RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => Topic started by: chiddicks on Tuesday 25 May 21 07:31 BST (UK)
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As the story teller and family history researcher in my family, over the years I have been gifted many precious family items, some with a story to tell and others I think people were clearing out their lofts and decided I was a worthy cause!
One item however stands out from all the rest and that’s Great Uncle John’s Military ‘Button Stick’.
https://chiddicksfamilytree.com/2020/06/10/52ancestors-handed-down/
I wonder if anyone else has some precious items in their collections?
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I too have items, my Dad’s POW identification from May 1917-March 19 when he came home.Documents etc.
A wounded stripe and also a gadget to stop metal polish getting on his uniform when cleaning buttons.
A little perfume phial of my mother’s sister and a little ivory fan ,as she got very feverish —— died from Tuberculosis in 1929.
A necklace of Crystal and jet beads, it goes with so many outfits and I still wear it ,that was my Mum’s .
A silk scarf, my paternal great grandmother’ born 1840 .
A little sachet off scented cashews ,always in Mum’s handbag as she had the odd cigarette but used the little cashews to take away the smell of smoke.
Oh thousands of things ,Most are labelled but will still get chucked out by my unsentimental children .
Ah well I won’t see that will I!
Viktoria.
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I just looked through my grandfather's old photos and found lots of good info, and photos which had the photographic company's name on the back, from Blackpool to Great Yarmouth.
And I also found gran's ration book.
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I have my great grandmothers 9ct gold spectacles in their shagreen case, they are so tiny like a childs specs. I also have a photo of her along with husband and children where she is wearing them. Two silver chainlink bags/purses and a beautiful detailed beaded one, not sure of who they originally belonged to but I think they were also my great grandmothers, given their age and style.
My grandmothers night dress case made for her when she was a child which is in the shape of an elephant and a beautiful parashute silk hand made, embroidered with cut work Christening gown my grandmother made for the christening of her son (my uncle), which has been used for my mother, myself, cousins and her great grandchildren.
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I have a number of items that were my maternal grandfathers but the one that I treasure the most is his fob watch. Made from base metal, a bit battered (he was a coal miner), sometimes works sometimes it doesn't, but I won't get rid of it. I can remember him using it when I was a 'nipper'.
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Oh yes,Christening gown and my wedding dress !
However did I get in that?
Gave baby clothes ,teddies etc to respective children when I moved ,whether they kept them or not is anyones’s guess ,I could not have thrown them away, - too sentimental.
Viktoria.
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I have a number of items, amongst them I have my grandfather's Princess Mary WW1 brass tin, with card and pencil, he died in 1916.
I have Bibles belonging to two great grandfathers on different sides of my family, both listing BDMs, one entry is the only way I discovered stillborn twins sons in 1832.
I also have that same great grandfather's William IV engraved pewter beer mug. The beer mug is special because I obtained it by chance, it was donated by a collector to a sealed bid auction for charity. Fortunately, a local historian remembered I had visited the town several years early, researching that surname name, she tipped off the organisers that I may be interested and gave them my contact details. I was lucky enough to place the winning bid. That great grandfather died in 1858, so the luck of it finding its way to me 150 years later, is why it is special to me.
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Thanks for sharing all these wonderful heirlooms Viktoria, some real gems there.
You do raise an important issue as well, how do we protect our heirlooms and family history artefacts after we have gone. There is a fear of them all ending up in the skip after we have gone!
I too have items, my Dad’s POW identification from May 1917-March 19 when he came home.Documents etc.
A wounded stripe and also a gadget to stop metal polish getting on his uniform when cleaning buttons.
A little perfume phial of my mother’s sister and a little ivory fan ,as she got very feverish —— died from Tuberculosis in 1929.
A necklace of Crystal and jet beads, it goes with so many outfits and I still wear it ,that was my Mum’s .
A silk scarf, my paternal great grandmother’ born 1840 .
A little sachet off scented cashews ,always in Mum’s handbag as she had the odd cigarette but used the little cashews to take away the smell of smoke.
Oh thousands of things ,Most are labelled but will still get chucked out by my unsentimental children .
Ah well I won’t see that will I!
Viktoria.
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The next thing to do is label the pictures if you can
I just looked through my grandfather's old photos and found lots of good info, and photos which had the photographic company's name on the back, from Blackpool to Great Yarmouth.
And I also found gran's ration book.
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We have the settee given to my ggg-grandmother as a wedding present in 1810. [Was it built by her father? I'm not sure]. The thing was transported from Maine to Wisconsin. It was later tossed into the trash in about 1900 but was salvaged by ggg-grandma's g-grandson-inlaw who put it into his mudroom to sit on when he removed his muddy farm boots. So, it's still in the family and still as hard and uncomfortable as ever.
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These sound so delicate and ornate iluleah, the nightdress case and christening gown sound like wonderful pieces of workmanship and craft, no doubt lots of love went into their creation.
I have my great grandmothers 9ct gold spectacles in their shagreen case, they are so tiny like a childs specs. I also have a photo of her along with husband and children where she is wearing them. Two silver chainlink bags/purses and a beautiful detailed beaded one, not sure of who they originally belonged to but I think they were also my great grandmothers, given their age and style.
My grandmothers night dress case made for her when she was a child which is in the shape of an elephant and a beautiful parashute silk hand made, embroidered with cut work Christening gown my grandmother made for the christening of her son (my uncle), which has been used for my mother, myself, cousins and her great grandchildren.
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I have a number of items that were my maternal grandfathers but the one that I treasure the most is his fob watch. Made from base metal, a bit battered (he was a coal miner), sometimes works sometimes it doesn't, but I won't get rid of it. I can remember him using it when I was a 'nipper'.
Absolutely priceless Allan, you can't put a price on something like that
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Oh yes,Christening gown and my wedding dress !
However did I get in that?
Gave baby clothes ,teddies etc to respective children when I moved ,whether they kept them or not is anyones’s guess ,I could not have thrown them away, - too sentimental.
Viktoria.
it's always nice to share the stories of their origins with our own children, it will certainly help them to appreciate what they mean and how priceless these items are.
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I have a number of items, amongst them I have my grandfather's Princess Mary WW1 brass tin, with card and pencil, he died in 1916.
