National Quilt Collection

"Quilt": A cover or garment made by putting wool, cotton or other substance between two cloths and sewing them together. An American Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster, LL.D., New York 1828. 

The National Quilt Collection incorporates quilts from various ethnic groups and social classes, for quilts are not the domain of a specific race or class, but can be a part of anyone’s heritage and treasured as such. Whether of rich or humble fabrics, large in size or small, expertly crafted or not, well-worn or pristine, quilts in the National Quilt Collection provide a textile narrative that contributes to America’s complex and diverse history. The variety and scope of the collection provides a rich resource for researchers, artists, quilt-makers and others. 

Part of the Division of Home and Community Life textiles collection, the National Quilt Collection had its beginnings in the 1890s. Three quilts were included in a larger collection of 18th- and 19th-century household and costume items donated by John Brenton Copp of Stonington, Connecticut. From this early beginning, the collection has grown to more than 500 quilts and quilt-related items, mainly of American origin, with examples from many states, including Alaska and Hawaii. Most of the contributions have come to the Museum as gifts, and many of those are from the quilt-makers’ families. The collection illustrates needlework techniques, materials, fabric designs and processes, styles and patterns used for quilt-making in the past 250 years. The collection also documents the work of specific quilt-makers and commemorates events in American history. 

Learn more about the quilt collection and step behind the scenes with a video tour.

This indigo wool quilt is one of three late-eighteenth-and-early nineteenth-century quilts that were donated in the 1890s by John Brenton Copp of Stonington, Connecticut.
Description
This indigo wool quilt is one of three late-eighteenth-and-early nineteenth-century quilts that were donated in the 1890s by John Brenton Copp of Stonington, Connecticut. All are part of an extensive gift of household textiles, costume items, furniture, and other objects that belonged to his family from 1750 to 1850. The Copp Collection continues to provide insights into New England family life of that period.
Whole cloth quilts were most popular between 1775 and 1840, although before 1800 they were relatively rare and expensive. This eighteenth-century example from the Copp family is a glazed indigo wool quilt. The fabric was dyed blue with indigo, one of the oldest dyes used for textiles. Glazing, a process involving the use of a hot press on wool fabric, resulted in a smooth, lustrous surface. The lining, a butternut-colored wool, apparently was made from two different blankets.
It is quilted with a popular motif of the period, a large pineapple, using blue wool thread, 7 stitches per inch. A quilted flowering vine extends from a basket at the bottom edge of the quilt and frames the pineapple. A family member, John Brown Copp (b. 1779), was known to have drawn designs for white counterpanes for the young ladies in the Stonington area. The quilting pattern on this indigo wool quilt is similar to the embroidery pattern of a white counterpane, from about 1800, which also belonged to the Copp family.
An analysis of the household textile collection donated by John Brenton Copp can be found in the Copp Family Textiles by Grace Rogers Cooper (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1971). In the book the author summarizes the family background. “The first Copp to reach America was William, a 26-year-old London shoemaker who in 1635 set out for the Massachusetts Colony on the good ship Blessing. He landed east of Boston and became the first owner of Copp’s Hill in north Boston . . . . William’s son Jonathan established the Connecticut branch of the family around Stonington later in the seventeenth century. Many of his male descendents gained comfortable prosperity as merchants and businessmen, while their wives and daughters led full lives as mothers of the large families in which education and refinement were encouraged . . . . The long succession of Jonathans, Samuels, Catherines, Esters, Marys, and Sarahs makes it rather difficult to set in order the generations and their contributions to the collection.” The exact maker of this indigo wool quilt is unidentified, but it was probably made by one or more members of the Copp household.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1750-1800
maker
Copp Family
ID Number
TE.H006643
accession number
28810
catalog number
H006643
Eve Van Cortlandt's fine white linen quilted counterpane is one of the earliest dated American quilts in existence. The date, "1760" and her initials, "E V C," are embroidered in blue silk cross-stitch on the quilt lining.
Description
Eve Van Cortlandt's fine white linen quilted counterpane is one of the earliest dated American quilts in existence. The date, "1760" and her initials, "E V C," are embroidered in blue silk cross-stitch on the quilt lining. Quilted with white linen thread, a delicate pattern of flowers, feathery stems, and low open baskets surround a central quatrefoil medallion. The design is set off by a background of quilted parallel lines just one-eighth inch apart.
Eve was born on May 22, 1736, to Frederick Van Cortlandt and Francena Jay each from families of wealthy and prominent New York landowners. She made her quilt for her dower chest while living in the family home. In 1761, Eve married the Honorable Henry White, a businessman and a member of the King’s Council of the Royal Colony of New York. He became president of the New York Chamber of Commerce in 1772 and remained loyal to the King of England during the Revolution.
When the British evacuated New York in 1783, Henry moved his family to England. Henry White died in London in 1786, and Eve returned to America as a widow, most likely to be near two of her children who lived in New York. Of their five children, two sons were in the British service and remained in London, as did one daughter. Eve died in 1836 at the age of one hundred, having witnessed a century of historic events. Since 1897, the family home in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx has been a museum.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1760
quilter
Van Cortlandt, Eve
ID Number
1979.0184.01
catalog number
1979.0184.01
accession number
1979.0184
In 1951 the donor informed the museum that she had a quilt made by her husband's great-great grandmother in 1792.
Description
In 1951 the donor informed the museum that she had a quilt made by her husband's great-great grandmother in 1792. A note attached to the quilt stated that it was made by Martha Babson Lane Soule of Freeport, Maine, and that "she spun and dyed the worsted and designed the pattern embroidered on it." The donor continued in her letter, "In going through some old correspondence we find that the mate to this quilt was donated to your Museum many years ago by my husband's great-aunt Mrs. Caroline Gordon." That quilt had been donated to the Museum in 1925, and more than twenty-five years later this quilt from the Soule family was also added to the Collection.
