What do you own that have been passed through the generations?

I still have the satin shoes my grandmother wore at her wedding in 1920. They are TINY! I’ve also got a toy clothes washing set, complete with miniature dolly tub, mangle and pegs that DM said she was given when recovering from illness in the early 1930’s. DH has a family bible dating back to 1848, which has been really helpful when working out the family tree.

An old Waltham fob watch, which was left to me by my Great Aunt Fan.

Occasionally, I've worn it with a chain, but it's usually sat in a drawer.

SillyNanny321 something similar happened in my family. My GM remarried, after being widowed, and her children didn't take to the man. When she died he sold everything she owned. The family were very upset. It was a spiteful thing to do.
I was only 6 when she died, and barely remember her as we only met a few times. All my other GPs died before I was born.
My mum would give you the clothes off her back, and my sister took good advantage of the fact. She asked for, and was given pretty well all the family momentos before mum died. There are a few things that I would have liked, but it's not worth fighting about. I have my memories.

I should have inherited some family jewellery but it was all taken by burglars some years ago. Still have lots of sewing items, linen and a sewing machine.

Thanks to the greedy grasping money oriented woman married to my uncle when my Great Aunt died we were robbed of all of my Grandmothers belongings. Auntie was around 90 & shared a house with my GM aged 88. We took my DGM to my parents house as she had found her sister & it had really upset her. Went back to pick up clothes etc about 3-4 hours later & the house was already cleaned out. Only DGM’s still made bed & some clothes in the built in wardrobe were left! Every stick of furniture, personal items, collections of books & ornaments were gone! Excuse was that they were not sure what belonged to who so got the lot picked up & dumped. She made sure as we found some weeks later that anything of value was taken by her first! Regardless of what belonged to who! Would have been nice to have had some of the silly little things kept when my Scottish Grandparents moved to England before their children were born! Was not allowed to talk about this as it was ‘Family Business’ until everyone involved had died a while back so sorry everyone venting now! My DM made sure she had only the barest minimum of property to as she said ‘dispose of’ so have nothing of my family left.

This interesting thread inspired my daughter to fetch down the family rubies to show my grandson. Not what they sound like but a 3” high jar of tiny stones, some of them rubies, brought back from Australia by his great great great great grandfather in the mid 1800s. He had joined the gold rush, not to pan for gold rather, as a master joiner, to build accommodation for those who did.

We knew there was a pile of letters he sent home but to our extreme dismay they were destroyed when my grandmother died, along with all possessions which could not be sold. We lived a 10 hour drive away with 4 small children in the family and my parents weren’t on hand to rescue anything. So very frustrating but we have the ‘rubies’.

My grandfather on my mother’s side was also a joiner and I have two simple large storage boxes which he made. He died in his 30s, pre insulin medication, from type 1 diabetes. I inherited that too!

I have a lot of old fashioned table knives that I use for spreading. I won't share them with my children because they'll go straight in the dishwasher after their first use and the handles will fall off.

My great grandfather was a carpenter and made a carved mirror as a wedding present for my grandparents in 1918. This is now in my daughter’s hallway. I have my fathers WW2 naval medals and my grandfathers and great uncle’s WW1 medals, including the large one signifying that uncles’ death at the age of 18 in 1918. I had the medal framed with photos by a military medal specialist and they hang proudly in my house.

My Great Grandmother who lived til I was in my 20’s and attended my wedding made a christening gown for my Grandmother it has been passed down and two years ago my own granddaughter was christened in it. I also have a small prayer book printed in 1861 passed down to me, and a silver broach watch which my great grandmother saved up her first wages to buy, she could pin it under her apron when she was in service. This goes down to the eldest child on their 21st birthday and my son now owns it. In time it will go to my 4 yr old grandson.

Almost nothing, my mother died when I was a child and then, when my grandmother subsequently died, her possessions were divided amongst her remaining adult children.

runnerbean I also have my GM's old Singer machine dated 1906. Still sews like a dream.

And just remembered the big deeply cut crystal bowl that I make trifle in every Christmas. Estimated to be about 120 years old. I have to watch no-one puts it in the dishwasher!

It's heartening to know so many people still treasure things from the past.

I have my great grandfather’s letters written from Australia 1911-1914 . They are a cracking read of adventure and privations in the Western Australian outback. I also have a jar that was decorated by my great grandmother with all the stamps and postmarks from the letters.

I had (until recently) my Granny's beautiful trifle bowl. My friend was transporting Wellington, my goldfish, back to me after a holiday, braked very suddenly and fish and bowl were thrown to the floor. Fortunately, Wellington was saved - not so the bowl!

Grandmas singer treadle sewing machine, it's c1911. It still works well, sewed some sets of scrubs on it earlier last year.