I have Bibles belonging to two great grandfathers on different sides of my family, both listing BDMs, one entry is the only way I discovered stillborn twins sons in 1832.
I also have that same great grandfather's William IV engraved pewter beer mug. The beer mug is special because I obtained it by chance, it was donated by a collector to a sealed bid auction for charity. Fortunately, a local historian remembered I had visited the town several years early, researching that surname name, she tipped off the organisers that I may be interested and gave them my contact details. I was lucky enough to place the winning bid. That great grandfather died in 1858, so the luck of it finding its way to me 150 years later, is why it is special to me.
Wow what are the chances of finding the pewter mug like that! Serendipity indeed! I only found out about the WW1 tins this year, I believe every soldier on the frontline received one at Christmas.
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We have the settee given to my ggg-grandmother as a wedding present in 1810. [Was it built by her father? I'm not sure]. The thing was transported from Maine to Wisconsin. It was later tossed into the trash in about 1900 but was salvaged by ggg-grandma's g-grandson-inlaw who put it into his mudroom to sit on when he removed his muddy farm boots. So, it's still in the family and still as hard and uncomfortable as ever.
Can you imagine furniture today surviving 200 years! No chance, lucky to get 10 years.
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My grandparents had that settee in their living room in the 1950s and 60s. Only children sat on it; the adults all knew what a leg and back-breaker it was. Perhaps it could be considered a sort of dual heirloom having been originally made for Granny's g-grandmother and having been saved for posterity by my grandfather's father. It was only much later that I learned of its history.
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My grandparents had that settee in their living room in the 1950s and 60s. Only children sat on it; the adults all knew what a leg and back-breaker it was. Perhaps it could be considered a sort of dual heirloom having been originally made for Granny's g-grandmother and having been saved for posterity by my grandfather's father. It was only much later that I learned of its history.
I still can't get over a piece of furniture that old still being used and lasting that long! love to see a picture
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I have my gr grandfather's sea chest, and a wool embroidery of a sailing ship done by him at some stage in his career. Also a sampler made by his future second wife in 1855 when she was aged 10.
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I'm afraid I have no photos that show the settee. It was not a delicately carved or graceful item but, rather, sturdy, serviceable and uncomfortably straight-lined. As I recall, its only ornamentation were some carved knobs at the back of the arm rests. Of course, the cushions must have been replaced many times; they were thin, flat and hard in my day. I'm guessing that it was made of oak but it's been a long time since I saw it. My father had it after my grandparents passed away and then, when he died a few years ago, it was passed on to a younger relative. Here's the original owner, Nancy Davis Tarr b. 1789 in Lewiston, Maine, who got it as a wedding present:
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I have my gr grandfather's sea chest, and a wool embroidery of a sailing ship done by him at some stage in his career. Also a sampler made by his future second wife in 1855 when she was aged 10.
The sea chest sounds really interesting, would love to see a picture if you have one
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I'm afraid I have no photos that show the settee. It was not a delicately carved or graceful item but, rather, sturdy, serviceable and uncomfortably straight-lined. As I recall, its only ornamentation were some carved knobs at the back of the arm rests. Of course, the cushions must have been replaced many times; they were thin, flat and hard in my day. I'm guessing that it was made of oak but it's been a long time since I saw it. My father had it after my grandparents passed away and then, when he died a few years ago, it was passed on to a younger relative. Here's the original owner, Nancy Davis Tarr b. 1789 in Lewiston, Maine, who got it as a wedding present:
What a wonderful picture, you are so lucky to have a picture this old.
I love the way that your lasting memory of it was how uncomfortable it was!
I’ve always wanted a church pew in the hallway, one day maybe
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"how uncomfortable it was"
That's probably what saved its life. During six generations, no one ever said, "I think I'll go curl up on the settee and get comfy with a good book."
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I am starting to feel sorry for the poor old settee,no one seems to have loved it !
A miracle it did not end up as firewood !
Aaaw!
Viktoria.
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"how uncomfortable it was"
That's probably what saved its life. During six generations, no one ever said, "I think I'll go curl up on the settee and get comfy with a good book."
Love that, it’s that uncomfortable it saved its life!
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I have my great-grandfather's wooden tool box from the 1850s. He was a carpenter and it would have been one of the first pieces he made as an apprentice. My Mum used it as a sewing box.
Which reminds me that I have loads of old wooden reels of cotton, buttons etc inherited from various relatives, including some Victorian needles so fine I can barely see them, let alone thread them. Did others of you "play" with button boxes as a child? Have to confess I can still waste time going through them.
Brie
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Oh Mum’s button box, what a wonderful teaching aid,sorting by colour,shape,size,number of holes etc etc .
Mum could tell a story of almost all the special ones ,”That was on a coat I wore at ——“
I have a button box and never throw a garment away without removing buttons .Wartime economies being still practised!
Memories in a tin!
Viktoria.
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Exactly Viktoria,
So many buttons have stories attached.
Also talking of sofas, I have my grandmother's sofa and have recently noticed that interior designers talk of "mid-century furniture" or as I know it - furniture what I grew up with. Makes me feel my age!
Brie
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My grandfather was a "special constable" in the local police force (in the days when Rochdale was a County Borough) during WW1. He was not able to serve as a soldier because of his poor health, but wanted to serve in some way. After the war ended these special constables were presented with mahogany truncheons emblazoned with the Rochdale coat of arms and bearing a silver band inscribed with their name. Along with this I have his lapel button, cap badge and whistle. Grandfather was a musician and I have his conductor's baton and his metronome. Sadly I never knew him, but my mother's tales brought him to life for me.
I also have the family Brussels lace wedding veil worn by 4 generations of our family and my other grandfather's draper's yardstick, not flat like a ruler but rounded. There's a family bible, presented to my paternal gt-grandfather on his marriage by his sister. The front page is inscribed with the names and dates of birth of his children - most helpful, as it included one I didn't know about.
On tidying the attic recently I came across an old hard backed exercise book and found that my mother's aunt had written a story in it for her, one of those tales with a moral from Victorian/Edwardian times, and had illustrated it with pictures cut out from magazines. Mother had filled in the blank pages at the end with more pictures cut out from newspapers and magazines, some showing society beauties she must have admired as a young girl. This same aunt must have fancied her literary skills, as she also wrote a poem celebrating my mother's 21st birthday. This is all in Lancashire dialect and I have to read it aloud to understand it!
