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General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: Roobarb on Thursday 16 November 06 20:55 GMT (UK)
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No, this isn't about ailments! The very lovely 'Clucker' shown here belonged to my great grandmother. It has pride of place in my kitchen and I'm scared stiff of breaking it! My grandfather used to refer to it as the 'Clocker' - it was probably just his County Durham accent! :)
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I've got my grandma's 2 flat irons; she used to heat them on her gas rings and used them from 1921, when she married, until the 1960s when she was persuaded to get an electric iron! Her mother and grandmother were both laundresses.
Very boring compared to the "Clucker".
Nanny Jan
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I'm sure they have their own charm Nanny Jan :)
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From my granny I got a Victorian perfume bottle casket (with only one bottle, it should have two :( ), some Goss china (you know those white figures with place names on) on a whatnot, a Whistling Boy (that reminds me I must pick that up from my mothers ???) and the best of anything ever a whole collection of postcards some dating back to 1901 with a load 1916 onwards that mentions family names and places they visited.
Cal 8)
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Hi Everyone
i inherited my great grandmothers wedding ring her name was Mary ann Bottomley and she married William Harold in 1897 Liverpool
This is the only thing i have when my great grandmother died a lot was sold off in house clearence :( and other family members got the rest
Regards
Iria
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Love your chicken Roobarb, I am very fond of them and I dont mean for eating. ;)
I had a pair of old plates but as per usual one got broken by the children when they were small. I also have a broach from my grandmother.
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I love that chicken!...I want one of those!
I inherited my grandmother's green glass rolling pin......with a shoelace tied around one end which she used for hanging it up.
She died in 1948 when I was 5 and I can just about remember her.
The rolling pin is brilliant when I put it in the fridge and get it really cold....does a great job on the pastry.
Tis my treasure
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Grandad lived in this house so his books and things are all around, which is handy for looking up historical answers.
Going back further, great grandad left behind his Victorian farming books, his gunpowder flask and his lead shot mould, while strangely, I have Gt-gt grandad's "Wimble" which is a tool for making hay-ropes for thatching stacks.
He fell to his death while using it in 1863 and somehow it's stayed around ever since.
Gt gt granny's Grandmother clock succumbed to woodworm, but the mechanism and face are OK and awaiting a new cabinet.
Fred
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Various things - my favourites at present are a solid silver cutlery set for one, marked with an "H", that my paternal grandmother used while at school in Sydney in the nineteenth century. It's of high quality and in extremely good order - I use it myself!
I will inherit a silver dressing table set belonging to my gggrandmother Margaret Anne Cameron, who led a most adventurous life in the nineteenth century! It is lovely, and I will treasure it enormously!
MarieC
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The only thing I have is a lot of postcards dating from 1905. They do have a lot of names on them and one even mentions a nan griffith coming over from Canada but my g.grandmother didn't have a nan griffith only Lewis and Jones ???
There were some postcards dated earlier and lots of books and furniture etc... I wish I had but when my grandad died his brother came over to the house and decided to either burn everything that was his parents or take for him self. My dad hasn't spoke to that side of the family since, wish he would though they hold all the photos of the family.
Katie
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I got my Granny's brass bellows ;D I used to love playing with them when I was a kid.
Elaine
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My inherited treasures include my great grandmother's piano that she received for her 13 th birthday, and bound copies of her music and her mother's music. I also have a set of 25 of Sir Walter Scott's novels that are the size of a small prayer book. They were given to me by my great grandfather just before he passed away.
But my very favourite inherited belonging is my grandfather's handmade Christening gown.
......dee
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I have a biscuit barrel from my ggrandmother. It's quite small and neat. It wouldn't have kept my lot going for long ! I use it for teabags. I know I'm running a risk of it getting broken but it just feels right to use it.
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I have my Grandmothers wedding ring, my MILs wedding ring. BMDs and other documents including memoriam cards. Various objects from both World Wars. Ornaments, flat irons,Portrait photos of my Grandfather, l of my Grandmother with my Mother as a young baby.and a small green glass vase that was my Mothers(she died when I was 9.) Grandads chiming clock, that was working perfectly well until the day he died and which has never worked since. I would not part with any of these things.
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My granddad left me a pair of cuff links and his signet ring with a (tiny) diamond in it. :)
Then we were burgled and they pinched them. >:(
But when I was 3 he gave me a clockwork Horby train set and I still have the engine. ;D
meles
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I have THE TEAPOT
It was Gran Sarah's teapot, and as such meant a lot to my father. That teapot was a vision of home to him. When Gran died, the teapot went to Aunt Win, (whose sewing machine with its treasure trove drawers I was later to inherit also.) When Aunt Win died, Dad was down there like a shot. He wanted that teapot. It's a Wedgewood style teapot in blue and white, but someone of the family found it quite funny that my little father wanted it. 'It's not Wedgewood, you know.' Dad came home with his teapot, he was almost in tears.
