Thursday, January 16, 2014

TREASURE CHEST THURSDAY–1905 GIFT TO MY GRANDMOTHER


There is today's treasure, the book given to my grandmother.  Also shown are photos of my mother & her parents on the right and my father and his parents on the left. The pictures in the background are of my grandmother, the recipient of today's treasure. 


I know many things about my Grandmother, Florence Bowden Milne.  One of those, is that she was an avid reader for all of her life. 

I remember when she and I were both living in Houston, Texas and she was in her 80’s, I would drive her over to the library where she would check out 8-10 books at a time.  A couple of weeks later, we’d do it all over again.  Her daughter, my mother, is also an avid reader and guess what?  So am I.  Guess it traveled through the generations in those genes. 

I was going through some boxes here at the house about 6 or 7 years ago and came across items that had belonged to my grandmother. One of those items was a book.

The book


Having heirlooms from your ancestors is a heart warming thing.  Well, at least to me it is.  These are items that we may have seen at the ancestor’s home, or they might have worn a particular item, like a ring or earrings.  For me, it gives me a closeness that brings me great joy and satisfaction.

Today’s item is a book that was given to my grandmother, who’s nickname to some of her relatives, was “Flossie.”  Short for Florence.  The inscription says “To Miss Flossie, Christmas ‘05, George & Alfred.”  The name of the book is The Story of the Iliad by A. J. Church, M.A., 1904.

Title page of the book


The inscription inside the book

My grandmother married my grandfather on 11 Apr 1906 when she was 18 yrs. old.  This would mean this gift was given to her the Christmas prior to her wedding.  

As to who George and Alfred are, listed on the inscription, I can only surmise from my family data.  There are an Alfred & George in the Thornton family, who were first cousins to my grandfather, Joseph Albert Milne, and not much older than my grandmother.  I do know that the Thornton family is documented often in my grandmother’s journal.

This book sits just above my computer where I can look at it all the time, along with family photos and my DAR certificate.
 
What items do you have that belonged to your ancestors?  

Some people are fortunate to have many, some only one or two.  But, whatever we have we hold dear.

I would love to hear from you about your family heirlooms.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

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I look forward to reading your comments. If you have any connection to the people mentioned in this blog, please let me know. I write about mine and my husband's ancestors and would welcome new information or meeting a new cousin or two. Thanks for visiting and come back soon.