There's a letter from my grandfather to his parents, when he visited a family member as a young man. In it he makes a musical joke about the house he was staying in being divided into two flats ! Touchingly there is a list written in beautiful copperplate by my gt-grandfather, his father, in which all his children were listed. He had 6 boys and 4 girls, but only one of the boys, my grandfather, survived. Some of the others were stillborn or survived for just a few hours or days - all carefully recorded.
I will make notes about these objects for my children and hope they will find them as interesting as I do, but I have my doubts - perhaps my grandchildren will be a better bet and have some sense of history.
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Oh. Please send the dialect poem, they are charming and so sad that such a rich heritage is fast disappearing.
In my 45 years in Ramsbottom ,and the demise of the older lifelong residents and influx of newcomers plus the influence of TV,the dialect is fast going.
It was the language taken to Manchester when cottage industries were fading away and the huge (Satanic!) mills in towns were the main employers.
How old and what the origins were is a deep study in itself .
I should like to see it,don’t give a modern version and let’s see if it is intelligible to people who may never have encountered a strong Northern accent / dialect.
What lovely souvenirs .
I have a little pot of what was once perfume ,an Arabic one brought back from his service in Mesopotamia in WWl by Mum’s brother.
It was a cream or oily resinous perfume ,not liquid .
She and he used to sing to wounded soldiers convalescing
after the war.
“ I sing you songs of Araby
and takes of old Kashmir! “
“Pale hands I loved beside the Shalimar”.
Oh different times different sentiments.
Viktoria.
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We have 2 cups from my great grandmothers tea set, sadly no more survived. Also a small brass pig with space to store matches and a strike plate on his tummy. Sadly the Christening gown from my husbands side was passed onto a member of the family who didn’t have any children. Hopefully it will stay in the family. But the item which puzzles us most is a silver trophy which was never engraved, as yet searching online newspapers hasn’t given any answers.
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Not really heirlooms, but I have many rather old, even possibly valuable leather bound quite early printed books that were my grandfathers. I also have books of gold leaf that he used in some of his work, and the tools to apply it (He actually taught me how to do it, when I was a young child, and, when in my 20s I tried, I found he must have taught me properly, so perhaps the skill is itself an heirloom?
I've odd items of jewellery from my grandmother, and from a great aunt, and a wooden hallstand that seems to have followed me around for decades, and also originally belonged to that same grandfather.
I wish that I still had his watercolour sketchbooks, mostly architectural studies, and clearly recognisable as real places where he lived - but they seem to have vanished when he died.
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I have my great-grandfather's wooden tool box from the 1850s. He was a carpenter and it would have been one of the first pieces he made as an apprentice. My Mum used it as a sewing box.
Which reminds me that I have loads of old wooden reels of cotton, buttons etc inherited from various relatives, including some Victorian needles so fine I can barely see them, let alone thread them. Did others of you "play" with button boxes as a child? Have to confess I can still waste time going through them.
Brie
The wooden carpenters box sounds a real treasure and I think you’re right that it was custom and practise for the first item that an apprentice made was his very own tool box
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Oh Mum’s button box, what a wonderful teaching aid,sorting by colour,shape,size,number of holes etc etc .
Mum could tell a story of almost all the special ones ,”That was on a coat I wore at ——“
I have a button box and never throw a garment away without removing buttons .Wartime economies being still practised!
Memories in a tin!
Viktoria.
That made me smile Viktoria, the fact that she remembered where every button originated from
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My grandfather was a "special constable" in the local police force (in the days when Rochdale was a County Borough) during WW1. He was not able to serve as a soldier because of his poor health, but wanted to serve in some way. After the war ended these special constables were presented with mahogany truncheons emblazoned with the Rochdale coat of arms and bearing a silver band inscribed with their name. Along with this I have his lapel button, cap badge and whistle. Grandfather was a musician and I have his conductor's baton and his metronome. Sadly I never knew him, but my mother's tales brought him to life for me.
I also have the family Brussels lace wedding veil worn by 4 generations of our family and my other grandfather's draper's yardstick, not flat like a ruler but rounded. There's a family bible, presented to my paternal gt-grandfather on his marriage by his sister. The front page is inscribed with the names and dates of birth of his children - most helpful, as it included one I didn't know about.
On tidying the attic recently I came across an old hard backed exercise book and found that my mother's aunt had written a story in it for her, one of those tales with a moral from Victorian/Edwardian times, and had illustrated it with pictures cut out from magazines. Mother had filled in the blank pages at the end with more pictures cut out from newspapers and magazines, some showing society beauties she must have admired as a young girl. This same aunt must have fancied her literary skills, as she also wrote a poem celebrating my mother's 21st birthday. This is all in Lancashire dialect and I have to read it aloud to understand it!
There's a letter from my grandfather to his parents, when he visited a family member as a young man. In it he makes a musical joke about the house he was staying in being divided into two flats ! Touchingly there is a list written in beautiful copperplate by my gt-grandfather, his father, in which all his children were listed. He had 6 boys and 4 girls, but only one of the boys, my grandfather, survived. Some of the others were stillborn or survived for just a few hours or days - all carefully recorded.
I will make notes about these objects for my children and hope they will find them as interesting as I do, but I have my doubts - perhaps my grandchildren will be a better bet and have some sense of history.
Oh Gilig so many treasured items you really are so fortunate to have so many things handed down. Sadly not much has survived in my family.
The mahogany truncheons do sound very special though and a very treasured heirloom
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We have 2 cups from my great grandmothers tea set, sadly no more survived. Also a small brass pig with space to store matches and a strike plate on his tummy. Sadly the Christening gown from my husbands side was passed onto a member of the family who didn’t have any children. Hopefully it will stay in the family. But the item which puzzles us most is a silver trophy which was never engraved, as yet searching online newspapers hasn’t given any answers.
Have you tried posting pictures of the trophy online to see if anybody recognises it??
