Thursday, January 13, 2011

TREASURE CHEST THURSDAY

Following the suggestion for GenealBloggers Thursday writing prompts...I have only one "family treasure", something passed down from my paternal grandmother Gwendolyn [Anderson] Danielsen [1902-1970].  When she passed away, my father gave me a necklace that had belonged to her - a silver cross with diamond chips hung on a very fine silver chain.  It is very delicate looking, and I assume the chain is made of white gold, as anything other than "real" gold irritates my skin.  I've been thinking about it lately...I don't have a daughter.  To whom should I pass this on?  My one niece didn't know Nana, and wasn't raised Catholic.  My 9 cousins of course knew Nana, but their children certainly didn't; all have been raised Catholic, I believe.  My son will eventually marry...in fact at age 18 he is currently planning to marry within the next couple of months.  Dare I give it to this young woman, gambling on the necklace perhaps passing out of the family altogether?  

My father also brought home some of my grandmother's furniture - a sideboard [I think that's what it was called], a chest of drawers...I don't recall if there were any other pieces.  After my parents divorced and after the house was, eventually, sold, the pieces were put into storage.  Unfortunately, they were lost due to non-payment of the storage fees.  I always wished I had known about this before the fact, so that my grandmother's furniture could have been saved and kept in the family.

I don't know what, if anything, my father's brother took of my grandmother's belongings after her death.  I must ask my cousins - are there any other remaining family treasures?