What kind of artifact looks like an odd vase with leather trim around the top? Let’s suppose that the front of the vessel reads:

Calais F. Club

M.B. Townsend

1933

I know what the item is, only because I saw it on a recent “Antiques Roadshow” on Maine Public Broadcasting, this particular episode filmed in Albuquerque, N.M.

The woman who brought in two of these items for appraisal explained that they had belonged to her grandfather, Manley B. Townsend, who was a member of the Calais Fire Club in Maine. The vessels were his fire buckets, from the days when firefighters had to bring along their own buckets when they went to a fire.

The appraiser told the owner these were items that should be “conserved” rather than restored. In other words, they shouldn’t be repainted or anything such as that.

Also, he said, the pair of fire buckets was probably worth a total of $30,000.

It was wonderful to see Maine items on this show, particularly since the buckets’ markings were of historical and genealogical significance. Another piece of information I found of interest was how often an appraiser said that an item was reduced in value because it had been repaired.

That reminded me of the time a quilt expert told me a quilt is dated from the time it is finished. A century-old quilt top made by my great-great-great-grandmother is actually of less value because I had it finished into a quilt.

I was not disappointed to hear that, however, because 1) I’m not going to sell it; and 2) As a finished quilt, it seems sturdier for my purposes, which are to show it to people and allow them to handle it.

How many Michauds are there? More than you can count, I promise you. Thousands of St. John Valley natives, my husband included, have Michaud ancestry.

You’ll be glad to know that a Michaud Family Reunion is planned for this summer in conjunction with the Acadian Festival in Madawaska. Get in on the planning by attending a meeting at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 29, at the Madawaska Safety Complex building. If you can’t attend but would like to be involved, contact Bern at 543-7731 or e-mail MICHAUDREUNION2003@email.com.

It was a treat to see Richard Newcomb of Hampden portray Vice President Hannibal Hamlin during the Jan. 15 meeting of the Penobscot County Genealogical Society. All decked out in top hat and tails, “Hannibal” has turned up in classrooms, at church dinners and even at Founder’s Day in his hometown of South Paris.

We learned about the Hamlin lineage, including parents Cyrus and Anna (Livermore) Hamlin. Cyrus was both sheriff and country doctor, and the family lived next door to the jail, where Anna would take meals to the inmates.

Hannibal was descended from James Hamlin, who came to Barnstable, Mass., in 1623. A congressman, governor, senator and ambassador to Spain, Hannibal was anti-slavery and anti-capital punishment, and instrumental in writing the law that made dueling illegal in Washington, D.C.

Hamlin is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery along with several family members, including daughter Sarah, who was in the box at Ford Theater when Lincoln was assassinated.

Hamlin is my second cousin, four times removed, and has a nice statue by the Kenduskeag Stream in Bangor. His bust, and the couch on which he was treated at the Tarratine Club prior to his death in 1891, are on display at the Bangor Public Library in the area between the Bangor Room and the Lecture Hall.

Next month’s PCGS meeting will feature a tour of Fogler Library at the University of Maine at 6 p.m. Feb. 19. If you’d like to carpool to the campus, meet at 5:30 p.m. that day outside the Bangor Public Library. The tour is a wonderful opportunity to become acquainted with genealogy resources at UM.

3210. MARSHALL. Seeking confirmation of May 11, 1900, as the date of death for Joseph T. Marshall; also place of death and burial. Joseph’s wife, Martha, is buried in Hancock, but he doesn’t seem to be there. Rumors say he may have gone “Down East.” He was in Ellsworth in 1870s, in Hancock in 1880. Sarah Crockett, 113 Enfield Road, Lincoln 04457; graves@linc-net.net.

Send genealogy queries to Family Ties, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402; or send e-mail to familyti@bangordailynews.net.