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Not really heirlooms, but I have many rather old, even possibly valuable leather bound quite early printed books that were my grandfathers. I also have books of gold leaf that he used in some of his work, and the tools to apply it (He actually taught me how to do it, when I was a young child, and, when in my 20s I tried, I found he must have taught me properly, so perhaps the skill is itself an heirloom?
I've odd items of jewellery from my grandmother, and from a great aunt, and a wooden hallstand that seems to have followed me around for decades, and also originally belonged to that same grandfather.
I wish that I still had his watercolour sketchbooks, mostly architectural studies, and clearly recognisable as real places where he lived - but they seem to have vanished when he died.
If it means something to you then it is indeed an heirloom, the leather bound books sound very special, maybe we should post pictures of all these wonderful treasures
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Don’t have them now,my rotten sister will have chucked them out when Dad died and before I got there to rescue them.
Someone or others false teeth,I have said elsewhere what fun we had with them ,and my friends,we were not fussy!
I ought to have taken a leaf out of William Brown’s book and charged them so much a minute to wear them!
Viktoria.
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Oh. Please send the dialect poem, they are charming and so sad that such a rich heritage is fast disappearing.
In my 45 years in Ramsbottom ,and the demise of the older lifelong residents and influx of newcomers plus the influence of TV,the dialect is fast going.
It was the language taken to Manchester when cottage industries were fading away and the huge (Satanic!) mills in towns were the main employers.
How old and what the origins were is a deep study in itself .
I should like to see it,don’t give a modern version and let’s see if it is intelligible to people who may never have encountered a strong Northern accent / dialect.
What lovely souvenirs .
I have a little pot of what was once perfume ,an Arabic one brought back from his service in Mesopotamia in WWl by Mum’s brother.
It was a cream or oily resinous perfume ,not liquid .
She and he used to sing to wounded soldiers convalescing
after the war.
“ I sing you songs of Araby
and takes of old Kashmir! “
“Pale hands I loved beside the Shalimar”.
Oh different times different sentiments.
Viktoria.
Viktoria
I do remember elderly relatives singing those "Indian Love Lyrics", such as "Pale hands I loved". We children thought they were a hoot!
I will try to type out Gt-aunt's dialect poem, or at least a part of it (it's quite long). It will be interesting to see how many people can understand it. I also have a little book written in Lancs dialect about "T'Owd Chapel", where my gt-grandfather was organist and choirmaster. Again I have to read it aloud to make sense of it.
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Viktoria
It looks to me as though Auntie Beth mixed up her dialect with everyday speech, but here's the poem:
Lines on Sadie’s coming of age, October 13 1923
A little chilh were born one day
They co-ed it Sarah Anne
It little yead were russet brown
Ur mun we co it tan.
It has it teeth cut i good tyme
Un walked o’ be itsel
But what it did ut afther that
Ihd tak to long to tell.
You may be sure it had it tricks
Or it ud noane bin rech
Un what it darnut do ith house
It thried it on ih street.
But near that twenty one me lass
In’t Bible says tha knows
Ut we mun let them things abee
Its childhood’s days were close.
Un work fur womens never dun
So th’owd proverb says shugheaw
Un tyme us habben thee bi th’hond
Un says ut that a woman neaw.
It has your Milly in it grip
Oh, ah, fur five yor that’s bin thrue
But sin her yure us getten bobbed
Hoo’d yessy pass fur twentytwo.
So keep both heart and spirits up
Un mix your wark wi fun
An then you’ll allaws go thro lyfe
Rech syde o’ twenty one.
By the way, you need to know that my mother had magnificent red hair (verse 1), as did her sister Milly, also mentioned in v 6. They both followed fashion and had it bobbed. Rumour has it that they were the first girls in Rochdale to do so. Sadly by the time my mother reached 21 both her parents were dead.
Well, Viktoria, did the Rochdale dialect make sense to you?
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Oh yes,but Shugheauw will be so strange to many :-
And work for women’s never done,
So the old proverb says you know
A little child was born one day
They called it Sarah Anne
It’s little head was russet brown
But we must call it tan.
It had its teeth cut in good time
And walked all by itself
But what it did after that
I’d take too long to tell.
You may be sure it had its tricks
Or it would not have been right( normal)
And what it daren’t do in the house
It tried it in the street .
But now your’e twenty one my Lass
In the Bible it says you know
That we must leave those things alone,
It’s childhood days are closed.
And work for women is never done
So the old proverb says you know
And time has got you by the hand
And says you are a woman now.
It has your Milly in its grip .
Oh yes,for five years that’s been true
But since her hair’s been bobbed
She’d pass for twenty two!
So keep both heart and spirits up
And mix your work with fun
And then you’ll always go through life
The right side of twenty one!
Thanks very much ,how charming is that !
The softening of two t’s to th - so better becomes bether, is still heard now and again hereabouts.
The use of gotten in the USA is so like dialect getten for got —- “ my sister has getten a dog.
You see that softening in afther for after .
Cheerio,and thanks again .Viktoria.
PS, the Indian love lyrics are pretty heady stuff!
Written by a woman ,but in Edwardian days women were not supposed to be passionate !
So she used a pseudonym Laurence Hope .The young wife of a middle aged British Arny Officer in India ,she was head over heels in love with him !
They had a child in which she had no real interest .
Pale hands I loved beside the Shalimar.
Where are you now who lies beneath your spell.?
Whom do you send on rapture’s roadway far
Before you agonise them in farewell ?
Pale hand pink tipped like lotus buds that float
On those cool waters where we used to dwell
I would have rather felt them round my throat.
Crushing out life than waving me farewell .
Oooer I shall have to throw a bucket of cold water on myself ?
The song is from the view of a little nautch girl being abandoned by a British soldier .
The Shalimar was a lake on which house boats floated ,water lilies grew in abundance and lotus flowers .
A rendezvous !
I can visualise a huge soprano and weedy tenor singing the passionate words
in someone’s parlour ,
The woman who wrote the passionate words coped for only a year after her husband died from complications following a serious operation.
Forgetting her baby,she walked into a river and drowned herself.
On that cheerful note—
Viktoria.
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American usage distinguishes between the past participles 'got' and 'gotten.' They don't mean the same thing. Has got a dog = owns or possesses a dog. Has gotten a dog = has acquired a dog.
