What Will Happen to Once-Treasured Silverware and China?

Do you have old silverware or china packed away in a cabinet or attic? Browsing recently in a "vintage" store, I noticed a wooden chest loaded with silverware. I counted a full service of silver for twelve, priced at $60. On another shelf, I spotted a graceful gravy boat and large serving platter from a set of fine china. Sigh.

Decisions, decisions

I know many families trying to decide what to do with matched sets of champagne flutes, or good silverware, or fine china, or other items from decades in the past. These days, younger folks often have no room for a service for twelve of anything. Plus, more are choosing to entertain casually rather than throwing a formal dinner party with silver, crystal, and the works.

Important!  Photograph a place setting or one specific piece of your set so it will live on in your family history records, no matter what you decide to do. Write down a description and let future generations know the manufacturer and approximate date of purchase or however these items entered your family's hands. Maybe you'll want to write a paragraph about some memorable times this china or silverware or goblet set was used for a family holiday or special dinner. Add a photo of a family meal with this set in use, if you can.

Possible next steps

As noted in my book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past, I think it's a good idea to consider your options sooner rather than later. My recommendations:

• Talk with your family about whether they would like to have any or all of your treasured china or silverware or goblets (or other items).
• Mention a specific story (or two) of those items being carefully picked out or proudly displayed by an ancestor, to highlight the emotional connection.
• If no one wants the set, offer to have each person take a single teaspoon or just one piece from any of these sets. Better to save a few items than to have the entire set fall out of the family's hands forever. Everyone has room for one item!
• In addition to offering an item to your siblings, children, grandchildren, also consider asking nieces, nephews, cousins to accept one item. This saves more items and it spreads the stories around to more relatives at the same time.

If you have no takers or can only place a few items, you might want to learn more about the value of your china or silverware or goblets. Consider that should these items have some monetary value, the Brooklyn Teacup has excellent advice about various options for selling. 

Another possibility: Depending on the age of your set, a local museum, library, or history society may be interested in using it (or selected pieces) for historical displays. It's worth exploring.

When to start?

It's never too early to start the ball rolling on finding new homes for your crystal or silver or china, if you choose. In my family, a niece with a sentimental streak has raised her hand for Grandma's silverware and china. Another niece now sets her holiday table with her Mom's wedding china mixed with a few pieces from my wedding china and a couple of crystal goblets from her Dad's family. They appreciate the old-fashioned style and the rich heritage that comes with these items.

I wish you the same luck placing your family's special items!

The Wednesday Wedding of Dora Hurwitch and Aaron Hartman

Wednesday, June 20, 1888 was the wedding day of my paternal great aunt's older sister, Dora Hurwitch (1870-1943). She was born in Poland, the daughter of a peddler who brought his family to England where he later became a teacher. The groom was Aaron H. Hartman (1871-1942), a jeweler who was the son of a draper born in Poland. 

Of Dora and Aaron's children, three died before age 20. Their daughter Emily Hartman volunteered as a nurse during World War I and sadly died at age 22 when the flu epidemic swept through the Bermondsey military hospital where she was working in October, 1918. Her tombstone includes the poignant inscription "Thou o lord has done as it pleased thee."

Married by the groom's neighbor

In the 1881 England Census, Aaron Hartman and his family were listed in Sheffield just a few lines below "A. Alexander, Jewish Minister." And looking at the transcribed marriage record for Dora and Aaron from the West Bar Green Synagogue, the minister is "A. Alexander." Clearly the same man, who must have been well-known to the groom's family.

The West Bar Green Synagogue in Sheffield had a number of names and locations during its time. According to this brief history, "Rev. A. Alexander" was a "reader" during the early 1900s. After relocating to a more permanent place in 1914, the synagogue was unfortunately destroyed by German bombing during the Sheffield Blitz of December, 1940.

Aaron and Dora in retirement

In the 1939 Register, Aaron was shown as retired and his wife Dora's occupation was "unpaid domestic duties." Both Aaron and his bride, Dora, survived the blitz. In retirement, they were living in Lymington, Hampshire, England, a ferry ride away from the Isle of Wight. Lymington is more than 200 miles south of the couple's original home in Sheffield. 

Aaron died in December, 1942. Dora died in October of 1943. Both were buried in Ecclesfield Jewish Cemetery in Sheffield, where their children were buried. Remembering these folks from my father's family tree on the 137th anniversary of their wedding in Sheffield, England.

Daily Life, 1920-1940 in the United States

 
Many of the recent ancestors of particular interest in my family tree and hubby's family tree were born or came of age in the United States during the period between the two World Wars. All four of my immigrant grandparents settled in New York City during these three decades, and my parents were very young but growing up. My husband's mother and father were in high school and then he went on to college during the Roaring Twenties.

