The Genesee Historical Collections Center has received a bible from the 1580s on display at the University of Michigan-Flint’s Frances Willson Thompson Library. The bible is currently undergoing conservation.
The Genesee Historical Collections Center was founded in 1976 by Frances Willson Thompson. The archive, run out of UM-Flint, is both a university archive and a local archive for Flint. There are historical records dating back to the 19th century.
Callum Carr, head of archives and associate archivist for the Genesee Historical Collections Center, first inquired about the bible after a visit to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Flint in 2023.
“I had been in contact with Walt Peake at St. Paul’s, and he was very concerned about the materials being kept in the church basement. Those were things like vital records, births, deaths, marriages, and baptisms.” Carr said. “They opened up their fireproof safe to show me what else they had. This included some of their oldest stuff, and that included this bible.”
The bible was donated to the university by St. Paul’s in 2023, and now resides at UM-Flint as part of the archive’s collection indefinitely.
Picture of the bible showcasing a handwritten note in the upper right corner. Photo taken on 9/8/2026 by Maxwell Loxton/MTimes. 
The inside cover for the bible. Photo taken on 9/8/2026 by Maxwell Loxton/MTimes. 
Signature from 1853, when the bible was first stored at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Photo taken on 9/8/2026 by Maxwell Loxton/MTimes.
The bible, commonly referred to as a ‘breeches bible’, was first printed in the 1580s on ragstock and is one of the earliest English translations of the bible.
“This predates the King James bible; it is one of the earliest translations into English. It was translated in Geneva in the 1580s and was printed using a leather press on ragstock paper,” Carr said.
Unfortunately, the bible needs lots of professional conservation work done before it can be put on display in the archives.
“It’s in terrible condition, unfortunately. The binding is bad, the cover is bad, and there’s lots of folding that has happened over the years. It’ll probably be a five to ten thousand dollar restoration to get this up to snuff,” Carr said.
Carr said they hope that after restorations are complete, the bible’s legacy can be fully on display for all Flint residents.
“It’s an incredible piece because it tells not only the story of biblical history and printing in Europe, but also what kind of legacies were in Flint and may still be in Flint today,” Carr said. “It’s a legacy of immense wealth, old families and culture that we kind of lost.”
The Genesee Historical Collection Center is open to the public and students from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and by appointment on Friday.
Maxwell Loxton is a writer for the Michigan Times he can be reached at mloxton@umich.edu.
