A couple of days ago I received an comment on my website that read "Comments: Hi, just thought you or another family member might be interested in the following item re: "William John Magick" now up for auction on e-Bay".
Although not a direct ancestor William John Magick (also known as William Westbrook), my second great-great uncle, is an interesting character in my tree. That the son of two convicts had such a flash funeral card demonstrates that with perseverance and hard work those who had a compulsory free passage to our land could climb the social ladder.
I quickly logged into eBay and added the item to my watchlist. It was described as:1899 Australia Death Memorial Postcard - Nice item, nice social history
I wanted that card for the family; I didn't want it to go to a card collector.
Although I buy a few bits of furniture on eBay I have never had so many stomach butterflies as I did as the time for the bidding to close came about. There was only one bid of @US8.00 when I submitted my first bid about ten minutes out, eBay recorded that bid as $8.50 although my maximum bid was greater.. I stared at the screen wondering if someone else would place a bid as the clock counted down the seconds. My husband didn't help the nerves as he hovered in the background saying "you must get it, put in another bid." With one minute to go and with no other bids recorded I put in a ridiculous bid that would hopefully preclude any other bidders from winning the item.
That last 60 seconds seemed like an eternity. I won the card for $US8.50 plus postage. I didn't have this item on my Christmas list but it is a perfect present for a family historian like me. Its tiny price is in contrast to the enormous pleasure I will gain from owning this family artefact.
Let's hope the postman comes soon.
Although not a direct ancestor William John Magick (also known as William Westbrook), my second great-great uncle, is an interesting character in my tree. That the son of two convicts had such a flash funeral card demonstrates that with perseverance and hard work those who had a compulsory free passage to our land could climb the social ladder.
I quickly logged into eBay and added the item to my watchlist. It was described as:1899 Australia Death Memorial Postcard - Nice item, nice social history
I wanted that card for the family; I didn't want it to go to a card collector.
Although I buy a few bits of furniture on eBay I have never had so many stomach butterflies as I did as the time for the bidding to close came about. There was only one bid of @US8.00 when I submitted my first bid about ten minutes out, eBay recorded that bid as $8.50 although my maximum bid was greater.. I stared at the screen wondering if someone else would place a bid as the clock counted down the seconds. My husband didn't help the nerves as he hovered in the background saying "you must get it, put in another bid." With one minute to go and with no other bids recorded I put in a ridiculous bid that would hopefully preclude any other bidders from winning the item.
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| William John Magick Funeral Postcard |
That last 60 seconds seemed like an eternity. I won the card for $US8.50 plus postage. I didn't have this item on my Christmas list but it is a perfect present for a family historian like me. Its tiny price is in contrast to the enormous pleasure I will gain from owning this family artefact.
Let's hope the postman comes soon.
1 comment:
How wonderful that you found a family heirloom on EBay! Personally, I love EBay - I have tons of alerts set up, as well as the app on my iPhone. It's addicting. :-)
Congratulations on your "win!"
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