Silver Thimble

A horrible wet day today so hunted around inside to find something to practice a macro blip on.

As the family historian, I have guardianship of some family treasures. This silver thimble is one of them.

My Great Grandfather Thomas Pell, a sailor,  jumped ship into New Zealand in 1878. Two years later he married a second generation New Zealand girl and started a carrying business in Wellington. He was a bit of a lad and featured in the local newpapers a few times with some rather dubious activities but finally became respectable and even served on the local Council for several terms.

When their silver wedding anniversary came around, he gave his long suffering wife this silver thimble as a token of his love. On it he had the words  "Mrs T Pell" inscribed .

These were the days when women had little identify of their own but I often wonder if she was disappointed he hadn't had inscribed something a little more romantic - or even her own name.

His grandaughter reported seeing Granny Pell rap her husband over the head with the thimble when his language got too colourful. She was a tiny lady but obviously knew how to manage him.