I had a Facebook friend notice something in one of my pictures. It was a powder horn. I have it hanging on a nail in my staircase. It is a very plain , utilitarian powder horn. It would have been great had it been carved and had someone famous associated with it. Sadly, that is far from the case. I can't really say too much about its' history. It came from my Great Grandfathers house. That is the extent of my knowledge. Was it his or someone else's ? I can't say for sure it was even the possession of one of my ancestors. Great Grandfather had a habit of collecting stuff, just bringing it home because it was free or he found it. The old folks didn't throw much away you know, you just never know what you might need. Hey, that man had balls of string, jars of buttons and saved tin foil. Not that it was uncommon that for his generation, but he did hold onto to things.
Along with that powder horn I do have a few other artifacts that the history of is shrouded a bit. I know a small piece of it, but that is all. Having that powder horn mentioned got me to thinking about that stuff. If these items were displayed in a museum they would have a description attached to them. They would contain the facts known to the curator. Well you could say I am the curator of this museum. I can't help but think a little more information about these items would certainly increase the interest in them. There is no way I can gather any real factual information about them as those folks in the know have long since passed on. With those folks the history of those items passed as well.
The thing is, it is a temptation. I could just attach some story, as long as I kept it credible, to those items and no one the wiser. That would be dishonest however and I would feel a tinge of guilt each time the story was told. I was just wondering though, does anyone else feel that way ? I mean. do you make up a story to go with your " treasures " even when the details are a bit sketchy ? I do try to remain completely honest but will embellish that truth with a good assumption. For instance I have a belt and buckle that is from the civil war era. My third great grandfather did serve in the war, in the 127th NY Infantry. That belt and buckle came from his house, I was told it was his property. I can't prove that conclusively but display it as such anyway. After a lot of research I have reached a conclusion about that artifact. It is my belief he purchased that some time after the war as part of his uniform for his participation with the Grand Army of the Republic. That organization was the precursor to the Veterans of Foreign War. It disbanded when the last union soldier in the civil war passed away. Remarkably that didn't happen until 1956 with the death of Albert Woolson at the age of 109 ! I don't believe that belt and buckle ever saw any active duty service. Does it make it any less valuable to me ? Absolutely not, but it would be better if it was battle scared from Gettysburg ! That powder horn would also be " cooler " if it had belonged to Daniel Boone.
It is my intent to write a small narrative about all the items I have. What I mean is the ones I feel will be saved and passed to the next generation. How exactly I can determine that I haven't quite figured out. I'm thinking I can write a small narrative with whatever factual information I can provide no matter how disappointing that information may be. Still I think it might be interesting to those in the future and appreciated. I know I sure wish more information was provided to me about some of these items I have. I expect at the time it wasn't a big deal. What I am thinking is like you are given something as a birthday gift. A big deal at that moment but what about the next year or fifty years later ? Wouldn't the person fifty years later like to know that information ? I would.
I do think about this stuff. I also feel a little funny about cataloguing my stuff. Do you know what I mean ? It does give a sense of finality about things. I do think that I should photograph the item, place that photograph in a book along with the history associated with the item. Does seem awful final though when you consider it. Am I getting that old that I need to start a museum to display my life ? Yikes, I don't like that thought at all. Maybe I'll give this some more thought before proceeding. What do you think ?
Along with that powder horn I do have a few other artifacts that the history of is shrouded a bit. I know a small piece of it, but that is all. Having that powder horn mentioned got me to thinking about that stuff. If these items were displayed in a museum they would have a description attached to them. They would contain the facts known to the curator. Well you could say I am the curator of this museum. I can't help but think a little more information about these items would certainly increase the interest in them. There is no way I can gather any real factual information about them as those folks in the know have long since passed on. With those folks the history of those items passed as well.
The thing is, it is a temptation. I could just attach some story, as long as I kept it credible, to those items and no one the wiser. That would be dishonest however and I would feel a tinge of guilt each time the story was told. I was just wondering though, does anyone else feel that way ? I mean. do you make up a story to go with your " treasures " even when the details are a bit sketchy ? I do try to remain completely honest but will embellish that truth with a good assumption. For instance I have a belt and buckle that is from the civil war era. My third great grandfather did serve in the war, in the 127th NY Infantry. That belt and buckle came from his house, I was told it was his property. I can't prove that conclusively but display it as such anyway. After a lot of research I have reached a conclusion about that artifact. It is my belief he purchased that some time after the war as part of his uniform for his participation with the Grand Army of the Republic. That organization was the precursor to the Veterans of Foreign War. It disbanded when the last union soldier in the civil war passed away. Remarkably that didn't happen until 1956 with the death of Albert Woolson at the age of 109 ! I don't believe that belt and buckle ever saw any active duty service. Does it make it any less valuable to me ? Absolutely not, but it would be better if it was battle scared from Gettysburg ! That powder horn would also be " cooler " if it had belonged to Daniel Boone.
It is my intent to write a small narrative about all the items I have. What I mean is the ones I feel will be saved and passed to the next generation. How exactly I can determine that I haven't quite figured out. I'm thinking I can write a small narrative with whatever factual information I can provide no matter how disappointing that information may be. Still I think it might be interesting to those in the future and appreciated. I know I sure wish more information was provided to me about some of these items I have. I expect at the time it wasn't a big deal. What I am thinking is like you are given something as a birthday gift. A big deal at that moment but what about the next year or fifty years later ? Wouldn't the person fifty years later like to know that information ? I would.
I do think about this stuff. I also feel a little funny about cataloguing my stuff. Do you know what I mean ? It does give a sense of finality about things. I do think that I should photograph the item, place that photograph in a book along with the history associated with the item. Does seem awful final though when you consider it. Am I getting that old that I need to start a museum to display my life ? Yikes, I don't like that thought at all. Maybe I'll give this some more thought before proceeding. What do you think ?
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first item in catalogue. history is written on the back.
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