Family Stuff

[CG6468]

What kind of stuff do you have that was owned by previous members of your family or families? Any heirlooms, furniture, lamps, tables or other items?

We have a loveseat my dad pulled from a scrap heap in Buffalo, NY, and had restored; my wife's father's lantern that he used on the Canadien National railroad; two old clocks that were owned by my aunt and my grandmother; my wife's grandparents' marble top table and a porcelain clock given to them on their wedding day in 1894; an ornate mahogany wood hallway mirror with a marble shelf from her other grandparents; the steamer trunks used by my grandmother (dad's mom) when she came to the USA from Sweden, and by my wife's grandmother (her mom's mother) when she came to the USA from Ireland.

...for starters. Our home has become the old family museum.

[DefiantSix]

Unfortunately it just got totaled out in an accident, but for the last 5 years I'd been driving the truck I inherited when my father died.  I've also got his Taurus 627 revolver and his Marlin .30-30.

[cmypay]

Our house is pretty much furnished by our families, mostly my husband's: our bedroom suite is the one his grandparents were given for the wedding, dinette set was bought in Guam my Grandad, a Grandmother's clock in one room, mantel clock in the other from a great aunt, a beautiful tiger oak table from great-grandparents. Every time I think about new furniture, I go through the whole process of what would I give up and so far, the answer has been none of the above, so we have just decorated in American Antique.

[Karin]

My dad was an engineer, and in his spare time he built furniture in his workshop.  A very precise kind of guy, this is good stuff that has lasted.  There are no stuck drawers, or handles falling off, or chairs that "rock."  I have a dresser, a child's desk set, and a headboard all over 50 years old.  Very nice, and I love remembering him when I look at them.  Just a testament to what kind of a man he was.  He did the job right.  

I also have this large silver bowl, in a Victorian style.  It's all ornate and stuff.  Nobody in the family wanted it, they thought it was too ugly, and they were right.  But it's enscribed with "Mother, 1887" and I'd always been enamoured of that, so I've carted it around.  Even my grandmother said "yeah, go ahead and take that."  I was just a kid.      

[shadeaux]

China I rarely use, an antique gun, tons of magnalite cookware, ceramics my mother made I can't seem to part with. 

[longview]

A tea cup and some costume jewelry from my mother.  My parent's first bed frame.  Also a soapstone vase from my maternal grandmother that my sister and I send back and forth.  We got it when my mother passed away. 

We've had more fun with that vase.  Whoever has it at the time, ships it with a note along the lines of "Really... you were mom's favorite and I know she wanted you to have this" and gives some squirrely rationale to support that.  It traverses the country every 8 or 10 months, it seems.

[BEG]

A small chair, I think it's a sewing chair maybe that says The Phoenix Chair Company on the bottom. We got it from my husbands grandparents. I think it was from his grandma's parents. I have one of those head vases, I'll see if I can find a picture of one. I got it from my grandma and it came from her mom. We have a set of encyclopedias from my husbands grandparents. I bunch of things from Iran from my husband's grandparents. They lived there for a few years (back before it was a totally screwed up country), he was an accountant for an oil company.

A typewriter (I love it, I display it in my red cabinet) from my husband's grandpa. An old slot machine that was my mom's, my step dad bought it for her years ago but she gave it to me. I'm trying to remember what year it is, I think it's from the 1930's.  Books from my dad when he was a boy, like Lassie. All of our (my brothers and me) old Dr. Seuss books. Two old fans that still work. One from my grandparents and one from my husband's. Two old irons (the kind you put on the stove) from my great grandma. Two of those green plastic (I can't remember what it's called) luncheon plates from my husband's grandma. The kind that were used years ago in school when you went through the lunch line. My husband has a couple guns from his great great grandpa.

I know I have other things, I'll have to think on it awhile.

[IassaFTots]

Ah, with the exception of my sofa, and my bed, and a few shelving units, EVERYTHING is a hand-me-down.  I have a round pedestal table that seats four, primarily used to butcher chickens by my great-grandmother.  Many cane-backed chairs, and other side chairs.  Some from my Grandparents, others from my Dad and Pappaw, from their world travels.  Got a camel seat too.  My most cherished items are ones I recovered from my Grandparent's house, on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  After Katrina, it no longer exists, but I have a hand painted punch cup (one of 12) and some mirrors that survived, that will always go with me, wherever I might end up.  I also acquired some lovely things from my dear Etta (RIP) this year.  Two marble topped dressers, a glass fronted bookcase, that was her Mom's at the rural schoolhouse in NC, and a Tom's peanut jar.  As well as a few big ole pickle jars.  Her dad had a general store. 

