What You Can Learn From Family Heirlooms
For those with an appreciation of history, the presence of heirlooms will always play an important role. Heirlooms present undebatable evidence to help us connect with where we came from and how the past has influenced our life and accomplishments. We can learn about our families by studying things that were important to them. By having an heirloom, we can gain a greater appreciation and understanding about the people responsible for us being here today.
From a decorative souvenir plate, a homemade item of clothing, tattered family photos or a long-cherished doll passed down through generations, heirlooms and the stories behind them can add life to the names, dates and places found in family trees. Some genealogists have called this “putting meat on the bones”. Family reunions have proven to be a prime time to assemble a collection of heirlooms. They often provide a powerful path to get loved ones to open up and share stories about relatives past or present.
Family Heirlooms can be beneficial for research in a number of ways:
- Verifying personal information about family members.
- Providing memorable and specific details about family stories.
- Shedding light on experiences that impacted family life decisions, migration patterns, and places of residence.
- Helping stimulate conversation with family members who are reluctant to talk about the past or when visiting elderly family members with failing memories, especially those in various stages of dementia.
Items such as family Bibles may include names, dates, places of birth, etc., that are the only option for researching time periods and areas, where civil and vital records are incomplete or non-existent.
When sorting through interesting heirlooms for special occasions such as a family gathering, oral history interview, or simple curiosity, start investigating the stories behind these items. Experts often recommend the following criteria:
- Begin asking family members or relatives about the origin of the item. Learn as much as possible about who owned the item and when, what it was used for, and why it became significant.
- Record the story. Make every effort to record as many details as possible about the origin and history of the heirloom. The story is just as important as the item itself.
- Pay particular attention to the shape, size, color, and material substance. Does the item look handmade, produced as a limited edition, or mass-produced? While there are exceptions, handmade or limited edition items tend to have more significance than mass-produced items.
- Examine the item for a patent date and number. The date may help narrow down the period of ownership to a specific ancestor. If you find a patent number, which can help in tracking down a patent application filed by an ancestor, friend, or relative.
- Consult “antique value” books. Public libraries typically have price guides for most types of heirlooms. Don’t forget to check old magazines and newspapers, and online sources such as Google Images for pictures of your heirloom. On Google Images, the website link to the picture may provide very detailed information. This might be especially helpful if the family has observed the custom of passing down wedding gowns used in multiple ceremonies over the years.
BLM 5/1/2018