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Thanks Erato, not knowing what you have explained the sense I wanted to make in that sentence was that my sister has recently got a dog ,not that she has had a dog for some time.
Is that right?
Viktoria.
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Here you are Viktoria - a bit of Kent dialect! It is part of a long poem called Dick and Sal at Canterbury Fair. My grandfather used to recite this verse, I presume it was all he knew or remembered.
An so we sasselsail'd along,
An crass de fields we stiver'd,
While dickey lark kep up his song
An at de clouds conniver'd
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And so we sauntered along ( or sashayed?)
And across the fields we strove ( struggled)some tense of to strive?)
Whilst the skylark kept up his song
And at the clouds connived ?
That is the best I can do-
I like that.Thankyou.
I think old songs and sayings are as much heirlooms as artefacts are .
Viktoria.
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I am fortunate in having so many items from my great grandfather. He was a gamekeeper in his early twenties, and passed his gun onto my father, who disabled it, and then left it to me. i’m not sure if it was the same great grandfather who made it but i also have a home made blanket chest, also loved and used for storage. My grandmothers wedding ring i wear every day. My brother inherited the grandfather clock, which i remember seeing in my great grandfathers house over 60 years ago, which will be passed to my son along with the gun.
I don’t have a lot from my mother’s side as she came from a large family, but do have what my aunt described as “the Turner vase” a large pot which my grandmother kept peacock feathers in but could have been an umbrella stand.
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I have a small "notepad" made of 5 or 6 leaves of ivory. It was used to write notes to one of my gt-grandmothers who had become completely deaf in her old age. Although not acceptable nowadays, ivory was smooth and non-porous so it could be wiped and reused indefinitely. I have never seen anything else like it.
My favourite heirloom is a nearly complete set of wooden building bricks made by another gt-grandparent for his children. They are very Gothic in style and include glazed windows!
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I saw one "notebook" as you describe. It belonged to my grandfather who was a builder. He used it to record measurements, timber lengths etc. My mother donated it to a small local museum. My mother thought that it was made from bone, but the museum note with it states that it is made from ivory. I was surprised how clearly a pencil could write on it. The pages were about 2 x 2 inches. It was a dull yellow colour.
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Viktoria
What a lovely version of great-aunt Beth's poem! I will print it out and keep it with the original script for future generations. "Shugheaw" had me puzzled, I must admit. I thought it was probably "sure", which would have been pronounced with two syllables and the "gh" would have been soft. I don't remember Beth speaking with a broad accent, let alone in dialect. She and two of her sisters never married and lived to a great age, As a small child I was convinced they were witches, as they always wore black!
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I wonder if girls at dances would have used an ivory pad when reserving
dances?
Viktoria.
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Viktoria,
They did. I've seen some Georgian ones somewhere but I can't remember where....
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Probably in a museum display in Bath?
(Many decades later, when plastics were developed, writing tablet "swatches" made of celluloid were made - bit of a fire risk if at a candlelit ball?
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Saw a Roman writing tablet ,wax in a shallow frame and a wooden or metal tool to flatten the wax after use and a pointed end to scratch writing on t
There was still a message on the wax, at Roman Corbridge - Corstopitum.
I think it said “ No milk today.”
Viktoria...
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Usually those wooden ones, wax coated, were either hinged or held together in pairs, which effectively protected the message. One end of the stylus was pointy, the other flatter to smooth the wax surface ( for replies?)
TY
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I could not bring the word to mind and can’t see the dictionary , kept thinking strigilbut knowing full welll that was for use at the bsths to scrape the olive oil from the skin .
Wonder what the postage was?
;D
Viktoria.
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It would be great to see some pictures of all these wonderful heirlooms
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I don’t know how to,post a photo onto RootsChat( There are a few other things I don’t know as well!)
Viktoria.
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My Pig match holder. My dad remembers it always being on the mantle piece.
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Gillis,I forgot to say ,one word us pure Flemish “ hebben” to have.
“ We hebben “ we have.
Old English and Flemish have many similarities ,and English
dialects must have more than modern English I would imagine.
Shropshire for how are you “ ‘ow bist you?”
she isn’t “ er binna”.
Flemish for I am is Ik ben .
Strange , the similarity.
I have forgotten so much ,but the driver on the journey to hospital on Friday had lived in Holland so we had a laugh in our imperfectly remembered Dutch and Flemish!
I think yet again I asked for sardines without fur and legs as I did so many years ago !
Viktoria.
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Viktoria
I find a lot of Flemish and Dutch words have echos in German, so I can just about read in those languages from my knowledge of German
Flemish "hebben" - German "haben"
"ik ben" - "ich bin"
but the Shropshire "'ow bist you" is a bit like the German "wer bist du?" (in that case "who are you")
It's all very fascinating. I particularly like the word "hoo" for "she" in Lancs and have heard it still used quite often when I'm "up North".
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Yes in my first days in Ramsbottom ,chatting with a neighbour,,a woman passéd,, the woman to whom I was speaking said .”who’s been ill?”
Well that is what I thought she said ,in fact it was “ hoo’s bin ill”.
A statement not a question about the passing woman.
An old lady used to say “Cast your bread upon the waters and it will come back buttered toast “
ie. be kind and kindness will be shown to you.
Cast yer bread upon th’wathers an it’ll come back butherrd thoast.
There was also the tradition of naming someone using their antecedents ,so my eldest so would be John o’ Bill’s o’ Jack’s o’ Sam’s o’ Tom’s etc.
Only worked everyone knew families generations back.
Eee,nowt so strange as fowk!
Viktoria.
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This thread is good enough for a story some wonderful heirlooms and stories associated with them if nobody has any objections, I might write a little story about these.
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Anything that keeps a dialect alive can’t be bad.
If I can help you don’t hesitate to ask.
Cheerio, ( A’ll sithee )I ‘ll see you, — I will be seeing you “.
Viktoria ,
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I saw one "notebook" as you describe. It belonged to my grandfather who was a builder. He used it to record measurements, timber lengths etc. My mother donated it to a small local museum. My mother thought that it was made from bone, but the museum note with it states that it is made from ivory. I was surprised how clearly a pencil could write on it. The pages were about 2 x 2 inches. It was a dull yellow colour.
https://www.antiques-atlas.com/antique/antique_ivory_ladies_chatelaine_aide_memoire/as144a385
from memory it looked something like this but had no days written on pages
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"Anything that keeps a dialect alive can’t be bad."
