Gift for my Great Grandmother - What's Yours?

[StanleysChesterton]

Thinking about it some more, what about a beautiful journal book, with a section for recipes.  It would be marvellous to pore over and treasure now.

I know my G-grandma cooked chicken .... I know this because my G-granddad was arrested for stealing a chicken and G-grandma lead the policeman to the remains of it in a pot when they knocked on her door to arrest him.  With a new baby in the household, he was sent to prison for Xmas.

I hope my G-granddad enjoyed that chicken, it'll have been the best meal he had for some months!

[ThrelfallYorky]

I think I'd give my great grandma - or any other relative from 19thC or earlier - a very special digital camera that didn't require re-charging, but would automatically caption all photos with the names of the people in them ( and preferably who was where in the photo, and the date and location it was taken on), a quick lesson on how to use it, and a secure time capsule and place to put it so I could pick it up now!
Like many others I suffer from a box full on anonymous strangers in photos, who may well be close relatives - if ONLY SOMEONE HAD WRITTEN ON THE BACK OF EACH PRINT WHO THEY WERE!

[StanleysChesterton]

I think I'd give my great grandma - or any other relative from 19thC or earlier - a very special digital camera that didn't require re-charging, but would automatically caption all photos with the names of the people in them ( and preferably who was where in the photo, and the date and location it was taken on), a quick lesson on how to use it, and a secure time capsule and place to put it so I could pick it up now!
Like many others I suffer from a box full on anonymous strangers in photos, who may well be close relatives - if ONLY SOMEONE HAD WRITTEN ON THE BACK OF EACH PRINT WHO THEY WERE!

Yes, that'd be a good one! 

I often wonder what happened to old photos when houses were cleared.  My nan always had her sideboard top covered in them - but where did they go when she died?  Her two sons will have cleared the house (probably), my mum wasn't there ... and I wonder if they're all out there, somewhere.  They might've been binned as the immediate people didn't know who they were

I feel confident that in 10 years' time sites like ancestry etc will have an automated photo/face recognition feature.  That way, if one of the descendants of somebody in the photo had also uploaded another photo of that person it'd flag up as a possible match to be pursued and agreed/dismissed.

[ThrelfallYorky]

What a brilliant idea! -But, oh, the hassle of uploading them all.....

[jess5athome]

I often wonder what happened to old photos when houses were cleared.

I remember a number of years ago, an old lady over the road from us passed away and had no family, I looked out of the window one afternoon and loads of her belongings had been put out in a skip at the side of the road and there was dozens and dozens of photographs blowing down the street in the wind. It was heartbreaking, the poor woman's life long memories discarded like some kind of rubbish.

[StanleysChesterton]

It should be made illegal.  In cases like that, I think paperwork and photos should be saved (by law) and sent to the local archives, for future generations. 

There could be all sorts of important documentation/information etc there

[Erato]

"It should be made illegal."

¡Yikes!

[StanleysChesterton]

"It should be made illegal."

¡Yikes!

Well, it's illegal to drop a toffee wrapper in the street.... but not illegal to deliberately destroy documents and papers of a socially historical nature.  Seems odd when you look at it like that.

And you can get fined for some ridiculous 'offences'

Imagine if that old lady had had three sons she'd lost in WW1, there could've been a multitude of sadnesses in that family and even though it was thought "she had no family" we all know how they can randomly turn up.  She might've had a sister who pre-deceased her and who'd moved abroad and whose children would start digging into the family history! 

Or, there might've been the earliest photo of somebody who eventually became infamous, who'd lived next door to her for 30 years, that a researcher could discover when writing a book 50 years in the future.

[susieroe]

My gift would actually be for my great great grandmother!  I would bring her a copy of the book "Mrs. Haliburton's Troubles, her copy of which was destroyed in the Great Flood of SHEFFIELD in 1864.

I would also give her husband, my g g grandfather, a print off copy of the PDF file that I have about the flood!  Also for him I would print off a copy of this flood claim record, below, that states he was a Traveller!  I have always wondered why he is stated to be a traveller? 

He was a clerk, next a Troop Sergeant in the 12th Royal Lancers, then after buying himself out, held various management positions with the Lincoln, MANCHESTER and SHEFFIELD Railways.  Perhaps he may be able to give me an answer!  Hope so!

..........

Flood claim John Gibbons Mathews

Particulars of Claim   
Amount of Damages Claimed   
Damage to Personal Property       Loss and damage to the following articles   
            
        Pair of cloth Trowsers, Dark Grey Coat, 2 Hats, pair of patent leather Boots, cleaning and washing Clothes, pair of Lady's Slippers pair of Boys Elastic Side Boots pair of leather leggings Writing pad Groceries Books, consisting of Boys School Books Mrs. Haliburtons Troubles, Work on Homepathy, 2 Prayer Books, and other Books   £8   9s       
     Paid Mr. Sykes for Medical Attendance       12s   6d   
     Loss not being able to attend to business   £2   2s       
                £11   3s   6d   
 Certificate Granted
3 July 1865    

> SFCA Home | Search   > Claim 3972 Summary   > Claim 3972 Maps   ◄►
       £11   3s   6d   
    Certificate Granted
3 July 1865    Assessed by Consent at   £2   9s       
Note: Line 2: Homepathy [sic]

.............

But...... It has been a bit of a puzzle to me why he is recorded on this record as a traveller!

He was certainly in the "travel" business with the Railway, but his father was an Irish Landowner, a Gentleman, his son was an Accountant, worked for GTR in Canada, his wife the daughter of a Coaching Company -  all in all quite a wealthy family!

And anyone know how much would £11.3.6d in 1865 be in today's money? 

Jeanne

I love it when details of their clothes/possessions are listed, as above and in Wills, you start to get a real picture of them
Regarding your puzzlement over 'Traveller', my g,grandfather was a railway detective, but gave his occupation as Clerk or Commercial Traveller. Maybe he had to keep his actual job 'undercover', but it could just be railway parlance that any employee who travelled the railways in their work was given
these designations. I would imagine that, as a manager, your ancestor would have had to do a fair bit of travelling.