A title page is all that remains of a New Testament bible now in the possession of Dr. James Rawes of Dunmow in Essex. James is a member of the Lisbon Line of Rawes' and inherited the page from his father Percy Lea Rawes of Berkhamsted. The page tells us that the bible was published in 1776. On the reverse are birth details relating to the children of Lanty (1758-1810) and Betty (1862-1822) Rawes of Seatoller in Borrowdale. (Seatoller Line).

[The birth details, along with jottings in the left-hand margin, take up the full length of the page (10in by 8in). The original faint handwriting has been overwritten and appears to range in date from 1782 to 1818, although the latter being the final date could be questioned due to the heavy overwriting. The first entry (Eliz. Rawes, died 1822) and other death dates appear to have been added at a later date. The last entry is a death date in 1840. There appears to be a change in handwriting with Wilson's death in 1821 and again in 1840, when Joseph is recorded as dying. The jottings are to the left of each entry and were made to calculate the ages of the children of Lanty and Betty in 1801. Their youngest child Richard, was born in Feb 1801 and his entry does not have any jottings alongside. It is not known how the title page came into the possession of Percy Lea Rawes or when the bible from which it came was destroyed. Percy Lea Rawes carried out research on his family's origins and both corresponded with Annie Rawes of Grasmere (Jamaica Line) and visited the Lake District. In a letter dated 14th August 1934, published elsewhere on this website, he lists the children of Lancelot and Betty Rawes of Seatoller. He states that he had obtained the information from the 'William Rawes' bible, also published elsewhere on this website, then in the possession of John Rawes of Hodge Close, Langdale. He makes no mention of any other bible and does not know the names of Lancelot or Betty. It is assumed therefore that he must have obtained this title page, or bible, after 1934. The most likely scenario is that he obtained the page from another member of the family, either in Portugal or from the north of England. Percy was a son of James Rawes junior of Lisbon, and grandson of James Rawes senior. James senior was a younger son of Lanty and Betty Rawes, and emigrated to Portugal in 1827 when he was 31. James's father died in 1810 and his mother, as illustrated on the title page, died in 1822. There is a possibility that this lone page is all that remains of a bible once belonging to Lanty & Betty and it is conceivable that James took it out to Portugal with him. Mary Elizabeth, the wife of James Rawes senior, writes of a 'family bible' in 1872. She gave this bible to her son Francis Curteis, the elder brother of James junior, Was this the bible? One can see interesting differences in the entries of the 'William Rawes' bible and that of our bible. Both bibles record the deaths of John (1st) in 1786, Richard in 1818, Wilson in 1821 and Agnes in 1822. William's bible records both the deaths of his eldest sister Mary, and that of William himself in 1870, while our bible records the deaths of Betty, the children's mother, in 1822, and that of Joseph in 1840. Both death entries of Betty and her son Joseph have been added to our bible which may be significant. Joseph left a family but little is known of them. It is also interesting that neither bible records the deaths of James of Oporto in 1851, or Robert Lancaster on London in 1858, or John (2nd) in 1864. Eliz. Rawes Died Nov 9th 1822 Mary Rawes Born April 28th 1782 William Rawes Born Nov 29th 1784 John Rawes Born Novr 7th 1786 Died - 30 John Rawes Born May 3rd 1788 Joseph Rawes Born May 11 1790 Died April 1 1840 Agnes Rawes Born July 14 1792 Died July 2nd 1822 Robert Lancaster Rawes Born Oct 5 1794 James Rawes Born Dec 8 1796 Wilson Rawes Born Feby 24 1799 Died 30th Novr 1821 Richard Rawes Born Feby 18 1801 Died April 20th 1818 [Marginalia:] ----- [M] W J J Feby 11 1801 1801 1801 1801 1784 1786 1788 1782 17 15 13 12 J A RL J 1801 1801 1801 1801 1790 1792 1794 1796 11 9 7 5 W 1801 1799 2 Notes:- The Marginalia suggests that someone was specifically recalling the year 1801, does this suggest that both the bible and individual are contemporary with the date? Transcribed by Julian Rawes, 2003.