Family heirlooms are what I often call family treasures. The worth/value of these family treasures are priceless, primarily for its historical significance to the family. I recently stumbled across an article online about a woman who wore a 127 year old wedding gown for her wedding. This story immediately caught my attention so I clicked on it to see what it was all about. To my surprise, the wedding dress had been passed down in their family, beginning from when the great-great grandmother wore it for her own wedding in 1884! How cool is that?! I don't know these people, but I share in their excitement for being able to retain and pass down something so wonderful!
This got me thinking about treasures in my own family and to the best of my knowledge, we hardly have any. I talked with some friends about their family treasures and they didn't seem to have any. Many of them agreed that they have only had family stories passed down, but not tangible items. Family stories are great, but I always say that the stories are only as good (or accurate) as the person telling them.
I was sure that my family had to have something worth passing down so I began rummaging through things again. I did find a few things, but I guess I didn't realize the historical significance of those items at the time they were given to me - now I do. I've held them and safely tucked them away for safekeeping.
One family treasure that I have is a fine china set that my aunt gave me. She inherited it from someone else in the family and eventually gave the set to me. Another item I have is a memory box that I created after my mother passed away. I didn't want want to forget anything about her so I took some things like one of her outfits; the perfume I enjoyed her wearing; things that she'd handwritten, and I placed them all in a memory box. There have been more grandchildren born since her passing and periodically some will randomly ask me questions about her. When they're a little older maybe I will have the opportunity to share some of the things in the memory box, to help them learn more about her. My father has a few odds and ends that I would also consider family treasures. I created a family history book a while ago and I remember my father saying "This is nice. This is a family heirloom." It feels good to know that you have contributed something of quality that is worth passing down in your family.
If others in the family had retained more family treasures, maybe my family history journey wouldn't be so challenging (smile)!Think twice before you decide to throw those old family belongings in the trash. You may find some great family treasures in the pile! Think carefully before you bestow family treasures to other relatives. Make sure that the person receiving the item(s) is responsible enough to preserve the item(s) and the family history!
Happy searching!!! :-)
