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Below are the most current Lost Items posted - Go to the Archived Items Page for more items. (Pre 2008)
Have you lost family items that need to find their way home? If you do, and tell us all about the item, how you lost it and what you know about it. We will post it here so that others may contact you about it.
For quicker posting - you can now post your items on our Facebook page - this allows you to post pictures and memories of your items. Alternately, you can use our email, but this method of posting is first-come first-served, and may take longer. We appreciate your visit and your patience.
Go to our I Dream of Genealogy Facebook page to post items
In 1988 or 89, I unwittingly sold my great aunt's cane to an antique store in Billings, Montana for 5 dollars. I did not realize the family value of this cane and would desperately like to relocate it. It is an Irish cane, made of blackthorn, with a staghorn handle and a silver (or pewter) collar with the letter "Q" on it.
I am looking for REVERSE GLASS / TINSEL PAINTINGS by my great-grandmother SUSAN VERONICA (LUKENS) KEATING (1880-1934). Susan lived in Norristown, PA from 1880-1901; on Perkioman Street in Francisville, Philadelphia, PA from 1901-1914; Asbury Park, NJ from 1914-1923; and at 523 8th Avenue, Belmar, NJ from 1923-1934. She had eleven children (that lived) and she died April 4, 1934 of breast cancer. Susan painted and crocheted and, I've learned, often gifted her creations. I have letters from people thanking her for paintings. She was extremely involved with her churches and schools. I know that she knitted and crocheted for the nuns at The Church of St. Rose in Belmar, I am assuming the same is true in Philadelphia. We have nine paintings in our family and I've recently located five more via Ancestry.com. Most of them are dated from the early 1930's. I am told she painted prolifically. These paintings are our family's greatest treasures and I have vivid memories of kneeling on my grandmother's living room floor with my crayons and gazing up to them like an altar. I am also Susan, an artist, and now a two time breast cancer survivor. It would mean a great deal to see more of my great-grandmother's art. I have an extensive family website that includes a gallery of her paintings and crocheting (ours and found). I am extremely interested in acquiring paintings, but if they are not available I would love to add (credited) photographs of them to our family website.
My grandmother passed away in Boynton Beach, Florida in 1995. One of the items that was to be packed and shipped to my parents house was the family bible of grandmother’s sister, Eulah Viez. The bible never arrived to its destination. The front pages of the bible would have the genealogy of my family with the names Ruby Cooper-Nurse, Eulah Viez, Aubrey Nurse, Clara Cooper-Nurse and Vernon Cooper-Nurse or Nurse.
My husband's family owned a beer brewery in Long Island before prohibition. I would love to find him an old bottle from the brewery, he has never seen one but has heard that others have them. The brewery was Limbeck Brewery. If anyone has one of the bottles or see's one can someone please let me. Any information or photos of the brewery would be awesome. Thanks for the help.
I was staying in a hotel near Chartiers Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pa (Hampton Inn in Greentree) in June or July of 2005 when my van was stolen. When it was returned it was totaled and everything was gone which I had brought as resources for a family reunion there, as well as wreaths for my parents’ graves at Chartiers. There were at least three 3-ring school binders; two were blue, one black fabric covered. The black one had all my birth, marriage and death certificates, a program from my mother’s funeral and my sisters (also a lock of her hair) and many notes, cards and photos some of which are irreplaceable. Two other binders had Rosensteele Family Group Sheets in them, filled in by hand. The family names included in the black binder are Diedrich (all spellings), Pawlack, Banks, Anderson, Kurtz, Belchyk, Markovic, Schad, Brinkman, Flohr, Kloepfel, Waggoner, Jesson, Hartshorn and more. These are now impossible to replace since 9/11 laws make obtaining these certificates much harder. Also lost were notebooks with cemetery engravings copied and other notes for research. There was also a binder of Rosensteele family history which I was going to take to donate to the Pennsylvania Room at the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh. Especially wanted back is the black binder with my sister’s lock of hair. I suspect the thieves took all the items in the car to a pawn broker or dumped them. If it is the former, I hope and pray for a miracle. God has been good and sent me more information to replace it, but the originals are still wanted and missed very much. It was 13 years of love’s labor to build my family tree from scratch. No one else had charted my trees before I came along.
An engraved Pocket Watch given to my Grand Father Max L Cunningham on his retirement from the State of Oklahoma sometime in the early part of 1900. He was the State Engineer during that time, it was stolen from my mother in the early 1970's before it could be given to me I am his namesake.
Lost Family Album: Surnames include Meehan, Freeman, vonOhlen, Speese, Brown, Boswell, Handsor, Prisby. Locations primarily Nebraska, Illinois, Canada but several others included. Period mid-1800’s to 1960’s. Primary family names are Meehan (front half of album) and Boswell (back half of album). Both families are racially mixed but primarily African American/Canadian.
