Show us your coolest family heirloom

7,702 Views | 49 Replies | Last: 5 mo ago by USAFAg
ChucoAg
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Just wanted to see what this board could come up with.

Maybe it's something that has been passed down by your family for generations or it could be something that has come through your family in a shorter time frame. You decide

Some heirlooms can be of great monetary value or sentimental value, or both. Tell us why it's valuable to your family!

Rabid Cougar
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Sorry cannot show it.

My Dad's genealogy work. All by type writer or hand written.

An original Colonel George Patton signature.. on my Grandfather's discharge papers from the 5th Cavalry.

My father in laws dr. bag he received when he graduated Georgetown Medical School in 1939.
Ghost of Andrew Eaton
How long do you want to ignore this user?
We've got my great-great-great grandmother's family Bible. It's full of family records and such.

We also have my great-great-grandmother's Singer sewing machine and my great-grandfather's ivory-handled straight razor. My Mom had it restored a few years back.

Sorry for the edit. My worthless cousin did interview my great-grandmother years before she passed and recorded the interview. Lots of great stories and family history.
If you say you hate the state of politics in this nation and you don't get involved in it, you obviously don't hate the state of politics in this nation.
Rex Racer
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Mine would be my great-great grandfather's 12 gauge (on my Mom's side), and on my Dad's side, the 12 gauge that belonged to the original landowner of the farm that my grandparents sharecropped on. He left them the farm when he died in 1950. Both shotguns are late 1800's.

And I have a shadowbox with my grand-daddy's WWII medals and patches. He was a surgical technician in the 7th Armored Division.
aalan94
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Way too many things to tell. I was fortunate in that both my dad (the youngest son) and my mom (the oldest daughter) in their families by chance got the bulk of the good stuff. We just went through mom's estate sale and I got most of the good things beforehand, like grandma and grandpa's kitchen table, the china cabinets from both grandparents, etc. The few heirlooms (like a Singer sewing machine similar to that noted above) I didn't get ended up with siblings though. To top it off, I bought out my siblings and got to keep our 90 acre family farm.

I also got the genealogical files, like one of those folks above. Among them is a passport from France in the 1600s. It's wrapped up and safe, so I'm not pulling it out for a photo. Here are a few things I can share:

My grandfather's Browning shotgun, which he bought around 1925 for $18 specifically to shoot a chickenhawk that was preying on his birds. I also have 2 .22 rifles he owned.


My grandmother's diaries, from the late 1920s to the mid 1960s. For the period that she's dating my grandfather, she ends the message with abbreviations, which my mom eventually figured out were codes for what they did while sitting on the porch or whatever. She would also sometimes write: "Joe very bad tonight." (Joe being grandpa). I can only imagine what "bad" means.



Also her crank record player from the 20s and most of her 78 RPM records.


My great grandfather's hand-built chair. Probably built in the late 1800s or early 1900s. Dog chewed a bit about 5 years ago, but it's fixable.

While I don't have a picture of him in that same chair, here's one of him (on the right), playing poker with cousins around the same time.
mandevilleag
How long do you want to ignore this user?
On my dad's side I have original portraits of my gggg grandparents. Pretty cool to have an idea what they looked like. He was a veteran of the War of 1812..

On my mom's side I have my gggg grandfathers bible (not one of the huge family bibles). He immigrated with his family from France to New Orleans in 1828. The bible is in French and has lots of his handwritten notations and thoughts on passages. He was a Catholic who knew the bible. I also have my ggg grandmother's birth cert from Plaine de Valsch, France and her marriage cert from St. Mary's in New Orleans. All written in French. Just cool keepsakes.
Gunny456
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
My dad was in the 5th Cav Regiment at Ft. Clark Texas from 1937-1941. E Troop. He was a Sargent and troop bugler. Still pure horse Cav then. Do you happen to know what troop and what years your grandfather was in? I have been involved procuring pictures, etc for the museum at Ft. Clark.
ABATTBQ87
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
waiting for WarHymn Ag to post and win the thread
Gunny456
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
bump for rabid cougar
Rabid Cougar
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Gunny456 said:

My dad was in the 5th Cav Regiment at Ft. Clark Texas from 1937-1941. E Troop. He was a Sargent and troop bugler. Still pure horse Cav then. Do you happen to know what troop and what years your grandfather was in? I have been involved procuring pictures, etc for the museum at Ft. Clark.
B Troop. Also a bugler. 1933-1938.