This quilt is both pieced and embroidered. The center panel, a 38-inch square, is embroidered in indigo-dyed wool, surrounded by a border pieced of 8-inch printed cotton squares and triangles, with a crewel embroidered outer border. Embroidery stitches include stem, cross, herringbone, seed, buttonhole, Roumanian, running, and couching. Considering the style of the quilt and the use of cotton 2-ply sewing and quilting threads in the construction indicate a date no earlier than the very-late-eighteenth century or probably early-nineteenth century.
The crewel embroidered pieces might have been from bed furniture of an earlier date. The center panel appears to be cut from a larger piece of embroidery; the top and side borders are also shortened; only the bottom border, with a large heart, is a complete design. The base fabrics for the embroidered sections and the lining are cotton and linen/cotton with a thin layer of carded cotton between them. The pieced inner border is composed of two fabrics; one resist-printed the other English copperplate printed ca 1775-1785. The chevron patterned quilting is done in a running stitch, 7 stitches per inch.
Martha Babson Lane was born December 22, 1772 in Freeport, Cumberland, Maine. The Lane family is listed among the settlers in that area of Maine as early as the 1650s. Martha married Moses Soule on May 25, 1793. Moses farmed in the Freeport, Maine area, and was a deacon in the church and a caulker by trade.
Martha and Moses Soule had eleven children, three of whom died within a few months of each other in 1807 at ages three, five and eight. Three other children, born later, were given their names; John/James Babson, Nancy and Jeannette.
One son, Gideon Lane Soule (1796-1879) was the first of his four brothers to attend Phillips Exeter Academy. He later became a professor at the Academy and for thirty-five years, from 1838 to 1873, served as a Principal. Under his able direction the Academy experienced increasing growth, prosperity and prestige.
The youngest son, John Babson Lane Soule (1815-1891), after attending the Academy, graduated from Bowdoin College. Although he completed law studies, he spent his life as a teacher, journalist and minister in Indiana, Wisconsin and Illinois. He is noted for possibly being the originator of the popular slogan: "Go West, young man!" used in an editorial he wrote in 1851 for the Terre Haute Express which was later used by Horace Greeley so effectively in an 1865 New York Tribune editorial. Martha Babson Lane Soule died on December 20, 1837 and is buried in the Lane Cemetery near Freeport, Maine.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1790-1795
quilter
Soule, Martha Babson Lane
ID Number
TE.T10932
catalog number
T10932
accession number
190856
Information included with this quilt when it was donated to the Smithsonian in 1925 indicated that it was made by the donor’s grandmother. Martha Babson Lane Soule of Freeport, Maine, was donor Caroline M. Gordon’s grandmother.
Description
Information included with this quilt when it was donated to the Smithsonian in 1925 indicated that it was made by the donor’s grandmother. Martha Babson Lane Soule of Freeport, Maine, was donor Caroline M. Gordon’s grandmother. Another quilt attributed to Martha Babson Lane Soule was donated by Martha’s great-great-grandson in 1951. Both quilts have crewel work embroidery that may date to the 1790s.
The quilt top, probably an unquilted counterpane, may date from 1790 or earlier. It is embroidered with indigo-dyed crewel (2-ply worsted) yarn in a pattern of scrolling vines with fanciful flowers and leaves, emanating from a central basket. The four corner motifs are alike, and two other flowers are repeated, while all other flowers and leaves are different in design. Embroidery stitches include stem, cross, herringbone, seed, buttonhole, Roumanian, running and couching.
The foundation fabrics of the counterpane are cotton and linen/cotton. The counterpane was probably made into a quilt in the early-nineteenth century with a thin filling of carded cotton and a lining of linen/cotton and cotton fabrics. It was quilted in a chevron pattern using 2-ply cotton in a running stitch, 5 to 6 stitches per inch.
Martha Babson Lane was born December 22, 1772, in Freeport, Cumberland County, Maine. The Lane family is listed among the settlers in that area of Maine as early as the 1650s. Martha married Moses Soule on May 25, 1793. Moses farmed in the Freeport area, and was a deacon in the church and a caulker by trade.
Martha and Moses Soule had eleven children, three of whom died within a few months of each other in 1807 at ages three, five, and eight. Three other children, born later, were given their names; John/James Babson, Nancy, and Jeannette.
One son, Gideon Lane Soule (1796-1879) was the first of his four brothers to attend Phillips Exeter Academy. He later became a professor at the Academy and for thirty-five years, from 1838 to 1873, served as its principal. Under his able direction the Academy experienced increasing growth, prosperity, and prestige.
The youngest son, John Babson Lane Soule (1815-1891), after attending the Academy, graduated from Bowdoin College. Although he completed law studies, he spent his life as a teacher, journalist, and minister in Indiana, Wisconsin, and Illinois. He is noted for possibly being the originator of the popular slogan; “Go West, young man!” used in an editorial he wrote in 1851 for the Terre Haute Express which was later adopted by Horace Greeley so effectively in an 1865 New York Tribune editorial. Martha Babson Lane Soule died on December 20, 1837, and is buried in the Lane Cemetery near Freeport, Maine.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1790-1795
quilter
Soule, Martha Babson Lane
ID Number
TE.T05251
accession number
88838
catalog number
T05251
This quilt is one of three late-eighteenth-and-early-nineteenth-century quilts that were donated in the 1890s by John Brenton Copp of Stonington, Connecticut.
Description
This quilt is one of three late-eighteenth-and-early-nineteenth-century quilts that were donated in the 1890s by John Brenton Copp of Stonington, Connecticut. All are a part of an extensive gift of household textiles, costume items, furniture, and other objects that belonged to his family from 1750 to 1850. The Copp Collection continues to provide insights into New England family life of that period.
