Still trying to figure out who a particular heirloom belonged to? Start by dating it. This lets you match it to a specific generation. A toy that dates from 1873 would belong to my great grandparents but a carving knife from that year would belong to their parents, my great, great grandparents. Let’s look at a few tools and tricks that will help you narrow down the timeframe of your heirloom.
What is it?
If you don’t know what you are looking at, try Google Lens to see if it identifies any similar items. This gives you a starting point. I spent days searching for images of wood planes that were similar to mine without success. Then, I tried Google Lens for the first time and found that the tool was a spokeshave; a tool with a very similar function yet a very different name.
Who made it?
Check your heirloom for manufacturer marks. Some marks are small or hidden. Take photos and enlarge them to find marks. Or pull the items apart such as I did to the spokeshave. Turns out the manufacturer's mark was hidden on the other side of the blade. From this point, it gets easier. I researched the Union Manufacturing Co.on Google to establish when the company got started (1866). This tool could have belonged to 2nd great grandparents. After finding an online catalog for Union Manufacturing on Internet Archive, I was able to better date this tool as a turn of the century tool. I found the Facebook group for Collectors and Researchers of Union Mfg Co and confirmed that this style of spokeshave was not manufactured before 1900.
Whose could it be?
My grandparents were born between 1893 and 1911. No matter which side of the family we are talking about, the spokeshave belonged to someone from the previous generation. I will rule out my great grandmothers as they were not into woodworking that I know of.
My maternal grandfather’s father was a shoemaker
My maternal grandmother’s father was a clerk and a grocer in Baltimore City.
My paternal grandfather’s father worked long hours as a cotton weaver
My paternal grandmother’s father was a foreman in the mills in Woodberry, Baltimore.
All four were alive from 1900-1905.
I have not narrowed it down with this information. I am thinking about which grandparent might inherit tools. Again, neither grandmother was into woodworking, so I am focusing on both my grandfathers; a doctor and a draftsman. Maybe I would lean towards draftsman yet the real evidence is in my memory. I remember both of their basements and one had a workbench and the other didn’t. Odds are this tool came to me through my paternal grandfather - who maintained a very organized workbench - having been inherited by him by someone from the previous generation.