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.

1825 - 1850 Rachel Burr Corwin's "Feathered Star" Pieced Quilt

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

1825 - 1850 Annis Curtis's Pieced Quilt

Annis Curtis pieced her version of a “Reel” pattern during the second quarter of the 19th century. Sixteen 12-inch pieced blocks and 4 half-blocks in blue and white are set diagonally and alternate with 12-inch squares of the same printed dark blue fabric.
Description
Annis Curtis pieced her version of a “Reel” pattern during the second quarter of the 19th century. Sixteen 12-inch pieced blocks and 4 half-blocks in blue and white are set diagonally and alternate with 12-inch squares of the same printed dark blue fabric. The cotton fabric was printed in pale blue and yellow on a dark blue ground. The white in the pattern is achieved through discharge printing, a process that bleaches the color from the fabric. It is quilted, 6 stitches per inch, with diagonal lines in the border, and arced lines following the “Reel” pattern on the blocks. The blue and white theme is continued with the borders on three sides.
Annis Lawrence, daughter of Joab and Jemima Cross Lawrence, was born January 28, 1787, in Simsbury, Conn. Her grandfather, Col. Bigelow Lawrence (1741-1818) was a captain and major in the Revolutionary War and also served in the New York militia in the War of 1812. About 1795 he and his eight sons, one of which was Joab, were the first settlers of Marcellus, Onondaga County, N.Y. Her aunt, Asenath Lawrence (1773-?) was the first female teacher in Marcellus in the late 1790s. Annis married Israel Curtis (1781-1845), also originally from Simsbury, Conn. Annis died August 19, 1858. They apparently had no children, but lived in the area of Marcellus and are both buried in the Old Marcellus Village Cemetery.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1825-1850
maker
Curtis, Annis Lawrence
ID Number
TE.T14554
catalog number
T14554
accession number
277503

1830 Violet Alexander's "Flowering Tree" Appliqued Quilt

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

1830 Jane Valentine's "Irish Chain" Quilt

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

1830 - 1850 Williams Family's Heptagonal "Sunburst" Quilt

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

1830 - 1850 Mary Willcox Taylor's Fort Dearborn Quilt

"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

1830 - 1850 Stenciled Child's Counterpane

Stenciling was popular as a decorative technique in the early 19th century. This example, possibly made for a crib, is not quilted, but has some linen cloth and thin cotton wadding between the cotton pieced top and linen lining.
Description
Stenciling was popular as a decorative technique in the early 19th century. This example, possibly made for a crib, is not quilted, but has some linen cloth and thin cotton wadding between the cotton pieced top and linen lining. At least 13 different templates were used in different combinations to create an overall design. A label, now missing, written in the late 19th century read: “George Jones infant quilt Ohio.”
Sixty-three 6-inch blocks, alternately plain and stenciled, comprise the top. One motif, a tree with fruit, appears on six blocks, three on either side. Other stenciled motifs, in green, blue, rose, and yellow, are more randomly placed. It is bound with two different roller-printed, ¾-inch floral strips folded over the edges.
The bright, cheerful stenciled motifs found on this child’s counterpane are similar to those found on floor cloths, furniture, and other home accessories of the period. The stenciling technique, using paints, brushes, and templates, was a convenient way to bring color and interest to everyday objects.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1830-1850
maker
unknown
ID Number
1995.0011.03
accession number
1995.0011
catalog number
1995.0011.03

