Family Bibles

When you hit a brick wall in genealogy your thoughts run to the what ifs.  What if there is an unrecorded deed?  What if there is a family Bible?  It's worse when you know a family Bible existed but you can't locate it.  In her will,  my great-great-great grandmother Ama Ann (Cleveland) Smith wrote "I give and bequeath to my son John W. Smith the family bible which was the property of his grandfather Smith." [Essex County, Mass. Probate #112388]  So there was a family Bible which was the property of James Smith 1809-1885 who came from Co. Armagh, Ireland to New Brunswick, Canada.  The will was written in 1911.  I traced John W. Smith to his death in 1940 in Beverly, Mass. and his wive's death in 1958.  The bible would have passed to one of their three daughters: Gertrude, Edith or Lillian.  I met Edith and she said it went to Gertrude.  She died in 1967 and had six children, one of whom was married to a minister.  I wrote many, many letters to the children.  Sadly, I could never locate the bible.  It may be still out there (if you know of it, please let me know!)  I don't want to own the bible, just look at it for clues!