Does something have to be valuable before you can love it?
I don't think so, because now that teapot sits on a shelf along with Gran Sarah's two little china figues of a boy and girl, and a fantastic glass mushroom that we brought back from one of our holidays in Switzerland. Blue and white and glittering glass. Yes, that's my home and what will be passed on down to son and heir.
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Something I've funnily enough not yet had to use!!............
Can't remember the correct term for it but it's my g g grandmother's......
One of those wooden things you put over your shoulders and hang buckets from!!......she was a dairymaid!!! ;D
On a sadder note I've also got bundles of letters from my grandmother's brother to his parents while he a patient at a mental hospital from the age of 10 til he was 45 when he died in 1960 he was admitted because he was an epileptic, how times have changed!
Sarah :)
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Sarah - I think it was called a yoke.
meles
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So now the yoke is on you Sarah! ;D ;D ;D
(Sorry, just can't resist!) :)
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;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Sarah
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Yes, Sarah, times have changed.
My grandfather, who I always call Mad Grandfather Joe, HE WAS MY GRANDAD AND I DON'T CARE, WORLD! was incarserated when he was only 39. He was Mad.....I have just learned why. In 1901 Grandfather was Mad. But earlier His Grandfather died young as a result of a brain rotting disease brought on we now know by working with certain kinds of wood.
The whole family worked on the wood one way or another.
Nowadays I expect Grandfather Joe would have been cared for at home, and not locked up and forgotten. At least it sounds as thought you Grandmother's brother was remembered by his family.
All I have of Grandfather Joe is a faded photograph.
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Paula, that's so sad.
My grandfather (who I never knew) committed suicide "whilst of unsound mind". Who knows how he might have fared today? He might have received help (or got "care in the community", ie no help) . And at least you have a photo - I have nothing.
And the risks to health by certain woods are now known - I am a H&S professional and try to protect people from exactly such risks.
meles
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I have ended up with quite a few things, besides the wonderful pictures and funeral cards I have. I have three barrister bookshelves that were my grandfather's, one of my great-grandmother's wedding silver, some plates that belonged to we believe my great-grandmother, but maybe her mother, we haven't figured that out yet. I also have a really ugly daisy vase that my mother made for her mother-in-law in 1974. I was so sad that my mom gave it to her then. When my grandmother died, I got it. Ugly, but makes me happy. And I have a small cow picture that was my grandmother's. It looks more like a bull. I remember my dad putting milk in it when we had oatmeal and walking around the table giving each of us extra milk from it. Mind you, it holds about an ounce, and there were 6 of us, so in one hand was the cow and the other a jug of milk. My kids love to use it now. And a lovely cat handled jug that belonged to my great-grandmother. My daughter has my grandmother's wicker doll stroller and my mom's rocker from when she was a little girl.
I feel so greedy about all of this. I didn't even list the things from my husband's side that we have inherited. Yikes. :-[
Kath
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I received from one of my grandmothers a Christmas bauble that was bought for my dad's first Christmas, it will be 68 years old this year, my beloved dad died at Christmas so she gave it to me that year, every year I hang it at the top of my tree with tears pouring down my face :'( :'( the boys know how important it is to me so never ever touch it, I always hang it near the top so hopefully no one knocks it off.
I also have my other grandmothers wedding ring, which I never take off.
Jane
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Lucky you, Jane. If only I'd worn my Granddad's ring that day...
meles
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I have my gt gt grandmother's sampler stitched in 1833 when she was just 7 years old!
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~cawthorn/TEED/Susannah's_Sampler_1833.html
I'm still thinking of getting it cleaned and framed - sometime.
(http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/anniemcc/smilies/Cheers.gif) Ann
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Oh Ann, it's charming. Do it NOW!
meles
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Wow Ann
Absolutely fabulous .... agree with Meles ...get it done and professionally it is a treasure
Cal 8)
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In that case, can anyone recommend a professional textile restorer, as I just may win the EuroMillions jackpot tonight and be able to afford the cost of cleaning & framing :)
(http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/anniemcc/smilies/Bluesunflower.gif) Ann
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Sorry, Ann, I bought a ticket and expect to win. But I promise, if I do, I will treat you to restoring and framing the piece! ;D
meles
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Like Paulatoo I inherited a teapot.
It was my paternal grandfather's mothers. Grandad left it to my mother who had always loved it. When she died it passed to me.
When I look at it sitting on the dresser I often think of the three previous generations who have owned it. Wonder whether my son or daughter would like it next? I suppose I should ask them!
