Posted 8 years ago
jbuetter
(1 item)
This trunk has been in my family since at least 1868. Its earliest owners, to my knowledge, were my great grandparents John H H Grant and his wife Mary E Kingham Grant. The couple had a farm in Trings, Hertfordshire. They sailed from England to Canada and shortly thereafter my great grandfather, Herbert, was born in Lambton, Ontario. For health care for their son they chose to return to England by ship in 1875, taking the trunk with them.
It was passed down to me by my grandmother Mary, daughter of Herbert, when she lived with me for her own health care reasons. She had used the trunk for a third Trans-Atlantic voyage in 1954 when she emigrated to Canada by ship to Montreal.
It measures roughly 14" tall x 17" wide x 26" long and is covered in a canvas material. It has leather handles and accents and the inside is striped blue and white in paper.
Inside there is an oval sticker that reads:
F. E. Higgins
108 High Street, Cheltenham
Manufacturer of Trunks, Cress Baskets, Bags, Suit Cases, & c.
I wish I knew more or had photos of my family with the trunk but I'm very grateful to have a loving grandmother who could share as much as she did. I hope that one day I can pass it down to my own grandchild.
I found that Trunk maker John Higgins was listed for the address 108 High Street Cheltenham,Gloucester in the 1863 phone directory. This was more than likely the
original proprietor /or father of F.E. Higgins. Very nice to have such a known history
of the trunk and it's owners thanks for the post.