Thursday, October 28, 2010

Family Treasures

Most of the family treasures I now possess once belonged to my Mother's Paternal Grandparents. She was extremely close to them and lived with them for awhile. Here is a picture of my Great Grandpa George and Great Grandma Wilhelmina, the same women who appeared in the picture making apple butter!

According to my Aunt, Mom was their favorite and at times they acted as though she was their only Grandchild, which might explain why she was able to acquire so many treasures. Ah, family politics and a discussion for another day!
This is the small, tidy clapboard house where they lived. I remember this house so well. 

The room along the right side with all the windows was their sunroom and where I remember spending most of the time.
I don't remember my Great Grandpa at all but everyone always said he was a sweet, kind soul but strong as an ox. 

He was a detective for the railroad and was responsible for the capture of a fairly well publicized train robber. I remember my mom telling me the story as a child and even recall seeing a newspaper article but it has long since disappeared. Of course in those days flashlights did not exist, so they used lanterns to light the way. 

This was one of my Great Grandfathers railroad lanterns. Could he have been carrying this lantern the night he helped catch the train robber?

This pitcher belonged to my Great Grandmother. The color combination is quite odd, Brown and Teal with gold accents. If I saw this in an antique store I would probably pass right by but it has it's own story to tell!

In the days before commercially bottled milk, customers would provide their own vessel in which the milkman would leave the days delivery. My mother remembers my Great Grandmother putting this very pitcher on the back porch and the milkman would fill it with milk.
When I was taking these pictures, I flipped it over to discover the following mark:

I'm not sure but I "think" Laughlin pottery was the forerunner to the now famous Homer Laughlin pottery. If any of you have any further information on this, I would love to hear. 
UPDATE: After I posted this, this morning, I started doing a little research and found that this particular trademark WAS used by the Homer Laughlin Company but was only used from 1890 - 1900. So I now know approximately when this piece was made but have no idea what the pattern is, I'll keep searching!
This very, very old crock is actually a butter churn. I have no idea how far back it dates or how many hands it passed through but I do know that long before my Great Grandmother passed away, she gave this to my mom. 

Did the same women who made apple butter use this crock to churn their butter? The hooked cane on the far left was the cane my Great Grandmother always used. 

There is a rough marking on the crock that is still visible. I have no idea about it's origins but I would love to know, if anyone has any info!
This last treasure is one of my favorites. These tiny shoes were once worn by my Mom, probably her first pair of shoes.

I've laid a quarter at the toe to give you an idea of how small these shoes are.
In a very poor family, that passed everything down to the next child but yet saved nothing from my mom's childhood, HOW did these tiny shoes survive? I have a feeling these must have been left at my Great Grandmothers house who kept them tucked away for my mom. 
Thank you again to everyone who has followed along this week and left such wonderful, heartfelt comments! xxoo Nan
I'm linking this post to Vintage Thingie Thursday at Colorado Lady. Please visit Suzanne for some more great Vintage goodness! 
And to Alphabe Thursday at Jenny Matlock's for the Letter F!

22 comments:

  1. Oh, I love reading stories about family treasures. I have a lot of things passed on through my grandmother.

    The lantern is wonderful, as is the photo of your grandfather in his uniform!

    xo
    Claudia

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  2. Love your entire post today. I have been there and done a lot of those things. Not as for back as your family however. I love hearing about families from those days. You have a treasure with that Laughlin piece. It is very popular again today and very pricey if you find any.

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  3. As one who also loves each and every treasure she received from grandparents I love this post. I seem to have become the keeper of the stories and have all my grandmother's photos and many of her treasures.

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  4. I adore your pictures, these are just the most wonderful posessions. My pictures are my most valued keepsake.
    Happy VTT
    Ann

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  5. What a lovely family history you have! The house is so special... I can almost feel the warmth and love that must have been there during those wonderful times spent there! Amazing about the pitcher... the milk and the name!
    Ann

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  6. What a fun post about your family and how interesting about putting the pitcher on the porch for the milkman. I never knew that and my Mom who was born in 1890 delivered milk at one time but I assumed it was in glass bottles, this was in CA. You know there are so darn many things I wish I had asked while my family was alive, they died off when I was too young to care about things like this.