No wonder I was drawn to this concise and readable book by David E. Kyvig, Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1940. Only 300 pages plus notes and bibliography and a detailed index. See table of contents below.

Unlike conventional history books, Kyvig's book looks at local, national, and international events, plus politics and law, social movements, religion, economic developments, technology, transportation, entertainment and more--all through the lens of how they affected people living in the States, both in rural communities and in busy metropolitan areas. Solid historical and social context, covering well-known events with the focus on the consequences for everyday people going about their daily lives.

Kyvig examines trends revealed by Census data and by numerous studies such as the 1929/1937 books about Muncie, Indiana to understand how American daily life changed in communities from coast to coast after the "Great War," during the Great Depression, and as the economy finally began to turn around. The author examines influences like: Prohibition. Radio. Movies. Car culture. These and other changes gave me more insights into how my ancestors probably lived during the period.

If your local library doesn't have this informative book, you can find it on the Internet Archive here. Dip in and dig a little deeper into how your US ancestors might lived at that time! 

PS There are similar books that explore daily life during other periods in history. I'm checking them out to better understand my older ancestors too.

Remembering Fathers from Hubby's Family Tree

On Father's Day, I want to honor three fathers from my husband's family tree.

• My late father-in-law, Edgar James Wood (1903-1986) was an insurance agent by day, a professional musician by night, and an avid traveler to Europe. At top, a photo of Ed and his wife Marian, on a trans-Atlantic ocean liner headed for Italy. 
• Hubby's paternal grandfather was James Edgar Wood (1871-1939), a carpenter and contractor who built dozens of homes in and around Cleveland, Ohio. James and his wife Mary had four sons--my father-in-law Ed was the oldest.
• Hubby's paternal great-grandfather was Thomas Haskell Wood (1809-1890), a carpenter and carriage maker who brought up most of his sons to be carpenters and contractors. Thomas's own grandfather Elihu Wood Sr. served in a militia for 6 days during the American Revolution, a story that got lost in the family for too many generations.

May the stories of these fathers be remembered long into the future!

Redoing Research--and Finding Elizabeth Light's Obit

Every year, I rotate newspaper subscriptions so I can search different databases for ancestor birth, marriage, and death notices, as well as any social items or even legal woes.

Then I redo my research by either following specific branches of the family tree or investigating ancestors as their birth/marriage/death anniversaries pop up. Rotating newspaper sites paid off this week when I finally discovered where and when two ancestors in my husband's family died--raising a new genealogy question as well.

Elizabeth E. Bentley Light

The Bentley branch has been a special focus of my research into my husband's family tree. My husband's 3d great-grandpa William Tyler Bentley uprooted his family from upstate New York about 1835 and settled in Elkhart County, Indiana with his wife Olivia and their seven children. Alas, Olivia died just a few years later. William left for California a decade later, during Gold Rush fever, and most of his children soon also left Indiana to farm or ranch in California.

William's daughter Elizabeth married widower Emanuel Light on June 13, 1847 and they began their family with two sons, William and Frank. William only appears on the 1850 US Census, so I suspect he died young, before Elizabeth and Emanuel moved to central California late in 1853, bringing along his two children from his first marriage. In California, the couple had two more children, even as one of Emanuel's older sons died.

Obits for Elizabeth and Emanuel

Using my subscription to newspapers.com, I searched for Elizabeth and Emanuel's death notices. I had a vague idea of when they died (before 1900) but nothing specific. Within minutes, I had obituaries for both of these ancestors. Emanuel died first, in January of 1896, in Winters, California, a rural section of the state west of Sacramento. His obit noted that Emanuel had made his home on "the eastern slope of a range of mountains" since 1890. His survivors were listed as his wife Elizabeth, three sons, and one daughter. The survivor count must include his son from the first marriage plus two sons and a daughter with Elizabeth.

Elizabeth's obit was published in May of 1897, saying she died only 16 months after her late husband Emanuel. Again, her surviving children are noted as three sons and one daughter, very likely her husband's son from his first marriage plus two sons and a daughter with Emanuel.

On the 178th anniversary of Elizabeth and Emanuel's wedding, I'm glad to be able to add their death dates to my family trees, all because I redid my research in a newspaper database.

Married 80 Years Ago: Theodore and Yetta

On June 10, 1945, my cousin Theodore Roth (1907-1967) married Yetta Mansfield (1912-2004).

