The first known owner of this simple hammer was my great grandfather, Michael John Hanley (1890-1964), though it is possible an ancestor owned it before him.

It was then used by my grandfather, Michael John Hanley Jr. (1924-2015).

My father, a woodworker, now keeps it on his workbench and uses it often. About it he said:

“I think of them when I pick it up. I often wonder how they used it. What were they making, repairing, or working on?”

It highlights for me how a simple object can connect us to our history. Perhaps one day this hammer will end up on the workbench that my father, Patrick Hanley, built for my son, his grandson. We’ve hung my dad’s senior high school portrait above that workbench in our basement.

Thanks for taking a look at the Family History Artifact of the Day Challenge! Every day in May I will be posting a family artifact or heirloom. I hope you’ll join!

To participate or see what other’s are posting consider joining the private Friends of the Psychogenealogist Facebook Group.

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