The pieced blocks on this quilt, a variation of the “Nine-patch” pattern, are each made of one of nine different block-printed cottons. These are symmetrically arranged according to the particular print, and alternate with plain white blocks. The quilting pattern consists of parallel diagonal lines on the pieced blocks contrasting with 1½-inch shells on the white blocks, all quilted at 7 stitches per inch.
An analysis of the household textile collection donated by John Brenton Copp can be found in the Copp Family Textiles by Grace Rogers Cooper (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1971). In the book the author summarizes the family background. “The first Copp to reach America was William, a 26-year-old London shoemaker who in 1635 set out for the Massachusetts Colony on the good ship Blessing. He landed east of Boston and became the first owner of Copp’s Hill in north Boston . . . . William’s son Jonathan established the Connecticut branch of the family around Stonington later in the seventeenth century. Many of his male descendents gained comfortable prosperity as merchants and businessmen, while their wives and daughters led full lives as mothers of the large families in which education and refinement were encouraged . . . . The long succession of Jonathans, Samuels, Catherines, Esters, Marys, and Sarahs makes it rather difficult to set in order the generations and their contributions to the collection.” The exact maker of this “Nine-patch” quilt is unidentified, but it was probably made by one or more members of the Copp household.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1790-1810
maker
Copp Family
ID Number
TE.H006679
accession number
28810
catalog number
H006679
This pieced-work example is one of three late-eighteenth-and-early nineteenth-century quilts that were donated in the 1890s by John Brenton Copp of Stonington, Connecticut.
Description
This pieced-work example is one of three late-eighteenth-and-early nineteenth-century quilts that were donated in the 1890s by John Brenton Copp of Stonington, Connecticut. All are a part of an extensive gift of household textiles, costume items, furniture and other objects that belonged to his family from 1750 to 1850. The Copp Collection continues to provide insights into New England family life of that period.
The arrangement of the pattern of this quilt is one found frequently in eighteenth-century and early-nineteenth-century quilts, a succession of borders framing a center panel of pieced work. A view of the pieced center of this quilt seen from the right side, suggests the shape of a tree, and the printed fabrics repeat in mirror fashion in each row about ninety percent of the time. Perhaps the center was erroneously placed in this direction, or it was meant to be viewed from the bedside. The lining is pieced of much-mended linen and cotton fabrics that originally were probably sheets. On one piece, the initials “HV” are cross-stitched in tan silk thread. It is quilted in an overall herringbone pattern, 5 or 6 stitches per inch.
The clothing and furnishing fabrics used in the quilt top span a period of about forty years. This, and the fact that the Copp family was in the dry goods business, may explain why the quilt includes more than one hundred and fifty different printed, woven-patterned, and plain fabrics of cotton, linen and silk. Although the array of fabrics is extravagant, economy is evident in the use of even the smallest scraps. Many blocks in the quilt pattern are composed of several smaller, irregularly shaped pieces. Two dresses, in the Copp Collection, one from about 1800 and the other from about 1815, are made of fabrics that appear in the quilt.
An analysis of the household textile collection donated by John Brenton Copp can be found in the Copp Family Textiles by Grace Rogers Cooper (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1971). In the book the author summarizes the family background. “The first Copp to reach America was William, a 26-year-old London shoemaker who in 1635 set out for the Massachusetts Colony on the good ship Blessing. He landed east of Boston and became the first owner of Copp’s Hill in north Boston . . . . William’s son Jonathan established the Connecticut branch of the family around Stonington later in the seventeenth century. Many of his male descendents gained comfortable prosperity as merchants and businessmen, while their wives and daughters led full lives as mothers of the large families in which education and refinement were encouraged . . . . The long succession of Jonathans, Samuels, Catherines, Esters, Marys, and Sarahs makes it rather difficult to set in order the generations and their contributions to the collection.” The exact maker of this quilt is unidentified, but it was probably made by one or more members of the Copp household.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1790-1810
maker
Copp Family
ID Number
TE.H006680
accession number
28810
catalog number
H006680
Copper-plate and block-printed fabrics from the late-18th and early-19th centuries make this pieced quilt a valuable contribution to the Collection.
Description
Copper-plate and block-printed fabrics from the late-18th and early-19th centuries make this pieced quilt a valuable contribution to the Collection. Originally purchased at a thrift shop for $2.00, this rare find was generously donated to the Museum in 1956.
In the 21-inch pieced center section are ten fragments of a plate-printed cotton fabric thought to commemorate the Treaty of Pillnitz, 1792. It was the first formal alliance in opposition to the French Revolution. Participants whose portraits appear on the fabric segments are the King of Prussia (Frederick William II), The Empress of Russia (Catherine II), the King of Britain (George III), and the Emperor of Germany (Leopold II).
The center block is immediately surrounded by 15 ½-inch-square pieced blocks and rectangular blocks either of linen embellished with wool embroidery or plain and block-printed cotton and linen/cotton fabrics. This is framed by a complex piecing of printed, embroidered, and plain fabrics. The crewel-embroidered floral sprigs and exotic birds on linen may have been fragments from recycled bed furnishings or a petticoat. Linen thread was used for the chevron and diagonal grid quilting patterns, quilted at 7-8 stitches per inch. The various fabrics produced by different printing techniques make this quilt a remarkable example of the period.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1792-1810
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T11457
accession number
211584
catalog number
T11457
Embroidered in dark brown silk cross-stitches and eye-stitches along the top right edge of the center of this quilt is "M. Campbell 1795." This quilt is a rare dated and signed example of the use of reverse appliqué which is found in the center panel and the eight border motifs.
Description
Embroidered in dark brown silk cross-stitches and eye-stitches along the top right edge of the center of this quilt is "M. Campbell 1795." This quilt is a rare dated and signed example of the use of reverse appliqué which is found in the center panel and the eight border motifs. In reverse appliqué, the positions of the pattern and background fabrics are reversed from those of onlaid appliqué. The silhouette of the pattern is cut out of the background fabric, and openings are filled by applying a contrasting fabric from underneath. It was not often used in American quilts. The remainder of the quilt top is of geometric pieced work.