He went to several reunions at Fort Clark. I have pictures but no way to share on here.
Rabid Cougar
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
ABATTBQ87 said:

waiting for WarHymn Ag to post and win the thread
He wins it every time.... We are playing for second place...
Gunny456
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I have spent a lot of time at Ft. Clark researching. It's really a sad deal that the government sold the fort and its grounds to the public. Virtually nothing has been done to preserve much. The guardhouse is where the little museum is. Everything in the museum has come from families of men stationed there or from past troopers that were still alive to leave things to them.
One barrack still remains but is a hotel for the Ft. Clark springs. Some of the officers houses remain but are privately owned. The old parade ground is a golf course.
Very sad the fort was not saved.
Every year the entire regiment had a group picture taken. It was done on the parade grounds. It was a large panoramic picture about 12" tall and about 2.5 -3ft long.
All Troopers were mounted and grouped by troop.
They gave each trooper 2 copies of those pictures…..each year. See if you can find any of those from your grandfather.
Also.., upon discharge…, every trooper received a leather bound picture album of various pictures of troopers and horses, Ft. Clark etc etc. Your grandfather should have received one. See if you can locate that.
Please let me know if you by chance find any of that. It would help greatly in identifying other troopers etc.
My dad was discharged from the 5th Cav in 1941. But he reenlisted when Pearl Harbor was bombed in the Army Air Corp and stayed in for the duration until 1945. He was a crew chief and was in Guam and New Guinea.
He was an orphan and had no family and he lost a lot of his 5th Cav pictures. I have spent years contacting 5th Cav descendants and trying to find out more about my dad in the Cav.
He passed unexpectedly in 1994 at 72.
Anything you might come across would be interesting.
clarythedrill
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Gunny456 said:

My dad was in the 5th Cav Regiment at Ft. Clark Texas from 1937-1941. E Troop. He was a Sargent and troop bugler. Still pure horse Cav then. Do you happen to know what troop and what years your grandfather was in? I have been involved procuring pictures, etc for the museum at Ft. Clark.
If you are ever in Killeen and can get on post, 2-5 Cav has a huge photo album in the battalion headquarters with some real cool photos from the horse days.
Gunny456
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Thank you.! Yes I've researched there. They moved the 5th Cav colors to Ft. Hood after the war. Sadly our stupid government held an auction at Ft. Clark and sold everything of interest. Very little pictures and documents made it to Ft. Hood. Really a loss of important history.
AgRyan04
How long do you want to ignore this user?
On my wife's side of the family, the grant from the state of Texas to her GGGGGGGG grandfather for fighting in the Battle of San Jacinto. My kids are 8th generation Texans on her side.

My father gifted my son with a beautiful Bulova pocke****ch that was given to his father (my son's great grandfather) by his father (my son's GG grandfather).

On the other side of the family, I have my grandfather's WWII records and medals from his time in HM Royal Navy....and I also carry his old pocket knife daily.

Lastly, my Mom put together photo albums of all sides of our family with biographies of everyone....very thankful she spent the time on that. She interviewed her aunts, uncles, etc specifically for it. She passed 5 years ago and it's just staggering how much family history would have gone with her had she not put them together.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Rex Racer
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Oh, yeah, I forgot the pocket watch that my grandfather brought back from Germany after the war.

It was presented for 25 years of loyal service in a German powder mill. It has an engraving of the Kaiser inside.
StockHorseAg
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I've got the pocket knife that my grandpa carried as a paratrooper during WW2. It's been through two combat Jumps(D-Day and Market Garden) and the Battle of the Bulge. It was also there for his two bronze stars and silver star.
BrazosBendHorn
How long do you want to ignore this user?
would you believe I've got an actual helmet from the Peloponnesian War?

Just kidding, it's actually a USC Trojan Band helmet from the mid-1950s (courtesy of my dad, who was a Prof. of Music there for a few years). Made of fiberglass and Bakelite (or something like that), I'm kind of amazed that it's still in one piece after almost 70 years and 6 or 7 changes of address.
hillcountryag86
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I have grandfather's Colt 1911 he carried in both WWI and II. Also inherited the armband and Colt .32 Pocket Pistol from
WWII.





