Day 31-
The Importance of Heirlooms-
Family heirlooms are more than just things, they are a link to our past. They are items that tie generations together and the stories connected to those items represent our past. It is so important for my generation and those after to preserve our history so that it is not lost forever. My parents rarely talked about the past when I was growing up and I have very limited information about those before us. I have learned about our lineage through apps like ancestry and findmypast.
I knew very little about my maternal grandmother as she passed away 2 years before I was born. My maternal grandfather passed when I was 5 so I really never got the chance to get to know him. I remember when I was about 4 I got my foot stuck in his reclining chair.
I do remember more about my paternal grandfather he passed when I was 10. I was lucky to have my paternal grandmother until I was in my early 20's. But still I didn't see her a lot. We lived in NY and they lived in PA where both my parents were from. I remember we visited yearly until she passed. I always wished that my parents had stayed in PA so that I could grow up with my grandparents and cousins present.
After my paternal grandmother passed away in the early 1980's my parents were lucky to receive a few heirlooms. One was an east lake style marble top table, a brass and stained glass lamp and a painting that came from a court house that was demolished in either Wilkes Barre or Ashley PA. I was told that my father's great grandfather was a constable in PA at the time and he had acquired the lamp and the painting from that court house. The lamp sat at the end of the court house isle. I have recently found out that the painting is of a relative on my fathers side. It was painted by a prominent Philadelphia Portrait painter John Neagle in 1833, the back is signed. The east lake table was one that was purchased by by great grandparents specifically for the lamp.
The beautiful table and lamp was in my grandparents many homes before coming to live in my parents. Years of family photos including my wedding photos have that table and lamp as a backdrop. My children as they grew were pictured with that table and lamp in the background. Memories created from 2 family heirlooms.
When my Mother passed away in 2013 that special table and lamp and painting came to live with me and our family. It sits proudly in our front window, just as it did in my grandparents and parents homes. The painting sits above our fireplace just as it did in it's previous homes. I look at them and I see those before me, and I remember all of the memories created all of those years ago.
History is not only preserved in photos or videos it can be preserved in those things that we pass on from generation to generation. It can also passed on by sharing information and memories. I have tried so hard to tell my boys everything, and I have made sure to write down the important things as well. The heirlooms that helped to build our histories as a family. I am hoping that my children will hang on to these things as I have, and keep passing them to future generations. Preserving our families legacy is important more so today than ever before.
Until Tomorrow- Be Safe
"Our childhood memories are often fragments, brief moments or encounters, which together form the scrapbook of our life". Edith Eger
The Importance of Heirlooms-
Family heirlooms are more than just things, they are a link to our past. They are items that tie generations together and the stories connected to those items represent our past. It is so important for my generation and those after to preserve our history so that it is not lost forever. My parents rarely talked about the past when I was growing up and I have very limited information about those before us. I have learned about our lineage through apps like ancestry and findmypast.
I knew very little about my maternal grandmother as she passed away 2 years before I was born. My maternal grandfather passed when I was 5 so I really never got the chance to get to know him. I remember when I was about 4 I got my foot stuck in his reclining chair.
I do remember more about my paternal grandfather he passed when I was 10. I was lucky to have my paternal grandmother until I was in my early 20's. But still I didn't see her a lot. We lived in NY and they lived in PA where both my parents were from. I remember we visited yearly until she passed. I always wished that my parents had stayed in PA so that I could grow up with my grandparents and cousins present.
After my paternal grandmother passed away in the early 1980's my parents were lucky to receive a few heirlooms. One was an east lake style marble top table, a brass and stained glass lamp and a painting that came from a court house that was demolished in either Wilkes Barre or Ashley PA. I was told that my father's great grandfather was a constable in PA at the time and he had acquired the lamp and the painting from that court house. The lamp sat at the end of the court house isle. I have recently found out that the painting is of a relative on my fathers side. It was painted by a prominent Philadelphia Portrait painter John Neagle in 1833, the back is signed. The east lake table was one that was purchased by by great grandparents specifically for the lamp.
The beautiful table and lamp was in my grandparents many homes before coming to live in my parents. Years of family photos including my wedding photos have that table and lamp as a backdrop. My children as they grew were pictured with that table and lamp in the background. Memories created from 2 family heirlooms.
When my Mother passed away in 2013 that special table and lamp and painting came to live with me and our family. It sits proudly in our front window, just as it did in my grandparents and parents homes. The painting sits above our fireplace just as it did in it's previous homes. I look at them and I see those before me, and I remember all of the memories created all of those years ago.
History is not only preserved in photos or videos it can be preserved in those things that we pass on from generation to generation. It can also passed on by sharing information and memories. I have tried so hard to tell my boys everything, and I have made sure to write down the important things as well. The heirlooms that helped to build our histories as a family. I am hoping that my children will hang on to these things as I have, and keep passing them to future generations. Preserving our families legacy is important more so today than ever before.
Until Tomorrow- Be Safe
"Our childhood memories are often fragments, brief moments or encounters, which together form the scrapbook of our life". Edith Eger
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