Block printed cotton fabrics of floral prints, stripes, and small geometrics, mostly on brown or tan grounds, were used for the appliqué and piecework. The lining is linen and the filling cotton. All appliquéd motifs are outline quilted along both the inside and outside edges. The white backgrounds, center border, and printed fabric blocks in the outer border are quilted in a diagonal grid and chevron patterns, seven stitches to the inch. M. Campbell's skillfully worked quilt is a notable example of the reverse appliqué technique.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1795
quilter
unknown
ID Number
1981.0007.01
catalog number
1981.0007.01
accession number
1981.0007
This quilt top of unusual design, composed of eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century fabrics, was acquired for the Collection in 1974.
Description
This quilt top of unusual design, composed of eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century fabrics, was acquired for the Collection in 1974. A piece of paper that accompanied the quilt top bears the notation: “Lappendehen Mtn West Indies familie Huh Taunay” and, “Taunay family heirloom.”
The quilt top is pieced of elongated hexagons around a center square printed with a chinoisserie design. The hexagonal pieces are joined by minute overcast stitches sewn with linen thread. Still evident are traces of paper templates used to stiffen the hexagons during the piecing process. The judicious placement of the dark-colored hexagon pieces creates larger hexagon shapes in the overall design of the top. The 7-inch border is pieced of smaller even-sided printed hexagons arranged in rosettes against a background of white hexagons.
The cotton fabrics used for the top present a sampler of printing techniques available in the early-nineteenth century. Block-printed, Indian-printed and painted, woven stripe and check, copperplate printed, and roller-printed cottons are all represented. The copper plate prints are from 1780 to 1800 and the block-prints from 1790 to 1810. The Indian cottons date from the late-eighteenthth century. The roller-prints are from the very-early-nineteenth century. A few areas have had replacement fabrics, and a few pieces are completely missing. The furnishing fabric border around the outer edge is block-printed, with penciled blue and yellow over blue enhancements. The array of fabrics used and the hexagonal pieced-work technique make this elegant quilt top an important example in the Collection.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800-1815
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T17179
accession number
313383
catalog number
T17179
This example of an early 19th-century whole cloth quilt has an unusual design. Four sprays of large flowers, leaves, and clusters of berries begin in each of the corners and meet in the center of the quilt.
Description
This example of an early 19th-century whole cloth quilt has an unusual design. Four sprays of large flowers, leaves, and clusters of berries begin in each of the corners and meet in the center of the quilt. They are framed by a wide scrolling vine with a 2 ½ -inch feathered band along the outer edge.
The fabric for this quilt was dyed blue with indigo, one of the oldest dyes used for textiles. Glazing, a process involving the use of a hot press on wool fabric, resulted in a smooth, lustrous fabric surface.
The motifs in the design are all outline quilted, 8-9 stitches/inch. The background, parallel diagonal lines quilted ¼-inch apart, further enhances the overall design. The lining is a tan and blue plaid wool/cotton fabric. There is no binding the front and lining are turned in and sewn with a running stitch.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800-1815
maker
unknown
ID Number
1981.1020.08
catalog number
1981.1020.08
accession number
1981.1020
The 17-inch center block of this early 19th-century quilt is appliquéd with a charming array of floral, geometric, and heart-shaped designs.
Description
The 17-inch center block of this early 19th-century quilt is appliquéd with a charming array of floral, geometric, and heart-shaped designs. It is surrounded by five pieced borders.
Block-printed, copperplate-printed, Indian-painted, and roller-printed techniques are represented in the fabrics that were used for piecing. Plain-woven and pattern-woven white cottons are also evident. The 8 ½-inch blocks that make up the borders are pieced in a variety of patterns popular in the first half of the 19th century. It has a cotton filling and is quilted, 7 stitches/inch.
The quilt is probably from southern New England, possibly Connecticut, where it was found. The many, many fabrics, different pieced block patterns, and appliquéd designs contribute to this sampler of 19th- century quilt making.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800-1850
maker
unknown
ID Number
1981.0417.04
catalog number
1981.0417.04
accession number
1981.0417
This quilt top was made at Vaux Hall, a plantation near Baltimore, Md., owned by Charles Jessop. The center square, composed of motifs printed about 1800 and appliquéd with linen thread, has been attributed to Mary Gorsuch Jessop.
Description
This quilt top was made at Vaux Hall, a plantation near Baltimore, Md., owned by Charles Jessop. The center square, composed of motifs printed about 1800 and appliquéd with linen thread, has been attributed to Mary Gorsuch Jessop. The corners, with chintz motifs printed about 1830 and sewn with cotton thread, were added later.
The sixteen block-printed motifs applied to the center square are the work of John Hewson (1744-1821), one of the few 18th-century American textile printers who have been identified. Persuaded by Benjamin Franklin to leave England before the Revolutionary War, Hewson set up his printing works on the banks of the Delaware River near Philadelphia. There he worked with such skill and success that the British, who sought to eliminate competition for their products, posted a reward during the Revolutionary War for his body, dead or alive.
Hewson survived to demonstrate fabric-printing, aboard a float, in the Grand Federal Procession held on July 4, 1788, in Philadelphia, to celebrate the adoption of the Constitution. William Bagnall ‘s The Textile Industries of the United States , published in 1893, states, “President Washington was accustomed to point with patriotic pride to domestic fabrics worn by Mrs. Washington and printed at the works of . . . Hewson.”
Mary Gorsuch, born in Baltimore County, Md., in 1767, married Charles Jessop (1759-1828) in 1786. Their son, William, was born in 1800 about the same time that Charles bought 200 acres of land and built Vaux Hall. Mary died in 1830. William’s wife and Mary’s daughter-in-law, Cecilia Barry Jessop, may have added the corners to the quilt top in 1830. William inherited Vaux Hall and lived there until his own death in 1866 (or 1869). Vaux Hall, named for gardens in England, was destroyed in the 1930s in the construction of a dam for Baltimore.