[FiddyBeowulf]

Dutch language family bible from the 1600's.

[vesta111]

Dutch language family bible from the 1600's.

Now you are talking Fiddy, I hope the Bible is in a safe secure place like on loan to a museum and kept in a humidify controlled chamber.    Never handled with bare hands.   Never donate anything as it will be lost or stolen, insure and just loan on a, at will return to you policy.

Took a private patient to the Museum she donated family belongings to and they all turned up Missing. Poor old lady could not get any answers as to where her donated items were and who had them. Took her to a lawyer and come to find out had she just sold the items instead of donating them she could have gotten 5 times the worth then the tax right off.

Her intent was for her items to be displayed for the enjoyment and education of the public, she assumed she could visit and see her family's history.    Donate, the tax right off is at the time of donation, when the value goes way up, one cannot get it back or perhaps ever see it again.

Insure all loaned items, it is then the responsibility of a museum to care and account for the items. 

Your 1600 era Bible must be perserved, best way is to LOAN it, no tax deductable but you will have a say in what happens to your Bible how it is cared for and insure it is still in the family, not just gone missing.

[BlueStateSaint]

Unfortunately it just got totaled out in an accident, but for the last 5 years I'd been driving the truck I inherited when my father died.  I've also got his Taurus 627 revolver and his Marlin .30-30.

I've got my grandfather's Winchester 94 in .30 WCF (yes, that's the caliber stamped into the barrel).

[vesta111]

A very strange necklace , a picture of G G ma wearing it in 1916 in Deming New Mexico.    Had it valued by a local dealer, even with documation, value from him  was $75.00.  Odd as the dealer called me at least a dozen times later and I began to get mail from collectors, no signature from the Maker but  when I took it to a Pawn shop they tested it and found Gold links and the stones were actual star Sapphire's.     

In a bank safe today as there is no where I would be invited to show it off.  What now, will anyone appreciate the family history when I pop off.????????  @^*#@&!

Have you any idea of the value of a small glass salt cellar, ------Lots of us have this hanging about and no idea of what it is.  ----We sell these for $2.00 each and are sold to collectors for $80.00 each

.

[Gina]

When my parent's pass I will inherit lots of stuff.

My most treasured item that I have now is my dad bought me a diamond engagement ring from an estate sale when I was 5.  It's an antique.  It looks like my grandmother's wedding ring.  When her brother died, she gave me his wedding band to go with my engagement ring.  When she dies I will get her wedding ring which looks pretty much like mine and I will take her wedding band and attach it to the other side of my wedding set.  I will then save the engagment part of her ring for my daughter.  I hope she loves the ring set just as much as I do.  I have never seen another wear something like it but my grandmother.

went and found a pic similiar.  mine has a square setting in the center instead of a circle

  but his wedding band looks like that

[DefiantSix]

I've got my grandfather's Winchester 94 in .30 WCF (yes, that's the caliber stamped into the barrel).

I hope this doesn't sound ghoulish, but when my stepdad passes, I'm looking forward to inheriting his Super Redhawk. 

(In reality, my stepdad is great, and I hope to have him around for a long, long time.)

[CG6468]

Good stuff!

I also remembered that my wife wears her mother's wedding ring.

[Eupher]

This probably sounds bizarre, but I'm grateful beyond description that the State of Michigan became my stepdad's legal guardian when he was diagnosed with dementia in 2007.

Both he and my mother were hoarders. My mother passed in 2000 and left him alone, to hoard until the rafters broke in the garage because he had so much stuff up there (no joke).

The basement was navigable only by way of two paths - one to get to the laundry room and the other to the bathroom. You don't want to know about the rest of the house.

So when he died in 2008, I dreaded having to go deal with all of that. As it turned out, I didn't have to because the State of Michigan wouldn't permit it -- all of their/his belongings belonged to the state.

There wasn't a damn thing in that house I wanted anyway, least of all the house, so I feel like I dodged a real bullet.

[Boudicca]

I'm wearing a gold wedding band that belonged to my mom's maternal grandmother, and have my mother's wedding and engagement rings squirreled away until I send them in to get several diamonds replaced.  The bands are wafer thin, so I wouldn't actually ever wear them, except in a chain around my neck.  I've also got more than a dozen ancient Zane Grey books my dad's mother gave me and the faux bronze horse great grandpa won for great grandma at a county fair in 1899.  We've also got an antique secretary that came down from hubby's great grandma, as well as a blanket she crocheted.  Plus there's assorted china and glassware, nothing really valuable except on a sentimental level.