Thursday, December 12, 2013

Family Heirloom Decorations

Teardrop Ornament by midgefrazel
Teardrop Ornament, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.
Heirloom Responsibility

This antique Christmas tree ornament was found on my grandmother's Christmas tree. It is glass and was a tarnished gold color. Many years ago, I bought gold "hobby" paint and spent some time carefully painting it. Then, I rolled in in a little glitter.

I am fairly sure that it belonged to my great grandparents or my 2nd great grandparents.

I do know (thorough years of research) that items that were in my 2nd great grandparents (Dudley Stewart) home eventually went to my great grandfather, Charles Edward Stewart. His mother was Eliza Fish Denison and she went to live with him until her death.

I remember asking my grandmother why she went to live with her son instead of her daughter. I do know that the house was not a problem because her daughter lived in a big house in Groton, CT. My grandmother answer was vague. People are not good at saying, "I don't know."

Things just keep getting passed down in my family. Many people think that is a great thing but I think of it as a responsibility. Am I to be forever responsible for the items of past generations?

I have now packed this item away forever. It is very fragile and not very pretty. I have bought new unbreakable ornaments.

Some things don't last forever.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Midge, I do think that present day descendants of very old American families do often carry the burden of having a lot of heirlooms to care for. Some are on display as they are nice and others, well, they are in storage forever. I am in this situation.