I seem to recall that you were rather dismissive of the New York dialect.
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Ah but Erato, my dialect is specific to one area , given the number of immigrants who flooded into N.Y, there it will be a “ compound dialect” many different ones all together.
It is rich - especially from the Language of
of Eastern European Jews .
Still in use whereas hereabouts the local one is dying fairly quickly due to outside influences like TV etc.
Exit Viktoria chased by bear!
Viktoria.
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Will add these heirlooms into a bit of a story unless anybody specifically wants me to leave their one out
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I have my great grandfather's journal, written on board ship from Adelaide to London in May/June 1886.
His father (my great-great granddad) was transported in 1846 but unusually he made good and twenty years later he was able to return to England a fairly wealthy man. My great grandad was 16 at the time and he wrote his journal every day during the sea trip, recording the daily routine of the passengers, the weather and the sights when they neared land. It must have been so exciting.
At the end of the diary there are several pages of recipes. Great grandad later became a master baker and confectioner and it's clear that even at 16 he was into cooking.
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I have my great grandfather's journal, written on board ship from Adelaide to London in May/June 1886.
His father (my great-great granddad) was transported in 1846 but unusually he made good and twenty years later he was able to return to England a fairly wealthy man. My great grandad was 16 at the time and he wrote his journal every day during the sea trip, recording the daily routine of the passengers, the weather and the sights when they neared land. It must have been so exciting.
At the end of the diary there are several pages of recipes. Great grandad later became a master baker and confectioner and it's clear that even at 16 he was into cooking.
They must be like gold dust to get an heirloom like this that documents a sea voyage like this. Have you transcribed the diaries? Or used any of the recipes?
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I'm afraid I haven't tried any of the recipes. They are more like aide-memoirs ad are not very exact.
For example:
Devonshire
1 1/2 lb butter
Sugar
3 flour
1 vienna
and no instructions.
I have in the past thought about transcribing the diary but don't know if anyone would be interested in it :) There are no other passengers' names mentioned, though g-grandad talks about a blind man who played music on Sundays for the church services, and a lady whose baby died on board and was buried at sea.
The voyage lasted from 18th May till 28th June 1886 and once disembarked at the Royal Albert Docks they took the train to Watford, where g-g-grandad had been born 63 years previously. I bet he saw a few changes.
Bev
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I'm afraid I haven't tried any of the recipes. They are more like aide-memoirs ad are not very exact.
For example:
Devonshire
1 1/2 lb butter
Sugar
3 flour
1 vienna
and no instructions.
I have in the past thought about transcribing the diary but don't know if anyone would be interested in it :) There are no other passengers' names mentioned, though g-grandad talks about a blind man who played music on Sundays for the church services, and a lady whose baby died on board and was buried at sea.
The voyage lasted from 18th May till 28th June 1886 and once disembarked at the Royal Albert Docks they took the train to Watford, where g-g-grandad had been born 63 years previously. I bet he saw a few changes.
Bev
Thanks, Bev, I am sure that there would be plenty of people absolutely fascinated to see and hear the stories from the sea voyage. Anyone with seafaring ancestors will love to hear these stories, even the mundaneness of a long voyage will still have lots of valuable information that anyone with an ancestor who has travelled a similar journey will love to hear about.
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I'm very belatedly catching up on this thread; what interesting items you have.
I have two things I particularly treasure. The first is my great-grandfather's garden spade! It was probably made in the 1860s or 70s when he was newly married and doubtless followed him to his various homes till he died in 1941 - a few years before I was born. I suppose it went to his youngest son because he was farming the farm great-grandfather had managed from 1911 then bought in 1916. From there my mum inherited it and so to me. It's too heavy for me these days - I plan to give it to my eldest son in Yorkshire since he's become a gardener.
The other item is rather older: the leather bound "exercise" book of my GGG grandfather, dated 1779. He was privately tutored by a JQ (John Quant, we think) who wrote out, long-hand of course, a huge number of arithmetical problems for young Simeon, aged 13-15, to solve eg:
How many quarters of corn may be bought for 160 guineas at 4s a bushel? or
What is the rebate of a debt of £150 due 4 months hence at 4 per cent per annum? or
If a man spends 7s 6d per day, how long will 50 guineas serve him?
Then there are imaginary quotations for carpentry work or tiling a house to be calculated, and much more!
I hope at least one of my 8 grandchildren might be interested in hanging on to this one day..
Margaret
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Thanks for sharing these with us Margaret, love the spade, I don't think that I have ever come across such an unusual heirloom when you think that today we live in such a throwaway world, it's amazing it survived so long.
The exercise book sounds amazing, would love to see a picture of you have one.
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Here's a couple of photos of the book, the cover and a typical early page.
Margaret
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And here's a calculation for tiling a roof !
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Yes, we put the results at the top ,and the remainder is isolated by a line extreme right .
We could do the subtraction below then, so 4 into 6 = 1 carry the remainder 2 to the next digit ie 5,so then it is how many times does four go into 25, etc.
——————-
4/65943201
I can remember doing long and short division before the 11+ exam, so we would be ten or so.
But it amazes me how hard work was for children years and years ago.
My sister in law gave my son (at Uni) his grandad’s Maths text and exercise books from Nightschool aged 14, he left school at that age in 1917.
Bright but no chance of going to Grammar School ,finances would not allow that.
My son was very impressed ,he had done Pure and Applied Maths at A Level
and what his Grandad had done was very advanced ,especially considering his age.
Thanks.
Viktoria.
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Those books and the entries are stunning terragram, you are so lucky to have such wonderful heirlooms, the writing looks wonderful. Thank you for sharing these on here I really appreciate it.
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Ah, yes, they were called 'guzintas' in the olden days.
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I have two particular cherished heirlooms.
The first is a family bible, dated 1845.
