Genealogy Treasures

Was visiting family over the Thanksgiving holiday, and came across a few items that were of interest in my ancestry research.
The first was a brush holder that I referred to when I told about my great-grandfather, Hans Eldor Morck. He had crafted this for his daughter, Elsie, and she had given it to my dad, James Warren Jeffrey, as a memento of his grandfather. Hans was very gifted in his craftsmanship, and it is reflected in this piece.

The second item was a closer look at the bed that belonged to my parents. There is the date 1852 inscribed on the bottom of the frame. My mother is convinced that this is the bed Henry Jeffrey was born in, and she also says that James Leonard Jeffrey was born in this bed. This cannot be confirmed, but is very interesting. My parents inherited the bed from my grandmother, Agnes Morck Jeffrey, James Leonard’s wife.
The third item was a treasure! I discovered an ambrotype photograph of my great-grandmother, Agnes Moscrip Jeffrey, holding her newborn baby, Henry. The photo must have been taken in early 1860 (Henry was born January 12, 1860).
The technique of an ambrotype was invented in 1851. The photographic image was formed on a treated sheet of glass and then backed with a dark, usually black, material. Being made of glass, they were fragile and were housed in a casing, whick usually looks like a miniature book. The major disadvantage of the ambrotype is that copies could not be made. Each ambrotype is an opiginal. The case is falling apart, and someone has used clear tape to keep the hinge together, but it is a classic! I’ve touched up the photo, and here is the photo of mother and child.