Category Archives: Family heirlooms

Photographs and stories about objects made, owned or used by our ancestors

Vedia’s Postcard Book

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One Saturday afternoon in January 2011, after having lunch in downtown Ogden with my daughters, I and my youngest decided to go across the street to our favorite Antique Store (which was new then but sadly is not there anymore) before heading home. We were wandering around different areas when I heard her calling to me from upstairs, saying something about Egglestons. I hurried to her to see what she was talking about. She had picked up an old Postcard Book filled with postcards with the names of Egglestons and asked if these were our family. I did recognize many of the names and started getting really excited. This store sold things on consignment and this album was priced rather high, intended to be sold intact. There were other old postcards being sold individually and I guess they thought that this was worth the cost of all of the individual cards. Anyway, it was more than I was ready to pay for it. I did talk to the store owner and left my name and a message for the owner of this album.

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THE MEANING OF STUFF

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I am feeling somewhat burdened by stuff. Having lived in the same house for 36 years where my husband and I raised three children who have since moved out, I fully realize that we have accumulated a lot of stuff – way too much stuff.

I and my siblings have also been encouraging our 90-year-old father to get rid of some of the stuff he has acquired during his long lifetime and stored over 50 years in the same house. My father grew up during the depression and has a deeply instilled sense that things should be kept in case there is a future shortage or they may again be useful to someone. He is now willing to give away things to family members, but there are definite differences between what he thinks might be useful and what they might really want.

My children are of a generation which seems to be able to easily dispose of stuff. If they find later that they need something they got rid of, they just buy another. I personally am somewhere in between – I really want to rid myself of unnecessary stuff cluttering my home and life, but I also see value and meaning in some things, which makes it harder to let go.

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I have read advice columns suggesting strategies for eliminating stuff. One criteria given is usefulness. If something has not been used for a period of time, you should get rid of it. Another strategy uses a criteria of joy – encouraging people to acquire and/or keep objects which bring them pleasure and discard those that don’t. The challenge that keeps me immobile is the realization that some stuff is just stuff, useful, enjoyable or otherwise, but other stuff has meaning. Getting rid of meaningless stuff that is no longer useful or enjoyed is not really a problem (other than the time and effort involved in disposal). The problem is that for me, many objects have meaning. I have kept them because of what they mean to me, even when they take up space or are not useful. Continue reading →

The Eggleston Herbal

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How many people have the opportunity to hold in their hands something ancient that has been handled by at least nine generations of ancestors? Being a genealogist and museum person, this was pretty close to heaven for me.

I first learned of the “herbal” over twelve years ago. Through genealogical research I had become acquainted with many “cousins,” some much more distant than others. Through these contacts, I gained some wonderful information and was able to share information with others. Putting these pieces of information together helped us all learn more and created a more comprehensive family history.

Early in 2002, I got an email from a cousin, Lucinda, who had seen my post on a surname list. Two days later she emailed me two images which blew my mind. Continue reading →