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Treasure Chest Thursday -- Beginning an inventory


When I researched my New England Ancestors, the inventories which followed the Last Will and Testament always intrigued me. One such inventory of Fearnot King of Westfield, Mass.begins:
February 12: 1702/3. The Inventory of the Estate of Fearnot King Deceased Was Taken by us Whose Names are Under written. [Saml Root, Saml Taylor, Saml Fowler]

The one and one-half page inventory consists of 59 line items, including the House valued at 15 pounds, 4 tracts of land valued at 49 pounds; one yoke of oxen, 3 cows, 3 heifers, one horse, a mare and colt, one mare more, 10 sheep and 5 swine with a combined value of 29 pounds 40 shillings; one gun and one sword valued at 3 pounds 2 shillings; 2 hats, one cloak and other apparel valued at 7 pounds 2 shillings; 3 saw mill saws valued at 6 pounds; and so on and so forth. . .

For several days I had been thinking about which family treasure I should describe for today's blog post. And then, today, as I stood in the doorway to the walk-in closet which houses documents, brochures, maps, baby books, photo and slide albums, and family reunion booklets, I still could not decide which treasure to share. 

Among the inventoried file boxes are several uninventoried cardboard boxes. Today I pulled out one of the boxes I received from my Mom after Dad died in 2004, and started making an inventory of all my treasures. It looks like this may become a series of blog posts as I share with you my journey into preservation.

As I unfolded the flaps, a green binder labeled Photographs sat on top. Inside were five black and two grey pasteboard pages with ten horizontal strips where double-sided photo protectors were once attached. With age the strips became brittle and the protector sheets are now loose, sandwiched in a jumble between the pasteboard pages.

The square, black and white photos were dated between September 1955 and about 1962. Obviously, I need to get an archival album for these treasures. Some of the photos are family portraits, others were taken when Dad was stationed at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, DC, and others when he toured Europe and North Africa with the Air Force Drum and Bugle Corps. Some of these I recognize . . . but for others I will need assistance in identifying them.

Below is a small selection of these photographs. Some could be American sites, and others from overseas. Please feel free to assist me in identifying some of these world sites.






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  1. Root DiggerJuly 7, 2011 at 6:56 PM

    These are some absolutely unique and beautiful pictures! I really like the one with the fountain lit up!!

    ReplyDelete

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