Most pictures are of family members, but there are some landscapes in Nebraska such as the North Loup River. Meehan in my paternal family and Boswell is my maternal family. The other families listed are ancestors and/or families by marriage.
The album itself is about 14” X 14” in size and has a dark brown cover – the word Maywood still may be visible on the front. Many pictures are labeled on the back but most, if not all, have a small hand written label underneath the picture (on ruled school paper). I spent many months sorting family pictures and placing them in the album. It was then loaned to my brother for a family trip.
The album was in a briefcase that was checked on an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Chicago in 1973. The briefcase could not be found when the plane landed at O’Hara Airport. Several months after the trip, someone called my brother and said they were in Ohio and that they had picked up a briefcase by mistake when flying from Los Angeles. The person was asked to return the bag to American Airlines. Unfortunately, my brother did not get the caller’s name or any other identifying information. The briefcase was never returned. Although many years have passed and several family members are no longer alive (parents, brother, aunts and uncles), I continue to search for the album and family treasures it contains. I would be grateful for the album, individual pictures or any leads that would help locate this item. If you believe you have seen the album or any of the pictures please contact me.
I am trying to locate the Skibinski Family Bible. My g-great aunt, Emma Adelia Skibinski Courtney brought the Bible to San Antonio from Richview, Illinois probably in the 30's. Since her children, Juanita Courtney Tandy and Cecil Forrest Courtney both died without issue it would be wonderful if anyone could tell me what happened to her... family's Bible. This Bible probably contains information on our family in Poland since Emma's Father Joseph Constantine Allizo Skibinski immigrated from there in 1834. If any one can help I would be eternally greatful. or Contact Poster via I Dream of Genealogy Facebook page
I am searching for a lifesize oil painting of a Northern Irish gentleman with the surname of Hilton who was from Armagh. He was a signatory to the Ulster Declaration. The Painting was given to someone in London by John Hilton when his father Henry Hilton died in Kingsbury London pre 1965. Please contact myself Sonya Hilton who was married to Harry Hilton, John Hiltons brother. I live in Barnes in London and i would love to be able to pass our family heirloom to my grandchildren who to my knowledge are the only decedents of Mr Hilton from Armagh. Thank you.
Looking for my Fathers WW1 Army I think it was discharge paper, Left in storage in Aurora Co.20 Plus years ago, Just found this site and was hoping maybe some one had come accross it. All of his records burned in the Fire at the National archives. Name on the paper is Oral T. B****** Thanks
Contact Poster via I Dream of Genealogy Facebook page
I gave my son my Great Grandmothers 18kt gold wedding band to wear and he lost it sometime last year (2010) in Venice, Ca area. I would love to get it back and am heartbroken over the loss. It has their initials engraved inside and I would be able to identify it that way. They were immigrant farmers from Sweden who settled in southern Idaho. I inherited it about 12 years ago. Unfortunately I don't know exactly when it was lost or where because my son had stopped wearing it and only recently discovered it was missing. He moved at the end of last year to another state. I am offering a reward for return.
When my mother passed away in New York City in 1984 I was still a child. There was a large box of 8mm and Super 8mm family films that were somehow lost or left behind at the apartment where we lived: 215 E. 68th Street, New York, NY 10021. The films were mostly shot and edited by my grandfather, Irving Stoloff and by my father, Bruce Morrow (“Cousin Brucie” a radio Deejay of considerable notoriety ). One of the films, I remember clearly is called “The Great Cookie Bake” and stars my brother Dana Morrow, and me, Paige Morrow baking cookies in the oven and watching as they magically turn into a box of packaged cookies.
I am looking for a family Bible that was left in a storage unit around 1990, in Buena Park California. It was a large Bible with what I remember being a lock on it. Also had old pictures in it. The names in it would be Colvin.
This Bible has been lost for many years. It contains the family history of my ggg-grandparents, Edwin Stearne(s) and Julia Ann (Clark{e}) Robinson. My family hopes that it will show their parents. Grandfather Edwin had promised it to my great grandfather, Wm. Dayton Robinson. Edwin's and Julia's children are: Thomas Edwin Harris Robinson, William Winans, Margaret E(lizabeth), Andrew Fly, Wilberforce, Julia Rebecca, Mary Ellen, Julius Augustus, Lucy M. The Bible, according to written family history, was last in the hands of our Aunt Mary Ellen Robinson Ritchey. From there, it disappeared, possibly into another part of the family or somewhere else. However, no family member reports ever having it.