Theodore was a son of Bertha Weiss Roth and merchant Bela Roth, whose first wife was my great-grandmother's sister. Yetta was a daughter of watchmaker Isadore Manfield and his wife Sadie Friedman Manfield. On their marriage documents, the groom said he was born in Hungary, the bride said she was born in Austria. But in other documents, including the Census, she and her parents and one brother were shown as being born in Poland. Huh?

NYC voter register lists naturalization

When Yetta registered to vote in 1942, along with her sister Sylvia, they were required to list their place of birth and indicate naturalization. Yetta told officials that her birthplace was Poland, while Sylvia said her birthplace was Canada, as shown above. Both said they were naturalized under their father Isadore's documentation in 1931.

Next step: Finding Isadore's naturalization. Actually, it wasn't very difficult. 

NY Naturalizations: Bronx and Queens

I went to the free NY Naturalizations website, which is maintained by the Bronx and Queens County Clerks, and plugged in the name of Isadore Manfield. There were 2 results for this name. The first was a painter who arrived earlier in the 20th century and had no family. Not the man I was searching for. 

The second listing was a watchmaker born in Poland, married with four children...including Yetta, her sister Sylvia, and two other children. Definitely my guy, and the papers were a gold mine of details! This Isadore Manfield was naturalized in 1931, renouncing any citizenship from Poland and Austria. 

Thanks to all these documents, I have lots more information about Yetta's background. She and Theodore had one son, Edward. Thinking of them on the 80th anniversary of the Big Apple wedding of Theodore and Yetta.

Shadow Box for Pearls and More

This is my year for framing key family history artifacts. I want to protect them and make them look attractive for passing down to the next generation. Already in the hands of professional framers: a shadow box order for my father's World War II memorabilia. Next project: a shadow box for some of my Mom's items.

A child-size string of pearls and tiny pearl bracelet will be in the next shadow box, along with a photo of Mom (Daisy) and her twin sister (Dorothy), wearing these pearls (shown in photo below). 

When I mentioned the shadow box idea to my Sis, she suggested adding the metallic ID bracelet shown at top. It was hand-inscribed by a London jeweler who wrote "Daisy" on the front and "Dorothy, London 1943" on the back. 

At the time, Dorothy was serving as a U.S. WAC during World War II and was stationed in London for additional training after deployment. Her twin sister Daisy (my Mom) was home in the Bronx, New York, working as a legal secretary and helping her parents with their neighborhood dairy store. This was the first time in their 23 years together that they had been separated for more than a few days.

The shadow box will be made of black wood and feature a brass name plate on the frame, with Daisy and Dorothy's names and dates. On the back of the frame, I'll put bite-sized bios of the twins, explaining the significance of the jewelry items.

Of course I'll post a photo once the shadow box is completed! 

Planning a Shadow Box for Dad's WWII Memorabilia

Above, a snapshot of Dad, Harold D. Burk (1909-1978) during a brief leave to visit family before shipping overseas to serve in World War II.

I'm having his military memorabilia placed into a professionally-crafted, high-quality shadow box frame to keep everything safe and together. The frame store will incorporate special "museum glass" and special archival materials to prevent fading and deterioration. 

Not only is the framer arranging Dad's dog tags, unit insignia, shoulder patch, and Army lapel pins inside the box, she is including the black-and-white photo of Dad in his uniform, shown at top. 

A pro photographer recommended I have a high-resolution scan of the snapshot printed on special paper designed to last for decades. I used Mpix, which offers archival-quality prints. Other companies also offer similar services, so shop around if you want to do this, and also consider photo restoration if needed. 

The goal in creating a custom shadow box is to protect these 80-year-old items and enclose them within a frame and with a story, so they are preserved and passed down to future generations as part of our precious family history. For me, the investment in quality framing craftsmanship will give these items a much longer life and make them look more important than just leaving them in an archival box.

There are so many ways to store and share family artifacts (see my book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past) but this project is designed especially to showcase artifacts from my Dad's service in WWII, before he met and married my Mom.

I'll share more about this project once I get it back from the framer. And yes, after I join my ancestors sometime in the far future, I have multiple heirs for this new heirloom. 

Were My Family's Baby Names Among the Most Popular of Their Time?

All four of my grandparents were immigrants and their children were all (with one exception) born in New York City during the period 1900-1919.

These first-generation children were: Mildred, Harold, Miriam, Sidney, Fred, Dorothy, and Daisy. I wondered how many of those names were particularly popular at the time.

So I wandered over to the Social Security website section devoted to "popular baby names of the period by decade" and selected the decade of 1910. 

Sure enough, Dorothy was one of the most popular baby names of the 1910s, as was Mildred. By the way, both names were also in the top ten baby names of the first decade of the twentieth century. 

Not one of these given names from my family appears in the top 10 baby names of the past century.