Posted by Susan Rodgers
on 7/10/2007, 9:00 am, in reply to "Re: What to do with heirlooms"
64.136.26.226
I am also the genealogist of my family and I could share my horror stories of lost photo's and heirlooms. I'll just say I know how heartbreaking these situations are and that has led to a bit of a problem. I search ebay, antique stores and thrift shops regularly for my lost family heirlooms. I would happily purchase them to keep them with their history, even if I give them away to relatives who care at the moment. I can't resist buying things that are identified by family, like engraved silver or china with a note describing the owner. I have begun ebaying these things in hopes of reuniting them with the people who should have them. I found Deadfred.com to be helpful on a few things. I have donated to state archives when appropriate. I don't care about possessing these things, but I do care about the stories they help tell. I would love to have a way of being sure these things are kept with their history, suggestions appreciated.
--Previous Message--
: I wish I had a relation such as you, Kat.
: My problem is that I am the last of my
: line. My aunts & uncles had no
: children, so it all traces back to
: greeat-grandparents, great-aunts &
: great-uncles, whose births ranged from
: 1856-1911. I am pushing 60, so the
: cousins of whom I speak are cousins
: many times removed. Those cousins of my
: own generation passed away before I was
: born. They are people whom don't really
: know. Our common ancestors are my
: great-grandparents, their
: gt-gt-gt-grandparents, who were born in
: the 1830s. They are widely scattered
: across the country. There are no family
: reunions. Many of my items do not even
: pertain to their direct ancestors, but
: to people who would have been their own
: parents' cousins.
:
: I guess I'm wondering... does my duty
: lie with keeping an item with its
: history, its provenance... or does my
: duty lie simply with seeing that the
: item somehow remains within that
: bloodline, even if those potential
: heirs know nothing & care little
: about the history or their ancestors?
:
: I am leary of cousins whose first
: question about an item is not "To
: whom did it belong?" but "Is
: it worth anything?"
:
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