Wednesday, May 14, 2014


Lizzie’s Jewelry Box

I can’t think of a time that I was not interested in history or about my ancestors and I have always believed the two are interconnected.  The more I learned about history the more I learned about our ancestors and this is how my journey began.

As the years passed and my research hours turned my simple folders and charts into narrative histories I realized that I needed to record the stories behind my family’s heirlooms, photos and keepsakes. These treasured pieces held a sacred meaning to their owners. In preserving what has been passed down to us we not only tell the story of our ancestors but they also hold a piece to the communities we lived in.

There is a jewelry box that sits on my dresser that belonged to my great grandmother Elizabeth Catherine Decker Thompson.  It’s a modest three footed six inch round porcelain jewelry box with a delicately painted design that has not faded much with its age. It opens with a clasp to reveal what was a silk lined interior and over the last hundred years it has held the treasure of its three owners.

It was a gift to Lizzie from her husband. She was a farmer’s daughter who never lived far from her place of birth and married in 1907 when she was just seventeen. She began married life farming in western Douglas Co. Nebraska and in 1913 her only child Vera Elizabeth was born. I cannot think of a time that I was not aware of this jewelry box and as a little girl I learned its significance.

Farm life at the turn of the century could be a hard existence and everything the couple purchased had a practical purpose. Lizzie had longed to own something special, something feminine that did not need to have a useful function but was resigned that it would be a future purchase.  My great grandfather Garfield Thompson understood how much was denied them in simple luxuries and what it would mean to his wife if she owned this yet unidentified piece.  It was on a warm summer morning on a trip into the city to spend the day at the fair, that he surprised her as he led her into the store and suggested that she choose a gift for herself.  To her delight and after some hesitation Lizzie proudly chose her jewelry box.

Lizzie treasured her jewelry box and it sat on her dresser waiting to be filled with all the future things  that she would hold dear. She wrote the day she married, the day her daughter was born and the date she received her jewelry box on a slip of paper and with her broach and a few hair ribbons she placed these contents inside.  When their daughter turned five they gave her a gold bracelet and it was placed inside Lizzie’s jewelry box for safe keeping.

Life takes unexpected turns and Lizzie, who was six months pregnant died in Dec. 1918, shortly after her daughters fifth birthday, a victim of the Spanish flu epidemic. She was 28 years old. The jewelry box now had a new purpose and meaning. It held the cherished memories and story of its owner and when it was given to my Grandma, Lizzie was not forgotten.

Its contents have changed over time. When my Grandma was in her seventh decade of life she said it was time I owned the jewelry box. It was a privilege and honor to have accepted it and when I opened it there was a single gold bracelet staring at me.  d  sen she wrs old she passed th decade she said it was time I owned the jewerly . They forgedOne day I will give this jewelry box to my daughter.  I am not quite ready but when I do I will add my own special piece for her to find.

This little jewelry box has a history. It tells the story about a woman who died too young who had hopes and dreams. It tells the story about the connection my Grandma felt to a woman she barely remembered and always missed. It tells the story of farm life in the early twentieth century and about the horrific flu epidemic that plagued Nebraska and the world.

Our ancestor’s stories take us back in time and allow us to be a part of our history. The family treasures’ that were important enough to be passed down thru the generations give personality to our ancestors and offer us a glimpse into the communities they lived in. We have a lot of stories waiting to be told. We have it in our homes and on our shelves and in the oral history that was repeated through the generations. We should not overlook this part of our history.  It tells our story.

There are some things we are not able to part with such as my great grandmother’s jewelry box but I can write a short story and attach a picture so that her story can be told.  We can leave written records and label old photos for our future generations. We can share our story or family history with historical or genealogical societies.  We can preserve our grandmothers wedding dress or loan it to a museum collection. We can donate the old box of letters or the contents found in the old attic trunk. We can share the history of our towns and our beautiful land. There are many ways in which I can share my ancestor’s stories and preserve our history.

Our stories matter. History is about people and the communities they lived in.  In taking the time to record and share our history we leave something valuable behind for the generations that will follow us. Our stories are tomorrow’s history.

Kathy Haley Buhrman