My artifact is a mini magnifying glass or paperweight. It was made in Lithuania where all of my ancestors are from. The history behind the magnifying glass is that it was originally given to my great great great grandfather who was born in Lithuania. It was one of the first ones ever made. He and his family then traveled to the U.S. to start a new life. It is very important to me because it is one of the only objects that I have, which was originally possessed by my ancestors from Lithuania. It has been passed down from generation to generation until my father took possession of it around 5 years ago. It was made in Lithuania, and it is over 100 years old. It is very important because my great great great grandmother gave it to my great great great grandfather as a gift, and he loved it. What this story means to me and my family is that we need to cherish what we have left of our distant relatives. Apart from the paperweight, there is nothing that our family has left from that set of relatives. It is important to keep parts of their lives in our lives so we can always feel like we have a connection to them, and know them even though we didn’t. The object represents me as a way to see into our relatives' past and learn more about them without ever meeting them. It has a lot of significance because it makes me feel closer to them. 

– A

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more