Fearless Females - March 6 - heirlooms

The blogging prompt for March 6 - describe an heirloom you may have inherited. There are a few pieces of jewellery that I have inherited from my family.

My daughter-in-law in 1993

Of greatest importance is one I haven't inherited as yet, my 91-year old mother still has this in her possession. It's an oval gold locket with an Irish harp on both sides. Joseph Antoney gave this gift  to my great-great grandmother, Elizabeth Hannah Young when they married in Bowen, Queensland in 1867. Elizabeth was from Dublin, and Joseph apparently bought the locket with the Irish harp on it as a reminder of her Irish heritage. This locket has been passed down through the female generations, via the eldest daughter, ever since and worn on their wedding days as 'something old' or 'something borrowed'. My great-grandmother & her sister wore the locket as did my grandmother & her two sisters, my mother & her sister, myself and my daughter-in-law. Christine is wearing the locket in 1993, and you can just see it above her brooch. I hope my three granddaughters will carry on the tradition.

Another piece of jewellery is a Mizpah brooch my great-grandmother left me. Granny had received the brooch from her second husband before he left for WWI in 1914. It was a common gift for loved ones in the early 20th century. I sometimes wear the brooch when I am feeling sentimental. See the meaning of Mizpah here.

Another heirloom, from another great-grandmother, is a pendant and gold chain. It seed pearls and a blue stone, perhaps a small sapphire and was passed on to my great-grandmother from her mother. I sometimes wear this.

I think that it is wonderful to have pieces handed down from previous generations. I know my mother has more pieces of jewellery in her possession. I hope to pass these heirlooms down to my three granddaughters in due course.