The second is a gate leg table, which was bought in 1935 by my grandmother with 12s 6d left to her at her own mother's death - it was in thanks for her travelling weekly from Walthamstow to Greenwich to clean my great grandmother's rooms.
t's a small oak side table, with barley twist legs, one of which has been put in upside down so it turns the opposite way from the others.
This little table, now 86 years old, has just journeyed with me on my house move from Oxford to Sheffield (via a period in storage), and was immediately arranged in our new living room by my daughter.
The connection through from my great grandmother (born in 1851 in Rutland) through to my grandmother (born 1888 in Greenwich) to my father (born 1915 in Leyton) to me and now to my daughter.
;D
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I have two particular cherished heirlooms.
The first is a family bible, dated 1845.
The second is a gate leg table, which was bought in 1935 by my grandmother with 12s 6d left to her at her own mother's death - it was in thanks for her travelling weekly from Walthamstow to Greenwich to clean my great grandmother's rooms.
t's a small oak side table, with barley twist legs, one of which has been put in upside down so it turns the opposite way from the others.
This little table, now 86 years old, has just journeyed with me on my house move from Oxford to Sheffield (via a period in storage), and was immediately arranged in our new living room by my daughter.
The connection through from my great grandmother (born in 1851 in Rutland) through to my grandmother (born 1888 in Greenwich) to my father (born 1915 in Leyton) to me and now to my daughter.
;D
Great story Igor and what a priceless family heirloom and piece of furniture and how wonderful that it connects so many generations of your family together.
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;D ;D ;D
4 guzinta 8 two times.
Well it did when I was at Junior school in the 1940’s .
But things change!
Viktoria.
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It is not actually in my possession now, but in store awaiting someone to give it a good home .
A very inexpensive at the time ,1896,bedroom suite which was my paternal grandparents’ ,bought 1896 when they married.
It would have been inexpensive for they were of very modest means .
I say inexpensive but very well made .
Was a maroon varnish trying to look like mahogany ,but it came to me from my father’s sister when she died ,she lived with their father and her and my father’s brother,after she married.
It survived the fire from an incendiary bomb which dropped down the chimney on the night of December 23 rd 1940 when Manchester was very badly bombed.
Grandad was dropped into the cellar still in his armchair as he refused to go to the communal shelter - well Hitler was not getting him into any air raid shelter,no but grandad was in hospital for three or more months, with extensive burns.
It came to me when Auntie died and I had it stripped to reveal fairly dark wood ,but hand waxed it was lovely .
I gave it to my grandson when I downsized ,they have a very modern house with lots of built in furniture he has done himself ,so it is in store and I told them to sell it or chalk paint it then sell it .
So at 125 years old it is still going strong if not in use at the moment ,however a new baby in November ,so it may be useful again.
It looked lovely in my Victorian house.
But a bit silly in my modern one.
Viktoria.
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i have had so many people send me pictures and tell stories behind their favourite family heirlooms that I have had to write two stories about them there were so many!!
Part 1 is here with Part 2 to follow!!
https://chiddicksfamilytree.com/2021/08/14/whats-your-favourite-family-heirloom/
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Part 2 is here and there are some beautiful heirlooms included here and some even more wonderful stories about there origins.
https://chiddicksfamilytree.com/2021/08/29/whats-your-favourite-family-heirloom-part-2/
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I have a pocket watch belonging to my great great grandfather from c1913
A ring that belonged to my great grandfather c1940's
A box of bits belonging to my grandfather, books, a watch, cups
My other grandfathers ww2 ration book
A necklace that belonged to my grandfather
A birthday postcard from the 1920's that was sent to my great grandfather from his grandmother (my great,great,great grandmother)
A tea set that belonged to my grandmothers grandmother
Recently my 92 year old grandmother passed away, we've cleared her loft out and found...
A Bible given to my great great grandfather in 1892 from the Sunday school
A Bible given to my great great grandmother in 1898
A Bible given to my great,great,great grandfather dated 25th March 1877
But the most amazing one is a Bible given to my great,great,great grandparents on the day of their wedding by the vicar on the 6th November 1862!!!
I used to ask grandma if she knew anything about these people and she played dumb 😂
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I have a pocket watch belonging to my great great grandfather from c1913
A ring that belonged to my great grandfather c1940's
A box of bits belonging to my grandfather, books, a watch, cups
My other grandfathers ww2 ration book
A necklace that belonged to my grandfather
A birthday postcard from the 1920's that was sent to my great grandfather from his grandmother (my great,great,great grandmother)
A tea set that belonged to my grandmothers grandmother
Recently my 92 year old grandmother passed away, we've cleared her loft out and found...
A Bible given to my great great grandfather in 1892 from the Sunday school
A Bible given to my great great grandmother in 1898
A Bible given to my great,great,great grandfather dated 25th March 1877
But the most amazing one is a Bible given to my great,great,great grandparents on the day of their wedding by the vicar on the 6th November 1862!!!
I used to ask grandma if she knew anything about these people and she played dumb 😂
Wow, what a collection of heirlooms to inherit Jason!! The bibles are like gold dust, the one from 1862 must be so precious and so delicate.
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Having a good tidy of what must be thousands of photographs,which were in order but I am always pleased to get copies for other people doing their particular branch of the family tree so they had got somewhat out of order.
Stuff is pretty well labelled but will they mean anything to my children?
I truly don’t think so.
A short length of lavender silk ribbon in memory of my maternal grandmother .with a little poem .
Died 1932 ,dates etc and ,can’t remember just off hand but the gist is how she would wait at the open door to see all the children were safely home,even when they had started working.
That she would still be watching at heaven’s window waiting by heaven’s gate
fretting that one or other was late .
It is sentimental but they all thought the world of her .
It is shredding now on the fold so I have stabilised it .
It was a sort of memorial given out at her funeral.
The bill for my other grandma ‘s funeral ,in total £6-14-6 .September 1916 ,just as my Dad was called up .
The grave plot paid by her brother from Shropshire where she lived prior to going to work in Manchester in early 1890.
Never a headstone .
Too poor.
I really don’t’know what will become of them ,my children have no interest whatsoever ,nor my sister.
If nothing else they have given me hours and hours of interest and it is how I found RootsChat ,so how good is that!
Thanks for your list ,really interesting .
Viktoria.
