A look at heirlooms
(Note: Links on this page appear in Gray, BOLD FONT).
What constitutes an heirloom
We each will need to decide what to save and what to toss. I can only write about what matters to me. While the 1889 LETTERS from Ironwood, Michigan–those written by my children’s great, great, great grandfather–are precious to me, to my kids, they may hold little significance. At some point, my children will save or toss (please, oh please kids, don’t throw it all away!)
Should they choose to toss what’s theirs, by then I’ll have spent a great deal of time documenting and writing stories to provide them with a better understanding of an item’s significance. The same goes for information about ancestors.
Preserving your heirlooms
The focus of this blog is to TEACH MY CHILDREN THEIR PAST. I create profiles and stories about our ancestors using the documentation and heirlooms at hand. I can write all I want, but at some point, I’ll need to address WHAT TO DO WITH THE PAPER TRAIL. An in-depth ARTICLE ON PRESERVATION has been created to address these issues.
**Go to the Categories menu, and in the drop down menu, click PRESERVATION. Articles related to preserving heirlooms will appear as a list like in the blog.
Topics covered are
- Folders to use for organization
- Storage boxes currently recommended
- Acid-free and lignin-free papers for filing and storing
- Recommended marking pens
- How to label old photos
I briefly addressed the preservation issue IN THIS POST where I provided links to some great resources.
When thinking about what to do
Consider donation
I mention once again giving donation some thought. In our case, I am completely overwhelmed with the documents, artifacts, furniture, photos and more in our possession, items that may mean little to my children.
Rather than finding physical spaces to store a family’s history, donation could be a very good decision. Historical societies would likely welcome several currently owned items. Letters are one example; great grandma’s wedding dress is another. In the photo of Carrie, look at the buttons on her collar.
Making the decision
To save or not?
For me, the best decision has been to write about what matters most. Some stories about ancestors and heirlooms matter more than others.
I recently wrote the story of my grandparents’ wedding, a story I want my children to remember. That post can be found HERE. I also wrote a post about a man who married into our family, a man with a questionable past. That story can be found HERE. The story about great grandma’s high chair can be found HERE.
Once the stories are written, our family will decide how to file original papers, photos, and more. From there, we will consider donation.
For the articles: Go to the Categories menu and click on PRESERVATION, check the blog, or find the PRESERVATION tab in the top menu.
Happy Profiling! ❤
The Malevolent Matriarch 