The quilt top was placed in a trunk with other finished family quilts and put in commercial storage. At a later date it was discovered that the lock of the trunk was broken and the finished quilts missing, leaving only this quilt top. The quilt top is significant for the John Hewson prints that were used for the appliqué.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800-1850
maker
Jessop, Mary Gorsuch
Barry, Cecelia
ID Number
TE.T15295
catalog number
T15295
accession number
292866
Charlotte Merritt Roe embroidered her name as well as the place (Virgil) and date (1806) on this pieced child’s quilt. Charlotte Merritt was born in 1774 in Rye, Westchester County, New York. She married John Elting Roe in 1796.
Description
Charlotte Merritt Roe embroidered her name as well as the place (Virgil) and date (1806) on this pieced child’s quilt. Charlotte Merritt was born in 1774 in Rye, Westchester County, New York. She married John Elting Roe in 1796. In 1797 Charlotte and her husband settled in Virgil, New York. They stayed on to rear five children. This quilt, made for one of their children, was passed down through the family before being donated to the Museum in 1984.
An anecdote in Stories of Cortland County by Bertha E. Blodgett, Cortland, New York, published in 1932, relates the arrival of Charlotte and John Roe in Virgil.
“In the spring of 1797 John E. Roe . . . came up the river and prepared a log cabin in Virgil. He . . . peeled bark for a roof and agreed with a man to put it on . . . then went down the Tioughnioga to get his wife, bringing her in a sleigh from Oxford . . . .
When they came to the river at a place called Messengerville, they saw Mr. Chaplin’s house on the opposite bank. It was winter and the river was high, and the canoe that had been used in crossing was carried away. Mr. Chaplin’s hog trough was secured, and Mrs. Roe was safely carried over on it . . . whole day was consumed in negotiating the road over the hill to Virgil . . . when they arrived they were surprised to find their house without a covering and the snow deep on the floor . . . .
In after years, Mrs. Roe enjoyed telling the story of her experience . . . and she always ended by saying, ‘And what do you think! The horses were so hungry that they ate the seats out of my nice rush-bottomed chairs.”
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1806
quilter
Roe, Charlotte
ID Number
1984.0092.01
catalog number
1984.0092.01
accession number
1984.0092
In 1962 a great-great-granddaughter of one of the makers of this quilt donated it to the Museum with the information that it had been made by women in the Adams family. They were said to have made the quilt while the men were away during the War of 1812.
Description
In 1962 a great-great-granddaughter of one of the makers of this quilt donated it to the Museum with the information that it had been made by women in the Adams family. They were said to have made the quilt while the men were away during the War of 1812. The donor’s great-grandfather was Jackson Adams, her great-great uncle, Joshua Adams, and her grandmother, Jane Adams.
This quilt is made up of 7-inch blocks pieced in the "Pinwheel" pattern, alternating with plain white blocks. Detailed stuffed quilting embellishes the white blocks and border. Ten different quilting patterns are used for the plain blocks, all but one repeated.
The 8-inch white border has a quilted-and-stuffed feathered vine with small quilted-and-stuffed floral motifs. White cotton fabric was used for the lining, cotton fiber for the filling and stuffing. The pieced blocks and border are quilted at 9 stitches per inch. The “Pinwheel” Quilt, with its contrast of elaborate stuffed quilting and simply pieced blocks, is a fine example of early 19th-century quilting making.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1812-1814
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T12815
accession number
242609
catalog number
T12815
While the precise name of an individual’s quilt pattern was seldom recorded in the nineteenth century, Mary Totten left no doubt about the name she gave this quilt or its importance to her when she prepared her will, circa 1860.
Description
While the precise name of an individual’s quilt pattern was seldom recorded in the nineteenth century, Mary Totten left no doubt about the name she gave this quilt or its importance to her when she prepared her will, circa 1860. “First, after all my lawful debts are paid and discharged, I give and bequeath to Rachel Mary Drake, daughter of William Drake, deceased, my large spread called the Rising Sun.” (Florence Peto in her book Historic Quilts ). More than 75 years later, the “Rising Sun” quilt was brought to the Smithsonian in 1938 by the donor, Marvel Matthes. She had been presented with this magnificent quilt by her godmother, Ellen Totten Butler.
The “Rising Sun” (also referred to at times as "Star of Bethlehem") pieced pattern in the center of the quilt is an eight-pointed star measuring 76 inches across. It contains 648 diamond-shaped pieces made of eleven different roller-printed cottons arranged concentrically by color. Appliquéd between the points of the star are elaborate vases of flowers and birds, combining floral glazed chintzes with some of the same fabrics used in the star. A matching floral vine runs around the four sides of the quilt between a swag-and-bow border on the inside, and a chain along the outer edge. The appliquéd flower stems, vine, swags, bows, and chain are only 3/32-inch wide. The star and border appliqué are outline-quilted, with additional small floral motif quilting in the open spaces in the border. The initials “B T” (unclear) are embroidered in red silk cross-stitch next to one of the corner vases.
Mary Totten, daughter of Gilbert Totten (1740-1819) and Mary Butler (1739-1832), was born in 1781 in Staten Island, New York. Mary was one of eight siblings. In the late eighteenth century, members of the Totten family bought land in the Staten Island area. About 1840 the area purchased by Gilbert, Mary’s father, became known as Tottenville. The economy revolved around oyster fishing, shipbuilding and repair, and farming. Mary married late in life, in her forties, first to Rev. Joseph Polhemus (1762-1827), and, after his death, to Matthew Williams (1780-1836). Mary had no children of her own and her “Rising Sun” quilt was willed to her grandniece when she died in 1861.
