and we were cleaning out the house, so I asked their daughter if she wanted it, and she said no. I asked if it would be alright if I kept it; so I have kept it all this time.”
“It’s beautiful.”
“It’s extremely detailed, and it actually lists marriages, they’re handwritten.”
Birth, death, and marriage records with matching a matching certificate page, all documented in Rose’s bible. "It’s so beautiful to be able to go back and just see the handwriting of someone from 1934, 1968, 1958... and these are local names."
Names like Landry, Falgout, Indest, names that have become staples throughout Acadiana. "In this town it really goes deep; which is why I want to share the book.”A history book, tucked in the pages of a bible. “I feel like it doesn’t matter what religion this book is, it holds truth for all of us.”
If you would like to contact Rose Nix about the bible, call or text 337-201-8933, or reach out to Iberia Parish reporter Anna Fischer.
