What Have You Acquired From Family?

[BlueTrain]

I have virtually nothing from my side of the family except a few photographs, since we didn't have any money. But my wife has all kinds of things. We even have a Confederate war bond and some money. I have some real antique tools passed on when my father-in-law died. He had enough for all the "boys" in the family to have all they wanted with some left over. But one of the boys was about to move overseas and took nothing. That's really about it, excepf for a few pieces of furniture.

 

[Atticus Finch]

Being an only child, I inherited quite a bit of stuff from both sides of my family. Some of it was worth a bit, and some, maybe not so much. These are among my favorite things from my mother's side.

Clockwise from the top: Mom's 1970s No. 4 Lodge skillet. Mom's 1947 No. 10 Lodge skillet...a wedding gift. My great-grandmother's No. 8 Chicago Hardware Foundry skillet with lid. And finally, my grandmother's 1930s, No. 8 Griswold skillet.

I cook on them all.

AF

 

[BlueTrain]

At our house, there's a difference between inheriting something and just hanging on to family stuff until some other family member takes it off our hands.

 

[BobHufford]

Love the lid on the Chicago Hardware Foundry skillet! We have several Griswold pieces and use it all the time as well.

 

[Atticus Finch]

My great-grandmother's Chicago Hardwear Foundry skillet in action. Making the shrimp part of "Geoff's Low Country Shrimp and Grits".

AF

 

[BobHufford]

Excuse the blurry cell phone pic (from 2013). This is just the skillets that are handy (there is so much more cast iron that we had to shore up the pantry). The rack was found in a hardware store that was going out of business.

 

[BobHufford]

My wife just got these from her cousin in NYC that she hasn't seen in over a decade. They may be non-PC, but it's OK as my wife is half Seminole.

 

[Stormy Plumtree]

This wasn't necessarily from family, but I consider it a family heirloom now. I became close with an elderly woman a few years ago. She had no one to pass her mother's wedding dress to, and she was adamant that I take it. The dress is from the 1930's - as well as the headpiece. Miraculously, it fits me like a glove. It's a little wrinkly and needs a good cleaning (it had been sitting in a box for 70 years) but otherwise in beautiful condition. The veil unfortunately was crumbling to bits and I had to throw it away.

I had some nice pictures taken wearing it recently. Not for a wedding, just for fun with a photographer friend. Safe to say it's one of my prized possessions.

 

[BobHufford]

My mother-in-law had this old paving brick from Kansas.

 

[Willybob]

My Grandad's Stetson bowler he gave me in 1978. Fits me perfect.

 

[BobHufford]

Mom gifted me this thermometer to use in our new barn/shop. My wife said that we have a similar sized Prestone Antifreeze one from her late Mom that would be better in the barn, so this one ended up in the farm house in the most appropriate room.

It was originally from the Buck Morton Pharmacy in Springfield, MO. My folks co-owned the building in the late 1970s / early 1980s.

 

[BobHufford]

Found my wife’s Granddad’s old fish frying skillet he used for “shore lunches”. I love it because it has a plaid handle (I’ve collected Scotch Plaid items from the ‘50s/‘60s for years).

 

[Turnip]

From the „in laws“:

~30 - 40 years old 1/2“ ratchet set, cardan ´s missing but is of course still available.

B12/MKII Röhm Spiro 0mm-10mm chuck, similar age, same source.

Way more stuff in shed and cellar, will occasionally make some pix.

Cheers

Turnip

 

[earl]

When I was a youngin living on our farm, would love to go up into the attic to check out all the "old stuff" our family stuck up there, some of which I ended up with like things belonging to a great uncle who died in WWII such as his 1864 US Colt musket, his 1915 West Point annual, (he was a graduate of that class which included Eisenhower and Bradley), his early 20th century brass opium containers from southeast Asia. Have another great uncle's WW II memorabilia from the European theater where he served. Service members then had a thing about bringing back German material and have kept his very large Reich service flag out of historical significance. Doesn't make it out of the closet however. I'd discovered the buffalo hide coat in perfect condition in a trunk in that attic which my great grandfather who homesteaded in 1884 owned that no one in the family remembered was up there, though no longer have it. Guess I'm old enough to have valuable "antiques" which, when I bought them, were actually new. Bought a large western oil painting from an undiscovered artist in 1976 for $125. About 6 years back, learned he had become nationally known and a gallery handling his works estimated my painting to then be worth $4000. Only 4 figure painting I'll ever own.