Bighunter43
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
My brother and I are in possession of this Colt Frontier.44 pistol that belonged to our GG Grandfather who was Texas Outlaw Bill Whitley. He was co-leader of a gang that robbed 4 trains, 2 banks and numerous stagecoaches. His cousin often harbored him and other members, but turned informant and US Marshal John T Rankin and posse were waiting on the train when they attempted to rob it just outside of Harwood. After an hour gunfight to obtain the mail car, they gave up and the robbery was thwarted. Whitley showed up 2 days later at his cousin's in Floresville where Rankin was waiting on him. Whitley came in and sat on a chair, lit the lamp when Rankin covered him with a shotgun….both fired simultaneously but Whitley just missed and the shotgun blast caught him in the head and neck. He crawled under the bed and continued to fire while other deputies came in and unloaded. (Sept. 25, 1888)….it was passed on to our grandfather who gave it to us.


Slicer97
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Can't post pics, but I have a straight razor that's been handed down through the family over the years. Best estimate is that it was manufactured in England sometime in the late 1700s/early 1800s.
war hymn aggie
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
wow.....I feel honored & blessed to even be mentioned in this thread.
Some of you posters have great memories.
porchdawg
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Well War Hymn.. you do have some pretty cool stuff that is relevant to all of us!!
wangus12
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
war hymn aggie said:

wow.....I feel honored & blessed to even be mentioned in this thread.
Some of you posters have great memories.

Gunny456
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Don't know if you ever looked up the serial number of your 1911. Colt shows it built in latter part of 1918. 1918 production serial numbers of 1911's from about 230000 to about 573000.
Gunny456
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
If your Grandfather is still alive get him to write a document about the history he knows of the SAA and have it notorized. Then contact the Cody Firearms Museum and pay for a Colt letter on the gun. The Colt letter will document when the pistol was manufactured, the specs of the pistol when it left Colt and where it was being shipped to.
This would give you some real cool provenance to keep with the pistol and add value to it for the future.
hillcountryag86
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Gunny456 said:

Don't know if you ever looked up the serial number of your 1911. Colt shows it built in latter part of 1918. 1918 production serial numbers of 1911's from about 230000 to about 573000.
Thanks. I have a letter from Colt stating it was delivered to an upstate New York armory. My grandfather lived in the Rochester area at that time.

I'll try to find the letter and I'll post it. It's in a box from the move but I'll find it.
Gunny456
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Absolutely beyond cool. It's in great shape too. Thanks for sharing. Outstanding!
GasAg90
How long do you want to ignore this user?
We have a piece of my grandfathers plane from the Doolittle Raid. Also have a piece of Doolittle's plane. By piiece, I mean fragment.
spud1910
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I have my grandfather's Browning Sweet Sixteen. When I checked the serial number, I think it was produced in the 1920s or 30s.
Gunny456
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
So which plane was your grandfather in and what capacity was he on the plane?
Bighunter43
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Gunny456 said:

If your Grandfather is still alive get him to write a document about the history he knows of the SAA and have it notorized. Then contact the Cody Firearms Museum and pay for a Colt letter on the gun. The Colt letter will document when the pistol was manufactured, the specs of the pistol when it left Colt and where it was being shipped to.
This would give you some real cool provenance to keep with the pistol and add value to it for the future.



He's long since passed, but we have provenance. I have contacted Colt before and yes I need to get the letter with the information. I'd like to know when Whitley obtained it. There were some shootouts with a few people, and I'd really like to know if was carrying it at the time, or had recently obtained it before he was gunned down! Thanks!!
Gunny456
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
That is so cool. Priceless really. Thanks again for sharing sir.
Bighunter43
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Gunny456 said:

That is so cool. Priceless really. Thanks again for sharing sir.


Whitley was 24 when he died, leaving behind a wife and two daughters. When it came time to pass on the pistol, my grandfather was the real character. Honestly it should have been my older brother's by birthright, but my grandfather staged a "shootout" to see who would inherit it. He had a target on a tree and we were each to fire the pistol at 10 paces and whoever was the better shot would get ownership. (Shoot the pistol to get the pistol)..The .44/40 ammo was decades old and was "dud" (the pistol works fine)….so, co-ownership ended the day. (Here is a newspaper clipping of Whitley's final moments….certainly nothing to be proud of, but owning it is kind of cool). Another GG grandson has the Winchester!

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-austin-weekly-statesman-death-of-wil/15533783/
Gunny456
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
This story just gets better! Outstanding! Can't thank you enough for sharing. He sounds like a piece of work.
Page 1 of 2
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.