At the time of donation, 1938, the "Rising Sun" quilt was noted as made by Mary Betsy Totten or in another note Betsy Totten. In subsequent references either Mary Totten, Mary (Betsy) Totten, or Betsy Totten have been ascribed as the maker of the quilt. Mary did have a sister Elizabeth Totten Cole (1772 - 1860).
Mary "Betsy" Totten's “Rising Sun”quilt is an important example of design and workmanship in the Collection. The fabrics chosen to create this quilt were reproduced in the late twentieth century for the inspiration of contemporary quilters. Other Totten family quilts are in the collections of the Staten Island Historical Society, and another in Cooperstown, New York.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1825-1835
maker
Totten, Mary Betsy
ID Number
TE.T08153
accession number
147358
catalog number
T08153
According to information given with the donation in 1945, this quilt originally belonged to Abbie Corey Brackett. Abbie Corey [Corah] married Ichabod Brackett, a hired man on the Corey family farm in Plainfield, Conn., in 1816.
Description
According to information given with the donation in 1945, this quilt originally belonged to Abbie Corey Brackett. Abbie Corey [Corah] married Ichabod Brackett, a hired man on the Corey family farm in Plainfield, Conn., in 1816. “All her father, Squire Joshiah Corey would allow her to take from home, were the two quilts, which she made. He allowed her nothing more. The Coreys were Scotch.” While this may have explained the other “quilt,” a woven coverlet, this particular quilt dates from about 1825-1835.
The quilt top consists of lengths of a single glazed, roller-printed cotton. The “Pillar Print” design is in red and brown, with an olive drab color added by surface roller. The combination of architectural and floral elements was particularly popular from 1825 to 1835 in American household furnishing fabrics. The quilt has a plain-weave white cotton lining and cotton fiber filling. Concentric diamonds and a quilting pattern variously known as “Rob Peter and Pay Paul,” or “Lafayette Orange Peel” or “Dolly Madison’s Workbox,” quilted at six stitches per inch, complete the quilt.
Records indicate that Abigail Corey was born about 1789. She married Ichabod Brackett (about 1790-1862) 3 February 1816. Sadly, after his death, Abigail is listed on the 1870 census as “Nabby Brackett” born about 1787 and living in Dudley, Worcester, Mass., as a pauper. On the 1880 census she is listed as Abigail Brackett and an “inmate” in Dudley. The donor received this quilt and a woven coverlet from a friend of her mother’s, Mrs. Hattie Vinton Wright, who was the great-granddaughter of Abbie Corey Brackett. When the items arrived at the Museum in 1945, they were deemed “excellent examples representing types not duplicated in the collections.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1825-1835
maker
Brackett, Abbie Corey
ID Number
TE.T09126
accession number
169638
catalog number
T09126
An appliquéd and embroidered adaptation of the Great Seal of the United States centers this cotton quilt made by Susan Strong in the early second quarter of the nineteenth century. Susan probably made this quilt in Ohio, where her family moved prior to 1820.
Description
An appliquéd and embroidered adaptation of the Great Seal of the United States centers this cotton quilt made by Susan Strong in the early second quarter of the nineteenth century. Susan probably made this quilt in Ohio, where her family moved prior to 1820. The Great Seal has been in use since 1782 to authenticate documents issued by the United States government. Adaptations of this patriotic motif, a bald eagle with its wings spread, have been used on many quilts.
In Susan’s adaptation, the eagle holds vines in its talons and beak instead of the arrows, olive branch, and banner with E Pluribus Unum that are found on the traditional motif. The thirteen appliquéd 8-pointed stars above the eagle represent the thirteen colonies. The center panel is framed by three borders, each 7½-inches wide. They are appliquéd with the same design of flowering vines growing from corner vases. Two fabrics, a white cotton and roller-printed discharge white on blue cotton, are used alternately for the appliqué and the background. The shield and details on the eagle’s head are embroidered with silk thread in chain and satin stitches. Quilting is 6 stitches to the inch, in various patterns. This patriotic quilt is an example of an important design motif used to decorate many objects during the early part of the nineteenth century.
Susan Strong was born on July 4, 1809, in Frederick County, Maryland. She is listed among the pioneers in Richland County, Ohio, those who lived in the county prior to 1820. Charles, George, and John Strong of Maryland are among the 1818 listing of property owners in Jefferson Township. Susan married William Bell (1805-1847) on December 6, 1831. William was the son of Robert Bell, an early developer (1814) of the town of Bellville, Ohio. They had six children, two boys and four girls (all of whom taught school). In 1840 they moved to Hancock County, but Susan returned to Bellville after the death of William in 1847. She did not remarry and later lived with her daughter, Sarah (Mrs. Charles H. Dewey), in Omaha, Nebraska. Susan died in 1875, at age 66.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1825-1840
maker
Strong, Susan
ID Number
TE.T14833
catalog number
T14833
accession number
283467
This framed-center quilt was among several quilts, quilt blocks, and other household textile items that were donated in 1932. It is the work of Rachel Burr Corwin. At the time of the donation it was considered by the curator “. . .
Description
This framed-center quilt was among several quilts, quilt blocks, and other household textile items that were donated in 1932. It is the work of Rachel Burr Corwin. At the time of the donation it was considered by the curator “. . . a valued addition to the Museum’s collection of old cotton prints.”
A variation of the “Nine-patch” pattern is used for the central panel. This is framed by borders pieced in the “Flying Geese,” “Lemoyne Star,” “Chained Square,” and “Nine-patch” patterns. The fabrics are mainly roller-printed fabrics with a few block-printed cottons. The quilting employs various geometric patterns, 5 stitches per inch.