My Mum was brought up By her Aunt as her Mum died when she was almost 2... I have a chair and aim to paint it White ...I'm guessing its at least 70 years old

Oh so many things, most of them everyday items of no great value - kitchen china and cutlery. I make gravy every Sunday with a solid silver fork and spoon that were my grandmother's. On New Year's Eve we drank a toast from two 400 year old glasses from DH's family. I'm a firm believer that such items, however old or valuable, were made to be used not hidden away in cabinets.

I have lots of things from my maternal grandparents and their previous generations. My favourite possession is a parlour organ left to my GF by his great aunt. I have fond memories of him playing hymns on it on Sunday evenings. As none of us can play we have converted it into a desk for my husband. We found a short letter inside it in the most beautiful handwriting dated 1846.

I quite often wear items of my GM jewellery especially a gold mourning locket that was my GGMs, it's plain and elegant and looks great worn with a black poloneck sweater.. I would have loved to have had my Mum's silver nursing buckle. My grandmother designed it and had it made for her when she passed her finals, I used to love polishing it when I was little, but I think Mum sold it to pay some bills in her later years. She did that a lot rather than admit she was struggling.

Some of my my favourite things are the old photo albums and my GM's postcard album. I can name most of the people in the photo albums right back to my GGGPs, and the postcard album has been useful in my family history research; names, addresses, dates etc.

Sadly I have nothing from my father's family - long story there. But I absolutely treasure the birthday, Christmas and Easter cards he sent me when I was small. Mum never showed me them and I only found them after her death. She had put them in a scrapbook up to the age of five. It was so special to see his handwriting. Lots of tears then.

I think our eldest son is the only one who may be interested in some of these old things after we're gone. We gave him his grandfather's classic car which he's lovingly restoring, and he has his GF's Hunter watch and chain and wore it on his wedding day.

Like many people I enjoy watching the repair shop. If I was to take anything to them it would be my GM's gold watch given to her by my GF on their 1st Anniverary in 1911. It's a pretty little thing but no longer works and high street jewellers just don't want to be bothered with it or say it's not worth the expense involved.

What items would other GNers take to the Repair Shop?

What do I own from previous generations of my family? Being a war baby left behind by an American GI whose English mother arranged an adoption before my birth; not much! Yet I now know that my inheritance has been a gene giving dark red hair. Passed on to my eldest son and his eldest son to one of my younger great grandchildren. Ancestry.com and an organisation called GItrace which helps war babies trace their American GI fathers, introduced me to a number of American cousins. Many who also share the gene for dark red hair. So I carried my inheritance proudly on my head until the years passed by and my former glory turned cream. Yep, cream.

On my mother’s side of the family l have two Victorian wall plaques and Bairnsfather wall plate from the First World War. I also have two of my grandmother’s tea sets. On my father’s side I have the piano which was bought new for my grandfather when he was a child just before the First World War. It is a Broadwood Cottage Upright, which was the Rolls Royce of pianos in it’s day and still has a beautiful, delicate tone. It was given to my parents when they were married as my mother could play the piano and was the piano l practised on throughout my childhood. It now sits in my music room next to the Yamaha piano l teach on but is far too delicate for teaching. I love the Yamaha piano but the Broadwood has a special place in my heart.

I wear my paternal grandmother's wedding ring from 1930s as mine is too tight and I also have her runner bean slicer from a similar era!?

Nothing from GPs as both sets were very poor. DM had 5 siblings, her DF died when she was 10 so very hard times. DFs parents had a military life (2nd Boer War/lst World war era). His campaign medals were all that he left and they eventually went to a nephew. So fancy teasets, jewellery etc just not part of either GPs lives.

My husband's father was a great collector of oak furniture, paintings and china. They were distributed around the family. My daughter wanted to paint a 17th century oak settle white, she thought it would be chic. We gave it to our son. I've now found a pile of antiquarian books and a tusk in the attic. What to do with them I wonder.

My grandfather clock. Made in Wales as a wedding present to one of my ancestors about 200 years ago. I hope my daughter will treasure it when it comes to her.

My DDs already have furniture from my MIL. this leaves me with 3 x 12 piece china tea/dinner services. Also one from my Mum. Non of which will ever be used except at funeral teas. There are other things too numerous to list. Maybe that should be my new years resolution --- sorting and disposing.

Nothing. I passed it all on when I moved house. They'll have nothing to argue over when I'm gone!

We have nothing valuable but I like to use everyday items that have been passed down. I have a large mixing bowl that belonged to my nana and I use her tea caddy every day. I also have my great grandmothers rolling pin which I love to use and think about the connection to her, although I never met her.