I am searching for photo albums that belonged to my Mother. Here are the details: My Mother, Theresa Gillan, but she may have taken my Father's last name Graeme by that point, and Father Laurance (Larry) Graeme lived in Burbank, CA. They were not married, so I don't know if they lived together or not. I am guessing that they did because it was after my sister was born in 1969. They lived in an apartment and were moving from California to Oregon for my Father's job. They packed up the car and my Mom had left the photo albums in the apartment. (I am guessing so she could pack them last.) They ended up not picking them up and they were left in the apartment. I think there were two or three albums. They were photos of my Mom and her friends. Some of the photos were taken in New York because she used to be a flight attendant and lived in an apartment with several girls. I would love to get these albums back! I do not have any pictures of my Mom under the age of 23. I am also looking for a Ruby ring my Mother had. She had it when she lived in New York in an appartment with several other girls. She said that one of the girls was from Belgum and either borrowed it or took it. Most of the girls were flight attendants who lived in the apartment with her. This would have been around 1962-1967 plus or minus a few years. She was between the ages of 18-23. I would love to have the ring back because it belonged to my Grandmother that I never got to meet.
I lost these inscribed jewelry items:
1. 
A flat rectangular gold charm (in the shape of a vertical rectangle)
inscribed with the words ARIES ARIES ARIES (repeatedly) and the date 1965.
This charm was custom-made to look like a high school yearbook cover that I designed.
It was a gift to me when I graduated. I am attaching a scan of the actual yearbook cover, which the charm resembles.
2. A man's silver ID bracelet that was given to a boy when he graduated from high school in Irvington, NJ.
I don't know the exact wording of the inscription, but it was given by someone named Jacqueline to her brother,
Sam, in 1963. He gave it to me, but it was lost.
If anyone has found either one of these, I would appreciate their e-mailing me.
My brother, Larry O. Hicks, lost his 1968, 1969 and 1970 Ashley High School "Spinner" (school was located in Gastonia, NC.) yearbooks while moving from Atlanta, Ga. to Dallas, Tx. during the early 1970's. The yearbooks were in a cardboard box. All of his belongings were delivered to Dallas, Tx. except for this box. My brother would be a very happy man if these yearbooks were located.
This is probably a long shot, but I have been looking for a dresser box (this is what my mom called it) since 1980. It belonged to my mothers mother, my grandmother, and was stolen from a storage unit we had in Houston Texas back around 1980 or 1981. It is a rectangle wooden box with a rural scene on the top. It is a simple box that my grandmother used to keep little keepsakes and trinkets in. My grandfather gave it to her for some special occasion and it was originally filled with chocolates. She gave it to my mom on her 12th birthday and my mom gave it to me on my 12 birthday. It is written in pencil on the inside of the lid "Given to Modean on her 12th Birthday" and under that "Given to Kathy on her 12th birthday". I was going to pass it on to my daughter on her 12th birthday but of course I could not -- she is now 26 and has a 3 year old daughter and I would so love to be able to pass it on to her. Sure hope someone might be able to help me.
I am looking for a picture or a painting ( I dont know which) of my great-grandfather, Robert Dudley Hoff, surrounded by his men. My father remembers this picture hanging in his house as a young child and this picture showed my great grandfather who was in the Rough Riders in the early 1900's with his name and the names of all his men. I guess he was the captain of the regime. This item was lost or stolen out of his house about 40 years ago when his parents marriage dissolved. He told me the other day that this is the one thing that he wishes he had gotten out of the house before they left.
G. Prendeville’s Railroad Lantern. Last seen in Memphis, TN in Spring of 1978 at the home of my parents, Robert and Jet Prendeville. They were in the process of moving to Tularosa, NM. The lantern got lost in the shuffle or when some unwanted items were being sold. The lantern was given to my Grandfather Garrett or “G” Prendeville/Prendiville when he retired from MK&T (Katy) RR in the 1930s. This is not a red railroad lantern. It has a clear glass globe, and is plain metal, ie not painted. I have been searching for this lantern for 20 years. We suspect that an antique dealer who responded to the add may have slipped it out, because she inquired about it and my dad said it wasn’t for sale.
Addie Miller of Tipton Indiana, my husbands Great-Grandmother, was the “author” of this wonderful scrapbook. This scrapbook is from around 1900 to 1930 or so. In it are newspaper clippings, photos, JW Miller & Addie Miller’s marriage license. One page is particularly poignant. On it is written “My darling boy Clarence died 10/23/1907 and “My darling daughter Velda died 11/9/1907”. There is a lock of Velda’s hair in a ribbon attached to the page. Both children died of Diphtheria in 1907. My husband and I live in the old Miller home and this year it celebrates 100years in the same family. This album was taken to York Pennsylvania by a family member sometime in 1996 or 1997. The family member it went to was Rayanne Miller I believe. After her death in 2003 no one knows where her belongings, including this album, went. It is the missing link in our family history and we would be so grateful to have it back in our home.