Rachel Burr, daughter of Samuel Burr and Sibyl Scudder Burr of Massachusetts, was born March 3, 1788. She married Samuel Corwin of Orange County, New York, October 14, 1809. They had four children. Needlework examples by one of their daughters, Celia, are also in the Collection. Rachel Burr Corwin died March 14, 1849, in Orange County, New York.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1825-1850
maker
Corwin, Rachel Burr
ID Number
TE.T07117
accession number
121578
catalog number
T07117
Jane Winter Price pieced this example of the “Carpenter’s Wheel” pattern in the second quarter of the nineteenth century and quilted her initials, “JWP,” into a white triangle at the lower edge of the quilt.
Description
Jane Winter Price pieced this example of the “Carpenter’s Wheel” pattern in the second quarter of the nineteenth century and quilted her initials, “JWP,” into a white triangle at the lower edge of the quilt. According to family information, she may have made this quilt during a previous engagement when she lived in Maryland, before the death of her fiancé. “Keate Price McHenry from her Mother” is written in a corner of the lining. Catherine (Kate) Price McHenry was Jane’s daughter, born in 1856 in Arkansas.
Thirty “Carpenter’s Wheel” pieced blocks are set diagonally with alternate white blocks on this elaborately quilted example of mid-nineteenth-century needlework. The blocks are 11½ inches square, and the blue-ground chintz border is 7½ inches wide. The white squares are quilted, 15 stitches per inch, with sprays of flowers and grapes against a background of diagonal lines 1/8 inch apart. Double clamshell quilting is found in the white triangles inside the border. Both the pieced blocks and the border are quilted 9 stitches per inch. The wide border effectively frames the artistic placement of pieced blocks and finely quilted white blocks and triangles.
Jane Winter Price, born in 1818 in Maryland, was the daughter of Catherine Winter Dunnington II (1790 -1863) and Richard Price (b 1771). Catherine was married in 1813, but widowed in 1823. In 1838 she, along with her two living children, Jane and George Richard Price, left with others for Alabama. Jane married Josiah W. McHenry (b.1815) in 1849. In 1860 they lived in La Pile, Union County, Arkansas, with their four children, Catherine (b. 1850), Barnabas (b. 1852), George (b. 1854) and Jane C. (b. 1856) and Jane’s mother, Catherine, then aged 70. By 1870, they were living in Homer, Louisiana, where Jane died in January 1899.
This quilt is among several items that G. Ruth McHenry donated to the Smithsonian in 1961. It had been given to her by her aunt, Kate (Catherine) Price McHenry. Catherine Price McHenry was the daughter of Jane Winter Price, who probably made this quilt before her marriage to Josiah W. McHenry in 1849.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1825-1850
maker
Price, Jane Winter
ID Number
TE.T12697
accession number
238478
catalog number
T12697
This example of the “Feathered Star” pattern was among several quilts, quilt blocks, and other household textile items that were donated in 1932. It is the work of Rachel Burr Corwin. At the time of the donation the quilt was considered by the curator “. . .
Description
This example of the “Feathered Star” pattern was among several quilts, quilt blocks, and other household textile items that were donated in 1932. It is the work of Rachel Burr Corwin. At the time of the donation the quilt was considered by the curator “. . . a valued addition to the Museum’s collection of old cotton prints . . . one is amazed at the work required to piece together patches of ½-inch dimensions.”
Fifteen-and-a-half-inch “Feathered Star” pieced blocks are set diagonally with sashing pieced in the “Garden Maze” pattern. These are framed by a six-inch pieced border. An 1829 date was given on a note pinned to the quilt, but the roller-printed cottons are more typical of those used a few years later. Small quilted floral motifs and outline quilting, 7 stitches per inch, complete the quilt.
Rachel Burr, daughter of Samuel Burr and Sibyl Scudder Burr of Massachusetts, was born March 3, 1788. She married Samuel Corwin of Orange County, New York, October 14, 1809. They had four children. Needlework examples by one of their daughters, Celia, are also in the Collection. Rachel Burr Corwin died March 14, 1849, in Orange County, New York.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1825-1850
maker
Corwin, Rachel Burr
ID Number
TE.T07118
accession number
121578
catalog number
T07118
A quilted inscription at the base of the flowering tree on this quilt reads “Violet E. L. Alexander / June 10 / 1830.” The central focus of this quilt, a flowering “Tree of Life” motif, is appliquéd on a 40-inch square of white cotton.
Description
A quilted inscription at the base of the flowering tree on this quilt reads “Violet E. L. Alexander / June 10 / 1830.” The central focus of this quilt, a flowering “Tree of Life” motif, is appliquéd on a 40-inch square of white cotton. Other motifs of palm trees, flowers, and long-tailed birds are appliquéd on white cotton triangles to fill out the center section. This is framed by 3-inch and 7-inch borders that are made of roller-printed floral and geometric stripes. The two borders are separated by a 3¾-inch plain white border. The corner motifs and some parts of the central tree are cut from block-printed cotton produced at the Bannister Hall print works near Preston, England.
The quilting pattern, 8 stitches per inch, consists of diagonal lines, ¼-inch apart, over the entire center and on the printed borders. Clamshell quilting is found on the plain white border. The fine quilting and use of costly chintz fabrics printed in England make it a typical example of a medallion quilt, popular in the early nineteenth century, and often found in the American South.
Violet Elizabeth was the daughter of William Bain Alexander and Violet Davidson. Violet was born January 9, 1812. She was one of fourteen children (seven girls and seven boys) who grew up on a prosperous estate in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. On December, 27, 1831 she married Dr. Isaac Wilson, who both farmed and maintained an extensive medical practice. The couple had six children, five sons and one daughter. Two sons lost their lives in the Civil War, two others farmed in the county, and another practiced medicine. Violet died at age 33 of erysipelas, a bacterial infection, during an epidemic in 1845. This quilt was made just prior to her marriage. According to information from the donor, Dr. John E. S. Davidson, the quilt may have been made by his mother, Jane Henderson (Mrs. Edward Constantine Davidson), a friend or relative of Violet.
