Are you curious about what types of artifacts might exist within your family? In this article, learn what a family artifact is and which items may constitute it in your family.
Artifact is the term we typically use to refer to historical objects created by humans from past cultures that historians study in order to better understand their cultures.
Families can possess artifacts, too! Family history researchers can gain a better understanding and connection to our ancestors by collecting, preserving, and studying these artifacts of family life.
What does “family artifact” mean?
A family artifact is any item with special meaning for your family. Typically it belonged to someone no longer living who was given to you by either their parent or grandparent or tells an important tale about someone in your clan. Sometimes old items have been passed down for generations while sometimes newer objects come into the fold.
Family heirlooms don’t need to be dusty objects that sit forgotten for decades in a box; some of the best family artifacts can actually be useful objects like small pieces of furniture, tools or jewelry that can continue the family narrative every time it is used regularly.
Do family artifacts qualify as family heirlooms?
Family heirlooms are generally defined as artifacts from family history that possess significant monetary value – this means they have more than sentimental worth and have financial significance as well.
Heirlooms may include items we might not typically include in an artifact list, such as real estate, intellectual property rights, businesses and nobility titles, among other less obvious examples.
Are the artifacts from your family history old enough?
A family artifact doesn’t need to be old for it to play an integral part in family history, as most households already possess something they consider an “artifact”.
Family artifacts need only have significance to an event or person in your family for it to qualify as family history artifacts. Examples might include military medals earned by grandparents, watches gifted to your father from his own father, knitting needles from your grandmother or your mother’s hymn book which may hold great sentimental value in addition to being relatively modern items with historical value.
These objects often hold stories related to them: for instance, how a medal was earned, or how your grandfather saved up money to buy himself his first luxury watch. Knitting needles might symbolize how your grandmother knit something for every new baby born into our large family; hymn books provide insight into your cultural history.
Of course, when we receive something old that has been passed down from one generation to the next in our family tree, they become especially valuable. Perhaps this is due to a relative no longer living among us and being unable to share their tale directly.
An artifact becomes the repository of its owner’s story; even modern items can become family artifacts by teaching our children their significance and teaching their associated narrative.
Does A Family Artifact Have to be Valuable? No. To qualify as family history artifact, an item only needs to hold some historical or sentimental importance to one or more members of your family and mean something meaningful to someone in that family.
Items passed down through families may be of great significance and value; such items would be considered family heirlooms and artifacts.
Why Are Family Artifacts Valuable? Family artifacts or relics are considered among the most prized possessions for many families, even if their monetary value may not reflect it. Artifacts from one’s ancestry provide a connection back through history as well as helping create its identity and values while giving researchers more context about your family tree.
Family artifacts provide tangible links to our distant ancestors who came from other parts of the world and time periods. When handed down through generations, these stories become tangible memories that connect family members directly to their pasts.
While it isn’t the story for every family, I do know that many US households can trace their roots across multiple parts of the country if we go back a few generations. For instance, many immigrants to America initially settled on the east coast states before slowly migrating west over successive generations.
About two-seven percent (27%) of those living in the US are immigrants or the children of at least one immigrant parent; among adults born here, as many as 30 percent now reside outside their original state.
Americans living where they were born likely do not reside where all their grandparents were born, which means that they likely have extended relatives living across the United States who they might not know as intimately as previously anticipated.
Family artifacts provide us with insight into our ancestors’ travels from one location to the next and can give us insight into exactly how we came to be.
Maintain Family Traditions
Family artifacts and heirlooms can play a vital role in upholding family traditions. An artifact could become part of an existing custom by being handed down through generations, like an ornament for Christmas tree that’s been handed down, fishing pole belonging to Grandpa or an accessory (such as bridal veil) being worn by several generations in one family.
Camping was an integral part of my paternal grandmother’s family heritage as far back as my great-great-great grandparents (born 1844). While I no longer possess any artifacts belonging to him (I do use an old camping stove and coffee pot that belonged to his granddaughter, who later became my great-grandmother), however.
Keep family traditions alive by sharing stories among members of your extended family.
What constitutes a family artifact?
Nearly any item can serve as an important family relic; examples may include, old photographs or photo albums, awards, letters, documents, jewelry, artwork, “knick-knacks”, souvenirs and even the family home itself! Some tangible artifacts that fall under this umbrella category include diaries and journals from family members as well as furniture, diaries or journals from members, recipes or cookbooks as well as quilts made by hand as well as old clothing shoes and musical instruments among many other examples.
Everything can become an heirloom; its financial worth doesn’t even matter.
All that really matters is whether the item holds meaning for you and your family in relation to family history – both the past and your personal journey, which you can help document.
What If Your Family Doesn’t Have Any Artifacts If it appears as though your family does not possess any belongings which you perceive to be artifacts, I suggest talking to the oldest living relatives and asking questions about their lives, childhood and parents and grandparents.
Your relatives might reveal items passed down from your ancestors that have been passed onto various relatives through inheritance, even if only from grandparent or great-grandparent. While they might not belong to you directly, learning about these objects could provide the chance for conversations and photos for future family records.
If your family has not been able to maintain artifacts over recent generations due to migration or other reasons, or simply has not preserved certain special items like artwork as artifacts for future generations, consider designating some pieces that you or your parents own as artifacts and work towards keeping them.
One way we can ensure our children understand which of our possessions are essential to family history is to discuss them during any conversations about ancestry, genealogy or family history. This way they’ll know exactly which pieces matter the most to us all.
Something as small as our father’s shoes from when he first arrived in America or our mother’s wedding ring can bring back so many memories – or it could even be as significant as a coffee cup, gravy dish, or prized spatula!
As parents and grandparents ourselves, it is difficult to predict exactly which of our possessions will remind our children and grandchildren of us and our respective personal stories; but one thing can be guaranteed: at least some items will remain used and possibly preserved as family artifacts.
Conclusion This article should have helped you better understand what family history artifacts are, why they’re significant and how to identify pieces from your ancestry that may serve as artifacts from your family’s unique history.
If you have any inquiries about anything covered in this post or would like to share an interesting artifact from your family’s history in the discussion below, I welcome hearing your insights and stories through the comment threads.
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