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I got my grandmothers lovely old Victorian scrap book ... see
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=196339.new;topicseen#new
... it is very precious to me, and I shall pass it on to my grand-daughter I think ... unless I get subsequent grand-daughters ... oh dear, what to do then ??
Lydart
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I didn't get the teapot, but I still use the tea cosy that my grandma knitted - she died just before I got married, in September 1970! :-[
I did get a part breakfast set, though - 2 large tea cups, 2 saucers, 2 plates and a bread plate - probably a wedding present from when they were married on Christmas Day 1906 (Oooh - they are probably 100 years old! 8) ).
My wife had her wedding ring - my mother had it re-made for her some years after we were married.
I have also got a couple of old photo albums - lots of pictures with no names attached ::) - one of which records a journey grandma too to visit grandad's grave in Ypres after the first war. Unfortunately my mother burned several photos of my great grandparents - she didn't think anyone would want them!! :'(
Bill
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I have my gr-grandmother's wedding ring and always wear it, plus a few other pieces of her jewlery. I also have my grandmother's cross from when she made her first communion in 1915.
I have a watercolour painting that my gr-grandfather brought over from England. I had it looked at by an Art Historian and he dated it between 1840-1850.
One of my favourites though is an ugly fish shaped ashtray that my gr-grandmother used all of the time, it was made in Birmingham and she must of liked it so much she brought it with her to Canada LOL I'm still trying to figure out if she worked at the place or not :D
Karen
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I inherited frizzy, unruly, curly hair, which has been passed down on my paternal side to my brother. sister and me!
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Thats really lovely and dating so far back, I hope you keep it in acid free paper, these samplers are very vaulable, but no amount of money can compensate for its sentemental value to you and your family Ann.
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Now that is one thing that I would have loved to have inherited from my mother, curly hair, it costs me an arm and a leg to have curl put in. ;D
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I have curly hair - it costs me an arm and a leg to have it straightened!! I've noticed recently that I'm starting to look a lot like my great-grandmother, Nellie Redfearn nee Giesen. I "inherited" her wedding ring and the engagement and wedding ring of her daughter, my grandmother Joan Phillips nee Redfearn, but I don't regard any of these things as really mine. They are family property and the responsibility makes me a bit anxious sometimes in case I lose them. They are to be passed down the female line in the family but another thing that worries me is whether my niece (who's the only member of the next generation so far) will take the responsibility seriously. So far she doesn't show much promise. If she turns out like her mother, I'm not passing the rings onto her - she'd probably sell them! :o
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Thats a good point you made there Lizzy, I have 2 boys, neither are married as yet. 30 and 31. I am going to have a struggle when it comes to my jewellery and that I have inherited . Oh well cross that bridge when I come to it.
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Fingers crossed your boys will give you grand-daughters before too long and you can foster a sense of family and continuity in them. My niece may turn out well - she is only ten and not a serious child at all. Neither was I though. But I remember when she was born, I carried her round the sitting room one day showing her photographs of her great-grandfather and great-great-great grandmother. Even though she was only a few months old she did seem to look at the photographs, as I was saying "And that's Daddy's grandad . . ." You never know!
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One of my brother's is actually mad that I inherit all the jewelry, as the only daughter (with 5 brothers), but it's ok to him that his wife inherits all her mother's things as the only daughter (with 2 brothers). How's that for double standards. ??? ::) And there are solutions, if he only bothered to ask. I'm not an ogre or a hoarder, you know :( And I certainly hope not to inherit this stuff for many many many years. :-[
Kath
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Unfortunately when it comes to inheriting things it brings out the worst in people, I know from bitter personal experience but we wont go there.
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Absolutely!! I tell my brother all the time he can have everything if I can keep my mom. :'(
Kath
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What a lovely thread this has been - I have been fascinated by the trinkets that all have inherited, especially the sampler, you are so lucky! My mother gave me what she said was her grandmother's hymn book complete with the owner's name and date of 1850s. As I started my research I was to discover that the hymn book belonged to mum's grandmother's sister. I would love to know how the book got into our possesion, did gg Aunt Elizabeth give it to her sister? and how come gg grandmother passed it down to my grandmother when she had 7 children to choose from? Questions I'll never know the answer to, but every piece has a thousand queries surrounding it!
Sallysmum
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This was my Grandfathers .. as a child, I always thought it was Long John Silver, for some reason ! Someone told me it was a baccy jar ... but you couldn't have fitted a lid, so I have no idea what it was for originally ... I keep pens in his head !
It's ugly, of no value, but I love it !
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I love the head. It reminds me of my ugly daisy vase. It has a prominent spot and my dresser, I love it, and it is so ugly. ;D
Kath
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Is it a Toby jug? I also think it is lovely!