Note: The name Violet appears and reappears in the family. She may have gone by the name “Elizabeth,” as some sources cite.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1830
maker
Alexander, Violet Elizabeth Lee
ID Number
TE.T14673
catalog number
T14673
accession number
279890
On the front of this “Irish Chain”-patterned quilt is found an inscription in ink: “Commenced in 1825 & Finished in 1830 by Mifs Jane Valentine Scipio Cayuga Co. N.Y. No.
Description
On the front of this “Irish Chain”-patterned quilt is found an inscription in ink: “Commenced in 1825 & Finished in 1830 by Mifs Jane Valentine Scipio Cayuga Co. N.Y. No. of Pieced Blocks 168 Small Blocks 4,2,42." Another inscription in a different hand and ink on a back corner states: “My Mothers 5040 Blocks 1832 In Case of My death to be given to My Sister Hattie Blodgett.”
The quilt is made of 3-inch plain and pieced blocks. The blocks are comprised of about 130 different roller-printed cottons with small print motifs. An examination of the quilt reveals that there are 348 white blocks and 348 pieced blocks; the segments of the pieced blocks are 5/8-inch square, and there are 10,092 of them. Diagonal grid quilting follows the “chain.” The plain white blocks are quilted, 6 stitches per inch, with a floral motif. The “Irish Chain” pattern was in use in the early 1800s and may have been adapted from weaving patterns.
Margaret Jane Valentine was the daughter of Peter Valentine (1784-1865) and Elizabeth Hilliker. Jane married Benjamin Brown Jr. on November 16, 1831. Harriet Brown was born in 1848 and married Charles Blodgett. It was Mrs. Harriet E. Blodgett who in 1915 donated this quilt and a coverlet. At the time she wrote that the quilt was “. . . pieced by my mother. Commenced in 1825 when she was about fourteen finished 1830. . . I feel a great desire to put them [both quilt and coverlet] where they will be preserved.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1830
maker
Valentine, Jane
ID Number
TE.E287383
accession number
58478
catalog number
E287383
This mid-nineteenth-century quilt, its maker unknown, is from the Williams family of Milton, Pennsylvania. It features an unusual seven-sided sunburst radiating from a seven-pointed star in the center.
Description
This mid-nineteenth-century quilt, its maker unknown, is from the Williams family of Milton, Pennsylvania. It features an unusual seven-sided sunburst radiating from a seven-pointed star in the center. The skillful quilt maker combined precision piecing with mathematical proficiency to create this intricate geometric figure with its uneven number of sides of equal length. The number seven is echoed in the seven-petal-flowers on the vine encircling the heptagon.
Nine different assorted small print cottons in reds, greens, browns, and blues contribute to the radiating effect of the center. The heptagon sunburst is surrounded with appliquéd motifs of partridges and May trees cut from an early-nineteenth-century English furnishing chintz. It is quilted with various patterns: herringbone, clamshell, outline and parallel diagonal lines.
Fancy sunbursts adorn the centers of many mid-nineteenth-century quilts, but most of them have eight sides. The number seven, found significant in many cultures, myths, and legends, represents concepts of completeness, perfection, plenty, security, and safety. The Heptagonal “Sunburst,” donated in 1991, is a complex variation of the more frequently found eight-sided pattern. It is a tribute to workmanship and design in quilting.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1830-1850
maker
unknown
ID Number
1991.0381.01
accession number
1991.0381
catalog number
1991.0381.01
"There was exhibited at the late Mechanical Fair held at Chicago, Ill., by Mr. C. Taylor, of that place, a quilt composed of 9,800 pieces of silk, each of which was about an inch square and all sewed with exceeding beauty and neatness.
Description
"There was exhibited at the late Mechanical Fair held at Chicago, Ill., by Mr. C. Taylor, of that place, a quilt composed of 9,800 pieces of silk, each of which was about an inch square and all sewed with exceeding beauty and neatness. Its chief charm, however, was the great skill evinced in the ingenious blending of colors, so as to produce a proper effect in the representation of various figures which ornamented it in every part. A brilliant sun shown in the centre, the moon and stars beamed out from one corner, while in another appeared a storm in the heavens, with lowering clouds and flashes of lightning.
Around the border were various designs illustrative of the season and the rapid growth of the western country. At one place appeared a barren heath, with Indians and hunters roaming over it; next, a trading post, as the first entrance of civilization; next, a military station, with the glorious banner of our country streaming from the flagstaff; then a city, and steamboats and vessels gliding in and out of port." "Great Quilt," Scientific American, Volume 5, Number 12, December 8, 1849.
The quilt described in the 1849 Scientific American, may well have been Mary Willcox Taylor's silk quilt made between 1830 and 1850 and brought to the Museum in 1953. Although the pieced and appliquéd quilt was made in Detroit, Michigan it was said that Mary at one time had lived at Fort Dearborn. In one corner of the quilt is depicted a military fort complete with a prominent U.S. flag on a pole. Fort Dearborn was completed in 1804, burned by Indians in 1812 and rebuilt in 1816. It was demolished in 1856 to accommodate the rapidly expanding city of Chicago. Today, a plaque located in the Chicago Loop recognizes the earlier Fort Dearborn.
Mary used many shades of silk, even a few embellished with water-colors to depict the skies from dawn to dusk, sunny to stormy. Vignettes on the outer edges of the quilt are detailed and precise using many different fabrics and techniques. They portray scenes of the growth and changes in Chicago during the first half of the nineteenth century. All the diamond shaped pieces are quilted in an outline pattern. Now, unfortunately too fragile to exhibit, this example of a nineteenth-century pictorial quilt displays the skills and artistic ability of Mary Willcox Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1830-1850
quilter
Taylor, Mary Willcox
ID Number
TE.T11053
accession number
197748
catalog number
T11053

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