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!