 

[BobHufford]

This was the last thing I pulled out of my folks' house before it's put up for sale next week. My sisters told me that it was glued to the wall (in the garage) and no way it was coming down -- that's why it wasn't put in the estate sale. A couple of twists on the bolt and it came right off (which was a bit frightening as it's about 32" across, heavy and sharp). I'm not normally a fan of painted saws, but this was done by the old man across the street from my folks when they lived in a tiny town near Jefferson City, Missouri (St. Thomas) in the early 1980s. They had an 1870s house and Dad was slowly buying up the adjoining properties that included the town's only grocery store (which had closed). The folk-art painting is not quite to scale as the newer building on the right is two story with a mezzanine (and the requisite tin ceiling, etc.) and had double entry doors (with screen doors) that were 9-feet tall. It's quirky enough that it will look good in my shop/barn that is partially finished with old barn wood.

The diagonally parked truck appears to be floating. Reminded me of this:

 

[M Brown]

600 acres

 

[earl]

My mother-in-law had this old paving brick from Kansas.

View attachment 85511

We live in Kansas and have a brick just like it in the brick walkway leading to our front door. Harkens back to the days when their were city ordinances against spitting on the walk.

 

[Yahoody]

I've been blessed many times over with family heirlooms. From my Great Grandparents, through my parents, then sister, to me, a oak hutch and big oak dining room table shipped originally by rail in 1898. Hard to imagine how many moves/places those two pieces have gone through. And my Great Grandfather's pocket watch. Which my Grand Father used as well. Still keeps perfect time.

Grandfather's working gun and leather from the ranch. There is more but some of the best is horse tack and personal gear from both men going back prior to 1900. Some I still use on a regular basis. Their Stetson hats came to early on. But, sadly, gone now. I think about all of the generations before me every time I pick any of it up or just walking by.

Hard to imagine the impression all of those items have made on my life and life style today.

My Grandfather's nickel silver spurs from the '30's.

 

[KSCOM4]

We live in Kansas and have a brick just like it in the brick walkway leading to our front door. Harkens back to the days when their were city ordinances against spitting on the walk.

I can remember seeing a few bricks like that on the sidewalk in Norton, KS when I was a kid.

 

[de Stokesay]

I have way too much to post, but here are a few things.
My maternal grandfather’s drill press (1944 900 series Walker-Turner) and bench grinder (in a dark corner of my basement so the picture didn’t work our very well and I didn’t feel like moving lights around) from the machine shop of his Massey-Fergusson and Studebaker dealership that he started and owned from 1939 until 1976.

Various other tools of my grandfather’s, his father’s, and his father’s father’s who was a cabinetmaker who immigrated from Sweden in the 1880s, as well as a bunch of my own father’s tools.

My paternal grandfather’s pocket watch and his compass, dated 1918, that he used in WWII. My maternal great grandfather’s and my maternal great uncle’s pocket watch in 14K gold with that branch of the family’s ducal crest on it. Also, the painting of those same ducal arms from the College of Heralds in England.

Loads of china, silver, and serving dishes from various family members.

An organ bench from my parents, at least that’s what they always called it since it’s made from bits of old church organs.

An armchair which my grandparents received as a wedding present when they were married in 1940.

A camel saddle and whip from Egypt, brass mosque lamps from Turkey, and some gold jewelry, all of which my parents brought back from a trip to the Middle East in the late 1960’s when they were living in Germany.

Various furniture from my Grandparents.

My great aunt’s chest from when she came over from England pre-WWI.

An old carpentry workbench that my father rescued from being hauled to the nuisance ground, that came out of an elementary school woodworking shop at a school he was vice principal at. I remember going with him when I was 12, to help him load it, and it was use in his own workshop in basement. A few months ago he gave it to me, and I raised it to a more useable height for my uses and recently added the additional tool well onto the back.

I also have some of my maternal grandfather’s guns as well. He was an avid hunter.

And my mother’s wooden snowshoes from the early ‘50s. The list goes on and on and on, but I won’t bore you with more of it.

My parents are at or very near to 80 years old now, and are starting to go through their stuff and try to find new homes for it. My brother and I are the constant recipients of their stuff every time we go over there, but out two houses combined only have 2/3 the volume of their house, and we have our own stuff too. When they leave their home of the last 51 years, there will be a lot of things that we have no place to put and will have to go away. Sad, but that’s just the way it is going to have to be.