Looking for family pictures of early 1850 photos and later and heirlooms from the Simeon W Taylor Family of Belknap NH. Susan D Ford(1811-1883) was Simeons wife Also photos of their Children especially Charles W Taylor (1846-1911) son of Simeon who served in the Civil War and his wife Josephine G Taylor(Plummer) Ballou (1853-1926). Some connected familes areFord Plummer,Peaslee, Seavey, Evans & Even. Possibly these families might have a Family Bible with the family listed with their spouses.And family photos of their Family. I appreciate all the information you may obtain to be forwarded to me. Sincerely, D. Taylor ( gggrandson of Simeon W Taylor NH) Ps. Have not been able to find the grave and death date of Simeon W Taylor and who his parents were. If anyone knows please have them contact me. Simeon W Taylor( 1807- ? )
Our family trunk was lost in transit in California in the 1920's. This
trunk contained a painting of the family schooner "The Alice Minerva
Kafka", a published family tree book of the Kafka and Stickney
genealogy among other precious family heirlooms.
I am also looking for other misc items that belong to our family. These
include:
*An unpublished manuscript by Alice M. Stickney Kafka titled "The
Marching Forests"
*A portrait painting of my Great Grandfather Philip (or Filip) Kafka
*Books personally autographed to my Grandparents "Otto and Alice
Kafka including books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes).
I am looking for the diary of Hiram V. Baker, who came out west to California with the Jonathan P. Smith Wagon Train, from Warren County, Iowa in 1862. My grandmother had a typewritten copy of the journal that she gave me. She had been in contact with the Baker family. The last Baker we know that had the diary was Glenn Baker, of California. I would just like to look at the original diary to verify that my copy is accurate, and to take pictures of it! Well, I'd really like to have it, but looking would be good, too! Hiram Baker married into the Smith family, of which I am a direct descendent. Thank you!
Any items circa 1960s-1970s-1980s of John, Sonja, James, Diana & Sean Harrison of Pasadena & Monrovia California.
Became homeless in the '80s & had no funds to store our belongings so we had to leave it all behind. I assume landlord sold at yard sales as none was junk. If anyone knows where anything went I will gladly buy it back. Belongings included are: Tons of my family genealogy info/photos, things my children accumulated in their school years, awards/trophies/ribbons they won, Boy Scouts, Y Indian Guides, Y Indian Maidens, Little League, home movies, memories. Items in particular:
Super 8 home movies, film reels of my kids/family life/outings/amusement parks etc. These would be from when we lived in Pasadena, Cal on Highland St, Hastings Ranch Rd so those may be mentioned. Names John Patrick, Sonja Lynn, James Richard, Diana (Dee Dee) Lynn and Sean Patrick Harrison.
Family photos (albums, loose & framed pics and family samplers), crazy quilt my grandmother made.
A SPECIFIC rocking chair handed down by women in my family we all rocked out babies in. DESCRIPTION: Dark, aged wood, not sure what kind but I think oak. It had thin, hand carved spindles top to bottom of the (tall) back and from the arms to the rocker feet as well. The spindles are approx 1" diameter. No 2 spindles alike but may look it to the untrained eye.
Pinewood Derby car "White Lightning", name on side of SPECIFIC Pinewood Derby car my son made in the 70's and trophy.
Large, plain woman's solitaire ring in white gold band.
Lost Rumfield Bible in Ashland Co., Ohio in 1956 I believe that the first entry in this Bible was Philip Rumfield dating back to 1782 and died 1857 . This is my 4th great grandfather . Would love to find our Bible again . Thanks
I just learned of this item and wondered if you could tell me how to find out who purchased it…or how to post information to uncover who purchased it. Beatrice Hixon is my grand-aunt. Photo of Scrapbook Cover
Scrapbook for sale on ebay, April 2001: "THIS LARGE 12 1/2 X 16 INCH SCRAPBOOK HAS A GREAT COVER. The leather cover has a colored picture of a girl with her cat on it. The edges are a bit ragged. The book belonged to Beatrice Hixon, 1891. On the inside is a tag with this info: The drawing opposite is Elm St, No Attleboro, MA. before it was remodeled to its present style. It was known as the Hixon estate. Beatrice Hixon was the daughter and married Henry Fisher of No. Attleboro, MA. The book contains pages of furnishings from the various rooms of the house."
Are you in the possession of any lost or interesting family items that need to find their history? If you do, and tell us all about the item, how you acquired it and what you know about it. We will post it here so that others may contact you about it.