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Thanks Viktoria, it's so sad the thought of all the things that get handed down and are so precious to us, eventually will get thrown away. Heartbreaking really.
Before I started my family history, all my grandparents had sadly passed away and I can remember helping to empty their houses, having absolutely no idea then, how precious these items could be. Luckily somehow I spotted my great-grandfathers WW1 medals and at the time I thought that they looked interesting.............and 20 years later I'm still researching!
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I found a letter that my great grandfather sent my great grandmother in 1914. They wed in 1919 so knew each other for years beforehand.
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I loved to “ root” ,that is look at things in cupboards etc .
My parents married in 1933 ,Dad must have taken a few photographs with him from his father’s home.
Most precious is the only one in existence of his mother ,a family group of her parents , her four brothers ,younger sister and my grandmother.
It would be taken after the 1891 census .
She left her native Shropshire to work as a servant in Manchester ,met grandad ,married in 1896,,had three children and died in 1916 just as my father was conscripted into the Army.
She was fifty.
There were a few other snaps and some nice portraits of my mother and father..Many of my older sister and two of me!
Very few belongings, that grandma’s wedding ring which had been base metal with a thin gold layer.One brooch ,a tiny black box .
He ring was taken from my sister’s when her house was burgled.
That is all of her.
I do not know if she had a Shropshire accent,most probably she did.
Nothing of my other grandma but a few photographs ,and some false teeth that may have been hers—— ?
The lavender mourning ribbon.
But the wonderful stories my mother told of that grandma and their family life.
They are so rich and funny ,a bright witty family .
My mother’s stories are like a book of social history , her mother a typical
Mother, capital letter on purpose.
All for her children and she and grandad devoted to each other.
She it was who when a neighbour commented on grandma being pregnant yet again - said “ All my children are born out of love and every one is welcome”.She had twelve in 25 years.
I have recounted some , they are written down but I fear will die with me.
Little known of my Dad’s mother.
I have very little of my mother’s few possessions .
Two Cristal necklaces ,one clear and one clear with some jet beads too.
A handbag she had at my wedding ,in it her gloves and a little sachet made by her ,of scented cashews ,a hankie.
A perfume bottle and a tiny pot which had perfumed cream in it .
A little dressing table vase and a cut glass vase.
A tiny cut glass pot with silver lid.
Her icing sugar caster.
Her mince pie tins ,bought at Woolworths in 1933 for 6d each.
Hankies ,all ironed by her .
She died in 1957 aged 61.
My children did not know her,my first son was just over four months when she died.
Again very few photographs.
So much lost in the blitz , there are some photographs ,but a gap of four and a half years when I was an evacuee ,from three and a half to eight.
They will all get chucked out ,my children are not sentimental really .
Second son will want Dad’s WW1 things.
Ah, well, all is transient , and we must make way for the new.
But- stop the world I want to get off !
Viktoria.
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I found a letter that my great grandfather sent my great grandmother in 1914. They wed in 1919 so knew each other for years beforehand.
Sadly I don't have any letters at all that were sent by any of my Ancestors
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I loved to “ root” ,that is look at things in cupboards etc .
My parents married in 1933 ,Dad must have taken a few photographs with him from his father’s home.
Most precious is the only one in existence of his mother ,a family group of her parents , her four brothers ,younger sister and my grandmother.
It would be taken after the 1891 census .
She left her native Shropshire to work as a servant in Manchester ,met grandad ,married in 1896,,had three children and died in 1916 just as my father was conscripted into the Army.
She was fifty.
There were a few other snaps and some nice portraits of my mother and father..Many of my older sister and two of me!
Very few belongings, that grandma’s wedding ring which had been base metal with a thin gold layer.One brooch ,a tiny black box .
He ring was taken from my sister’s when her house was burgled.
That is all of her.
I do not know if she had a Shropshire accent,most probably she did.
Nothing of my other grandma but a few photographs ,and some false teeth that may have been hers—— ?
The lavender mourning ribbon.
But the wonderful stories my mother told of that grandma and their family life.
They are so rich and funny ,a bright witty family .
My mother’s stories are like a book of social history , her mother a typical
Mother, capital letter on purpose.
All for her children and she and grandad devoted to each other.
She it was who when a neighbour commented on grandma being pregnant yet again - said “ All my children are born out of love and every one is welcome”.She had twelve in 25 years.
I have recounted some , they are written down but I fear will die with me.
Little known of my Dad’s mother.
I have very little of my mother’s few possessions .
Two Cristal necklaces ,one clear and one clear with some jet beads too.
A handbag she had at my wedding ,in it her gloves and a little sachet made by her ,of scented cashews ,a hankie.
A perfume bottle and a tiny pot which had perfumed cream in it .
A little dressing table vase and a cut glass vase.
A tiny cut glass pot with silver lid.
Her icing sugar caster.
Her mince pie tins ,bought at Woolworths in 1933 for 6d each.
Hankies ,all ironed by her .
She died in 1957 aged 61.
My children did not know her,my first son was just over four months when she died.
Again very few photographs.
So much lost in the blitz , there are some photographs ,but a gap of four and a half years when I was an evacuee ,from three and a half to eight.
They will all get chucked out ,my children are not sentimental really .
Second son will want Dad’s WW1 things.
Ah, well, all is transient , and we must make way for the new.
But- stop the world I want to get off !
Viktoria.
Viktoria you are blessed to have such wonderful family treasures and to know the history and stories that go with these wonderful heirlooms, very precious indeed.
is there any chance of grandchildren being interested, especially if you capture their imagines at a young age and can tell stories about the objects, maybe you can get them off the games consoles and pique their interest???
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My grandchildren are 30( father to Flash Harry 5)and 27.
W took them to where I lived and from where my paternal grandmother came.
Lived with her sister for a short time during the war,then when she became ill
with other people not related.
My own children are not interested .
However the info is all there should they become interested .
I did tell some of the stories , but my mother died when my first son was just
five months old ,my father was in Manchester when we lived in Belgium so other than holiday visits both ways not a lot contact to there either for the almost twelve years of our stay.
I could collate it all and keep all the certificates, photographs etc then if anyone becomes interested it is all there.
I have enjoyed doing it though so there is that.
Cheerio .Viktoria.