Generational Hand-me-downs

My mother's family came over from Ireland before the Famine. They came through Castle Gardens, not Ellis Island, and, as there was a huge fire on Ellis Island where most of the Castle Gardens records were stored, we can't find anything out from there. Unless, of course, they came through Boston, and routed down to NYC. Hard telling, not knowing.
My grandpa Vinnie grew up in New York, was a newspaperman, and served in the Army. I have shadowy recollections of his house, and firmly believe he watches over me...mom was his favorite child, and I was her oldest, so I became his favorite too, by extension. I feel a certain attachment to things that were his, or were in his house. I have the usual assortment of hand-me-down furniture (my desk, both bureaus, and my china and silver which is in storage). I look quite a bit like my grandfather, from what I've been told, having both his nose and his chin, and his affinity for strong black coffee. I've got the Irish wit, blessedly not the temper so much, and am a huge fan of Guinness. But, lest you think that's all there is to me, let's get Dad's side of the story...
Dad's family came to Harpswell sometime in the 1800s from Nova Scotia. We're a bit mutt, with Scotch, Welsh, some flavor of First Nations in us (I've heard varying reports of tribe and amount, but rest assured, the amount is so minimal as to be laughed at)..basically your usual assortment of exploring/conquering countries, and a little "folks who were already here" thrown in for good measure. My sister was always daddy's little girl, and I more closely related to mom. However, that seems to have switched as I've gotten older. I'm a lot more like my dad in temperament, and less like my mom and sister. I love them both dearly, but there are a lot of things that I just don't see eye to eye on with them, but am either in agreement with dad on, or can at least have a rational and spirited debate over them with him, both of us able to respect the other's opinion. (I don't always agree with him, but he usually has damn good reasons for doing something, which I have to respect. Not agree with, but respect.)
The next set of generational hand-me-downs that I'll get to observe will be my own children. Will they be like me? Like Dan? A combination of us both? Or will they be the reincarnation of one of my relatives? Only time will tell....