Historical Artifacts?

[SunnyOne]

This morning I was in my storage unit, pawing through boxes that haven't been opened for a number of years.

I came upon a box I was given when my great grandmother passed in the 1970s. I opened it and inside I found a very well preserved gourd - hollowed out, with a narrow neck. I have looked at it a few times since the 70s, but always put it away wondering what to do about it.

Inside, I found a note with my great grandma's handwriting.

The note said that this was given to her by her father when he returned home after the Civil War. (He was born in 1836).

He wanted her to have it as it had been given to him by his mother when she passed away in 1864.

If he was born in 1836, I can roughly calculate that his mother, my great-great-great grandmother, was born around 1810-ish, give or take a few years.

I am roughly calculating the age of the gourd to be nearly 200 years old. It amazes me that it has survived and not been destroyed or lost.

I would love to keep and display it when I am settled - not sure when that will be, I am somewhat nomadic for now.

The idea came to me to donate it to a historical museum or historical society for the Central New York area (the family resettled there after coming to America as Palatine Germans). If a museum kept it as part of their collection, then I know it would have a good chance to be cared for and viewed by many people for educational or interest purposes...and I like that idea.

So have any of you ever done this? do you just start calling around local counties or towns? I am coming up with a list of historical societies in that area - but it's very rural.

Ideas appreciated!

 

[Ronstar]

I have donated maps and an easel to local museums. Nothing personal.

But your gourd is a family heirloom. If I were you, I would keep it or pass it down to a family member.

 

[athena53]

My Dad was the manager of a steel mill that closed in the 1980s. Among his things we found the company flag which had flown over it, and some newspaper clippings from times when Dad's boss came in from HQ and said flowery things about the great future of the plant. I told my siblings I'd find a good home for it. BF suggested the municipal museum where the plant had been located. I e-mailed them and made it clear that it would be a gift, not a loan, but that if they put it on exhibit I'd like them to note it was from the family. They were happy to have it. Someday I hope to visit there!

 

[braumeister]

But your gourd is a family heirloom. If I were you, I would keep it or pass it down to a family member.

I think this is the right answer. We have a number of things from DW's family that I think are pretty cool, such as a pierced tin candle lantern one of her ancestors used in the War of 1812. But the local museums are not interested in any of it so we just have a few things displayed in our home so we can enjoy them. That's what I would do with your gourd. Maybe make a nice little stand for it with a small plaque saying what its significance is.

 

[grasshopper]

My grandfather was mucking stalls for the wagons or sleds that delivered kerosine in the early 1900's. That company grew up to be Esso Std Oil Co. His last position with Esso was corporate personal manager in 1960's when he retired.

When my mom cleaned out his belongings he had documents of the history of Esso from day one. She called the Exxon office and they were thrilled to have his collection, and made a showcase for the photos, service pins, and whatnot. They even invited mom to lunch to see the storyline that they put together.

 

[ScoopKona]

Ever been to a museum and see a display, "From the Collection of Franklyn J. Quackenbush?"

Find a museum that will safeguard your heirloom, while you retain ownership. I was planning on doing that with my family's heirlooms -- until my parents generation sold it all at auction and [urinated] the money away.

The truly sad thing is that my wife's family did exactly the same thing -- traded precious art for cash. And then spent it stupidly.

My hope was that one of the younger generation was capable of seeing past the end of their nose, and then pass all this stuff to them for continued safeguarding.

 

[Morgan22]

But your gourd is a family heirloom. If I were you, I would keep it or pass it down to a family member.

Problem with this is that the younger generation, in general, don't want old stuff.

OP, I think it's a great idea to donate to a museum as you are thinking. Unless you have a family member that is really interested in this type of thing and you know they will care for it. And hopefully pass down to another caring person in the family, or donate to a museum before the end of their days.

 

[beowulf]

I am in complete agreement with Morgan22. Our kids, who are in their 40's, have told us to get rid of anything that has no intrinsic worth except photographs and movies we have taken prior to cell phones having the ability to take videos. When our parents passed, we brought home far too much stuff that had sentimental value for them, but not for us. Now we need to get rid of both the things we inherited from them as well as all the detritus we have accumulated. Downsizing makes a lot of sense, but we like where we live and have been in the same house for 40 years. Goodwill gets a constant stream of things from us, but it doesn't seem to make a dent.

 

[Popeye]

Makes me wonder what the gourd’s use was. Perhaps it held gunpowder during the civil war. That would be amazing to me. I’ve heard of gourds being used for that purpose. Maybe track the ancestor’s civil war unit and see if they were in a famous battle. Then donate to a museum honoring that battle.

 

[SunnyOne]

oh sorry!! I should have mentioned the remaining comment on the note.
It says:

"My grandmother kept her her black pepper in this gourd, before the Civil War".

If I donate this, I would hope they would display the note along side.

I would like to instead pass this down, but our extended family is full of nomads who live out of backpacks - not quite literally, but not far from it. I can't help but think of all the people who were passed down something, didn't know the significance and just tossed it....and the dead don't talk lol.

 

[Act2]

My aunt served as an Army nurse in WW2, Korea, and Vietnam. I visited a military museum and asked if they would be interested in a collection of her memorabilia, and they enthusiastically are. I had first tried to find anyone in the family who might be interested. Now all I have to do is gather it all up.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

I had a shoe box full of arrow heads and spear heads that I found over the years growing up on our family farm.

I mentioned this to a neighbor who happened to volunteer at the county museum. I donated them and they were happy to get them. A professor from a nearby university studied them and sent me a nice letter telling me how old they were and what they were used for. Turns out that they were much older than we thought.

I've also donated some military uniforms from WW1 and WW2. I'd rather have these items seen by everyone than sitting on a shelf or in a closet in my attic.

 

[Sunset]

We visited the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa Canada, they had an exhibit on Arctic exploration. There I saw various artifacts that were on loan by my Aunt.
Much better than having them stuck in a box in a closet.