THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 1, 1995 TAG: 9509300092
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Elizabeth Thiel and Eric Feber
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
The little angel was dressed in feminine turquoise trimmed with lace with matching satin ballet slippers on her feet. A gold crown topped her blond locks. Blush and eye makeup accented her cherubic face.
Emily M. Bunch, a 4-year-old Chesapeake beauty, already has more pageant titles than years on this Earth. She was recently crowned Young Miss USA.
She demonstrated her poise and charm Tuesday for an admiring City Council, her mother's camera flashing and popping.
Mayor William E. Ward presented her with a proclamation congratulating her for making the city proud, then cooed with delight when Emily presented him with a money clip.
But she appeared somewhat disbelieving when Ward, gesturing to the all-male council, said she'd probably join their ranks someday.
``We need some young ladies up there to help us,'' he said.
Emily waved a pageant wave and was gone. Find of biblical proportions
There are occasional news items about some lucky person finding a forgotten Rembrandt in someone's attic or a genuine Chippendale chair at some flea market.
Dori E. Skiff didn't find anything of those lofty proportions, but she was close.
A couple of weeks ago the Deep Creek resident was in Virginia Beach sifting through items at a yard sale. She looked through a bunch of books and one caught her eye. She presented her find to the person running the sale. The tome in question was offered to Skiff for only $1. Needless to say Skiff plunked down her buck and was amazed at her find.
``It's a Bible published in 1846,'' Skiff said. ``I thought that was a pretty neat find.''
The book is 13 inches high and 7 inches wide and sports a rather worn dark leather cover.
``The Bible is in good condition, but you can tell that the family that owned it used it a lot,'' Skiff explained. ``The pages are a little yellowed, but that's all.''
After carefully perusing the King James Bible published by the New York-based American Bible Society and ``translated out of the original tongues,'' Skiff soon decided she really couldn't keep this rare find.
In the middle of the book, just before the Gospel of St. Matthew, Skiff discovered family records of the Davison clan.
``The records show that the family is headed by James B. Davison,'' she said. ``It shows that he married Priscilla G. Dyer on April 25, 1877.''
The family history then itemizes the births of the Davisons' children: Emmett Claude Davison on Feb. 24, 1878; Nora Edith Davison on June 5, 1879; Mary J. Davison on June 20, 1880; Maggie E. Davison on Sept. 13, 1881; and Clarence M. Davison on Feb. 17, 1883.
Skiff noted that the names of Mary J. and Maggie E. had the small words dead written next to them in small ink lettering. Died during childbirth or later on? Who knows, she said, there were no other details in the records.
``I can't keep this Bible. It's part of some family's history,'' Skiff said. ``I think it's wonderful, but it's not my family.''
In her search for the family, she phoned every Davison in the phone book and consulted with telephone information to find any more. None claimed to be the Davisons noted in the old Bible.
One other clue found in the religious tome was an old newspaper obituary clipping from 1908 for a Mr. Gray, a former teacher of physiology at the College of Medicine in Richmond.
``I've heard from a couple of churches who would like me to donate the Bible to them,'' she said. ``But I want the rightful family to have it. If I can't find them, I may just give it over to some college or university around here. I don't know yet.''
Skiff is hoping that anyone who knows of the Davison family - all indications are that they lived here in Hampton Roads - should contact Town Talk at the Clipper office at 436-6490. We'll get in touch with Skiff.
One more thing about the Bible.
Skiff said it is in perfect condition save for the fact that the last page of the Book of Revelations is missing. A portent of apocalyptic proportions? Signs of things to come?
``No, the page was eaten by a bookworm,'' she explained. by CNB