Sallysmum
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No, its not a jug ... its just a pot, sort of thing ! No handle, no pouring spout, never had a lid !
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Perhaps it was for spills.
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Puts me in mind of a rather grotesque character who is toothily grinning down at me from the shelf....
It's either a coalman, or perhaps a dustman, he is wearing a cap and is extremely dirty what ever.
He has holes in his hat where matches were stuck, and there is the sad remains of a scratching patch across his chest. Perhaps your 'Long John Silver' was for holding spills, or something like that.
What ever, he's certainly more friendly looking than my character.
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Yes, it could well have been for spills ... I remember making them for my grandfather, out of old letters cut into strips, neatly folded, and the last inch given a twist ! He used them to light his pipe, but kept them in a bunch in an old jam jar, not Long John Silver !
Nowadays, I ponder what must have been written in all those letters I cheerfully cut up as a child ... I'd love to have them to read now; might solve a few family queries !
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My sister and I were talking the other day about the Antique Roadshow and were reminiscing about our parents furniture and odds and ends etc and thinking of all those things that were thrown out - what a pity!
Mum lived with me for years and then went to my sister's to live - where she died from - and we only have a few things from her. My sister had her wedding ring (as she was the oldest) and unfortunately has lost it somewhere in her home. Then the only other things we had were a few bits of furniture and a few photos. Not much for a life is it?
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Unfortunately when it comes to inheriting things it brings out the worst in people, I know from bitter personal experience but we wont go there.
The old line goes: (blood is thicker than water),
but for some, sadly, things - possessions - money
are thicker than blood.
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How very true, only this afternoon I was talking to a neighbour who has recently lost her mother who she nursed for 11 years and the same thing is happening with relatives coming out of the woodwork that have not been seen for years. >:( >:(
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That reminds me of two very sweet old ladies that June used to look after. They were both unmarried and their nearest relatives were second cousins who rarely visited. Because most of their furniture was antique and family heirlooms, they decided it had to stay in the family, so the last one to die left everything to these cousins in her will.
When she was in the nursing home shortly before she died, I phoned one of the cousins to tell them she was fading fast (she was in her 90s). The reply? "There's no point in us coming to see her as she wouldn't know we were there - let us know when she's dead!" >:(
As soon as the will had been read they had a local antique dealer in to buy everything of value - so much for keeping things in the family!! >:(
My grandmother had the right idea - she always said there was enough money to bury her and she didn't want her children to take out insurance on her life - she didn't want anyone waiting for her to die to collect!! ???
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Does'nt it make your blood boil >:( >:(
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Inherited a great deal of stuff (too numerous to list everything here) since both sides of my family were collectors / savers / "pack rats" and never threw much away.
Some of my favorite articles are the pictures and negatives (who they are, as of today many remain unknown), family letters, silver, my grandmothers cookie jar, furniture, a cuckoo clock, music box, china, jewelry, afghans, quilts, doilies handmade by my grandmother, my g and gg grandmothers.
In fact, I have been (and will continue to be) in the process of taking an inventory (including pictures) of every family item.
yn9man
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Lots of bits and bobs, some really antique.
We downsized about 5yrs ago, so shared items between our 3 children. And a long case clock given as a wedding present to my husbands G/Grandparents.
Whilst it is valuable now , it had been cut down to fit in a cottage! and so decrepit that we had to have it restored and that has been passed on to my son in the U.S
All sorts of small items ,Gran's 2 very tiny silver thimbles are now sitting in my elder daughters cabinet alongside a tatty Victorian framed photo of Gran.
The always startling bit is when you visit them and see stuff that you had totally forgotten.
And lots of other bits are now in NZ. Will some future generation wonder where the old pieces originated?
Spring
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A coffee grinder from the 1880's (very elaborate), silver tea service, gg grandmothers wedding ring and pearl necklace, a Toby jug and my grandmother's tea pot collection.
I have found i have very similar taste in decorating to my grandmother. I remember her every day tea service as a kid and when I married I picked out the same yellow fiestaware items. Funny as I did not yet have her set. Sort of nice to see the choice ran in the family 60 years later. ;D
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I got mother-in-laws wedding present Spode dinner service as my ex didn't want it when she died ... we decided to use it for every day, as what's the use of having something very nice if its just in a cupboard somewhere ? I think of her every dinner time now ! (She was MUCH nicer than my ex !!)
My own mothers 'stuff' is too numerous to list here; one of the hazards of having a mother who never threw away anything in 93 years ! But particular treasures are love letters written to her by my father (she was widowed at the age of 59); I took them to her in the nursing home when sorting out her 'stuff' ... she read them, and said 'Huh, very sugary ! Throw them out !' Of course I didn't !!