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Bible Of Baptist Minister Who Perished On Titanic Now On Display At Pigeon Forge

Photo:Petr Kratochvil(publicdomainpictures.net)
Photo:Petr Kratochvil(publicdomainpictures.net)

Reverend Robert J. Bateman, age 51, had been in Bristol, England visiting relatives when he made his return trip on Titanic in 1912. Accompanying him was his sister-in-law Mrs Ada Balls. They travelled in second class. When disaster struck, he helped Ada into lifeboat 10 and said to her “If I don’t meet you again in this world, I will in the next.” He handed his Bible over to her along with his overcoat and tie. His body was recovered by Mackay-Bennett and interred at Evergreen Cemetery, Jacksonville, Florida.

Ada gave the Bible to her sister Emily, his wife. She gave the Bible upon death to Dr. Harry Upperman from the Baxter Seminary in Baxter, Tennessee. The Upper Room Museum purchased the Bible and now it is on loan to Titanic Pigeon Forge through August 2014.

Sources:
1. Bible That Survived Titanic Sinking Now On Display In Pigeon Forge(1 May 2014,WBIR)
2. Robert James Bateman (Encyclopedia Titanica)
3. Titanic Pigeon Forge