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Tracking Family Treasures at the Berkshire Athenaeum
By
Kathleen M. Reilly, Supervisor Local History & Genealogy Services
For most of us, family history isn’t
just about genealogical charts, names, dates and locations. We also have
those “family treasures” handed down from previous generations. Some of
these items may be quite valuable from a monetary point of view, but more
often it is the memories and emotions connected to them that make them
important.
Grandma’s cookie jar or tea kettle,
Grandpa’s old tools or coin collections, the uniform Uncle John wore during
World War II, postcards sent by Aunt Mary when she traveled across country
on her honeymoon in 1937. . . whatever it is that you have on a shelf or
stored away in attic, basement or closet, each item has a place in the story
of your family’s history. But very often, by the time we become interested
in documenting our personal histories, Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle John and
Aunt Mary, are no longer around to answer our questions about these bits of
history. We then find ourselves faced with the task of unearthing
information about our treasures without the benefit of firsthand accounts.
Fortunately, there are many sources of information to aid us in this quest.
If you are just beginning the process
of documenting your own family treasures, there is a wonderful little book
published by the Ontario Genealogical Society entitled
Help! I’ve Inherited an Attic Full of
History: A Guide for Genealogists—and Others—on Ways to Hand the Past on to
the Future. Published in 1998, this 92 page soft-cover book by
Althea Douglas, guides you through the process of sorting, dating,
evaluating and (perhaps!) disposing of the accumulation of a lifetime. A
copy of this book is available for use in the Local History Department.
Many people begin the process by
organizing family photographs. There are many books available to help you
identify the types of photos you have and the approximate dates when photos
of each type would have been taken. Books such as
Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family
Photographs by Maureen A. Taylor,
Windows On the Past: Identifying, Dating and Preserving Photographs
by Diane V. Gagel, and Care and
Identification of Photographic Prints by James M. Reilly – among many
others – are available at the library. Sources such as
Photographing Your Heritage by Wilma
Sadler Shull, Retouching Your Photographs
by Jan Way Miller, and a video entitled How
to Put Your Photos on Video and Produce Your Own Video Photo Album by
Bob Burg will help you to create and manage photo collections.
As you proceed with this undertaking,
you may find the need to research many other kinds of ephemera. Do you have
an assortment of kitchen utensils and dishes? Try perusing books such as
Kitchen Antiques by Mary Norwak,
The Housewares Story: A History of the
American Housewares Industry by Earl Lifshey or
Kitchen Collectibles: An Illustrated Price
Guide by Ellen M. Plante. Needlework? Available titles include:
The Embroiderer’s Story by Thomasina
Beck; Needlework in America: History,
Designs and Techniques by Virginia Churchill Bath; and
Plain & Fancy: American Women and Their
Needlework, 1700-1850 by Susan Burrows Swan, among many others. For
quilts you might consult The Pieced Quilt:
An American Design Tradition by Jonathan Holstein or
The Romance of the Patchwork Quilt in
America by Carrie A. Hall.
Are there unidentified pieces of
silver or old jewelry in your treasures? How about old clocks or pieces of
pottery? Searching the library’s catalog will reveal such sources as:
Early American Silver and Its Makers
by Jane Bentley Kolter, A Directory of
American Silver, Pewter and Silver Plate by Ralph and Terry Kovel,
American Silversmiths and Their Marks
by Stephen Ensko and The Arts and Crafts in
New England by George Dow, among numerous other titles.
For uniforms, you might consult
Military Dress of North America, 1665-1970
by Martin Windrow; and for medals, insignia and decorations the library has
such titles as Orders, Decorations and
Insignia, Military and Civil by Robert E. Wyllie and
Medals and Decorations by James A.
Mackay. Were your family members collectors of old toys, dolls and teddy
bears? Such books as American Antique
Toys, 1830-1900 by Bernard Barenholtz,
Antique Toys and Their Background by
Gwen White, The Golden Age of Toys
by Jac Remise and Pageant of Toys by
Mary Hillier will help in their documentation.
Postcards present another area for
research and documentation. Books such as
Postcard Collector Guide to the Markings on the Backs of Postcards by
Theodore Bozarth and An American Postcard
Collector’s Guide by Valerie Monahan will offer assistance, but don’t
forget all the information and clues contained in the note and addresses
written on the postcards! A number of sources will help you to document old
tools you may find in your personal treasure chests. Examples include: The
Tools that Built America by Alex
Bealer and The History of Needlework Tools
and Accessories by Sylvia Groves.
Furniture? Stamps? Knickknacks? Old
Books? Certificates? Letters? Documents? Works of Art? Whatever it is you
find in your attic, cellar or closets, each object is a piece of the
puzzle. Together they create a picture of
your family’s history. Using the resources at your Local Library you
can piece the puzzle together.
___________________Berkshire
Athenaeum, Local History & Genealogy Department
1 Wendell Avenue
Pittsfield, MA 01201
413-499-9486
Open: Monday -
Thursday, 9:00 am - 9:00 pm
Friday, 9:00 am -
5:00 pm
Saturday, 10:00 am -
5:00 pm
http://www.berkshire.net/PittsfieldLibrary/
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