Apostle Spoons, Another Family Treasure Comes My Way

Set of Apostle Spoons

These are a set of 6 Apostle Spoons given by my Grandmother to her daughter (my Aunt) many years ago. They were in Grandma's family and it seems likely they were given to her mother as a christening gift when Grandma was born in 1894.

Apostle spoons were popular in England and usually given as a Christening gift by a godparent. If the godparent was poor, they gave one spoon. If they had money, they gave a complete set.

 We have not yet figured out which Apostle this is. You can tell from looking at what he is carrying but this set is a bit worn and it is difficult to be sure.

Apostle Spoon

Sometimes the set consisted of all the apostles, but often it was a matching set of one apostle, which is what Grandma's spoons were.

When I went to visit my aunt a few days ago she gave me the spoons to add to my other family heirlooms and treasures.  We haven't cleaned them or decided how to display them but I'm overjoyed to have another reminder of my beloved grandmother.

Grandma Ruth was born in Ramsgate England in March 1894. Her father, who suffered from epileptic seizures, was a coal driver. He and his horse delivered coal to homes in Ramsgate. His wife, my great-grandmother, ran a boarding house and Grandma Ruth told me many stories of her mother's wonderful cooking and loving personality.

Grandma often told me the story of how her father frequently had a seizure while making his daily rounds with coal. His horse would simply carry on the route and folks would come out, take their portion of coal and send the horse and cart with great-grandfather in it, on its way. Eventually the horse would return home and great-grandmother would come out to tend to her husband.

Great-Grandfather Simpson

Grandma Ruth