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  7. What fun treasures!

    I love that sweet house and the butter churn!

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  8. What wonderful memories you have to pass on. I loved hearing about your family.

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  9. How great that you know so much about your family history and treasures!

    I love the lantern and especially the story that goes with it!

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  10. You have a nice collection of family heirlooms. I especially like the railroad lantern and the story about the train robber.

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  11. Wow Nan, What great family memories and treasures, don't you love the history of all this? I sure do!! In answer to the pearls question, well I had to get this old to accumulate that many loose pearls! Plus some were given to me by friends and neighbors as I guess I'm one of the few people on the block that loves everything old and vintage so I get the good stuff they think is junk!! Aha, little do they know what treasures they bestow, I'm a blessed and a lucky lady! Hugs, I love all your posts this week! I love old photos and family things! Marilou

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  12. Hi Nan!
    What wonderful stories and photos you are sharing with us! I am enjoying every moment here.

    Happy Thursday,
    Sally

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  13. When we were young teens, we spent endless hours on her Granmother's sunroom. As soon as I saw your picture, it brought back all those wonderful memories...thanks so much!
    Hugs,
    Coralie

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  14. What great family treasures, I love the pitcher, and what great information you found to go along with it.! Imagine it being that old? It is lovely. Happy VTT!

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  15. You do have some fabulous family treasures there! I love the things that have come to me from my ancestors as well.

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  16. Oh Nan! I have scrolled backwards to catch up and saw your sneak peek! Simply wonderful as well as the photo of your Mom. I wish I thought to ask anyone to share photos of aprons as well. They are so sweet. I have so enjoyed all the family treasures you have shared. The milk container is fascinating. I didn't know there was ever a time when there wasn't milk bottles. Such fun! Have a fun Halloween! Elizabeth

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  17. I love all the stories surrounding family treasures. It's makes them interesting pieces.Nice post!~Ames

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  18. Oh Nan....I love your post today! I love treasures and old family keepsakes. My family doesn't really have too many I'm afraid. I have a few and they mean so much to me.

    Thank milk thingy is fabulous! Just love it!

    Love to you~

    Rebecca

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  19. Lovely post, you have some wonderful pictures and amazing family treasures. I did not know that about the milk, then again, at that time one side of my family were milk producers, so they got it fresh.

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  20. Nan, I so enjoy reading these stories about your family treasures, and the photographs of your family I truly adore. I can relate to your Mom being her grandparent's favorite grandchild. I was my grandmother's admitted favorite, from a total of 24 grandchildren. I might not have many material things passed down from her, but I do indeed have a wealth of blessed memories to cherish. :)
    Love how you used the butter urn as the perfect place to hold all the walking sticks. Fabulous!
    Have a wonderful weekend!
    Maureen

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  21. Nan, what an enjoyable post! I love old photos! What a rich family history you were able to share! The milk pitcher story is fascinating. The shoes are awesome! How cool that your great grandmother tucked away this treasure!

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  22. Lambrechts Pottery. I think they were out of both Milwaukee and Chicago and I know that a lot of their smaller pieces were made by Red Wing. I also know that I covet that crock. And so many of your other treasures.

    Wow. What a lovely stop for Alphabe-Thursday. The way you formatted those pictures and the little stories behind all of your treasures was absolutely fabulous.

    This is one of my favorite stops this week...but sadly, it's making me want to find some long lost relative to give me some cool family stuff...

    Sigh...

    OK, I'm shallow.

    But I'm appreciative of wonderful collectibles. And you certainly have those.

    Thanks so much for linking this week.

    I really enjoyed this immensely.

    A+++++++++++++

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I appreciate each and every one of your comments! Thank you for taking the time to leave such nice words!