1835 Jessy Anderson's Stuffed-Work Quilt

Jessy Anderson made this white quilted and stuffed-work counterpane in New York, probably completing it in 1835. The free-form overall design incorporates eagles, cornucopias, flowers, leaves, fruits, and other motifs popular at the time.
Description
Jessy Anderson made this white quilted and stuffed-work counterpane in New York, probably completing it in 1835. The free-form overall design incorporates eagles, cornucopias, flowers, leaves, fruits, and other motifs popular at the time. Acorn, oak leaves and thistles are repeated in the quilting in several places.
The center panel, 43 x 39 inches, contains a basket of flowers surrounded by branching coral with a different spray of flowers in each corner. With a thin inner layer of cotton it is closely quilted at sixteen stitches per inch. A 24-inch border surrounds the center panel. It does not have an inner layer of cotton, but is quilted at 18 stitches per inch.
Two eagle motifs are centered in the top and bottom borders. One eagle is perched on an arch that is inscribed in quilting “E Pluribus Unum.” The other eagle holds arrows and an olive branch under a ribbon also inscribed in quilting, “Pluribus Unum.” A cornucopia in the left border holds a “lemon,” the family term, on which is embroidered in backstitch “Jefsy Anderson New York 1835.”
For seven generations the quilt was handed down to the first-born daughter before its donation to the Smithsonian in 1981. The donor remarked that “I am unable to give it the kind of preservative care it needs and deserves . . . . I am also anxious to share this remarkable piece of artistry with as many people as would be interested in it.” While it had been in the family for over 140 years, the decision was made by the donors that “the highest honor we could give to our talented ancestor would be to place the quilt in a museum for many to enjoy.” Jessy Anderson’s quilt documents the expression of skills and art that many women displayed with their needlework.
Jessie was born April 3, 1812 in Scotland. She married January 17, 1840, Robert Dougal Thompson (1812-1889) in Albany, NY. They had six children and she died April 18, 1870 in Cambridge, WI.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1835
quilter
Anderson, Jessy
ID Number
1981.0830.01
catalog number
1981.0830.01
accession number
1981.0830

1835 - 1845 Quaker Trousseau Pieced Quilt

An intriguing note came with this framed medallion quilt when it was donated: “The Quaker Quilt. Phil.
Description
An intriguing note came with this framed medallion quilt when it was donated: “The Quaker Quilt. Phil. ca 1840 made for wedding of bride of early Philadelphia Quaker Abolitionist of pieces from the gowns of her trousseau.” Unfortunately there is no indication of the quilt maker or ownership.
The focus of the 41-inch central square, “Star of Bethlehem,” is set off by a 5-inch octagonal border. Additional pieced and plain borders frame this variation of a medallion-style quilt. The beige, tan, brown, rust, and light grey silks and satins utilized for the pattern would be typical of the Quaker esthetic and period. The quilt is lined with roller printed cottons and filled with wool. It is quilted with a variety of geometric patterns (grid, diagonal, chevron, and parallel lines), feathered and flowering vines in the borders, and a spray of flowers in the corner squares. This quilt is a precisely designed example of Quaker quilts in the mid-19th century.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1835-1845
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.E388880
accession number
182022
catalog number
E388880

1839 Frances M. Jolly's Quilt Top

The embroidered inscription “Frances M Jolly 1839” graces the center medallion of this quilt top. This signed and dated silk-and-wool-embroidered quilt top came from an African American family, and the maker, Frances M.
Description
The embroidered inscription “Frances M Jolly 1839” graces the center medallion of this quilt top. This signed and dated silk-and-wool-embroidered quilt top came from an African American family, and the maker, Frances M. Jolly, was said to be an ancestor of one of the donor’s grandparents. The family, of whom little else is known, is said to have lived in Massachusetts and moved to Pinehurst, North Carolina.
A 37½-inch black square set diagonally in the center with red corner triangles is the focal point of this quilt top. It is surrounded by three borders: a 9-inch black, a 10-inch orange, and an 11-inch black. Appliquéd flowers, leaves, and vines embellished with braid and embroidery decorate the surface.
The edges of the appliquéd motifs are not turned under, but are held in place by buttonhole stitching in matching or near-matching thread colors. Silk or cotton threads are used for securing the appliqué motifs, stitching, and the embroidery, except for the inscription, which is chain-stitched in red wool. The quilt has both hand and machine stitching. The outer two borders are machine-stitched, indicating that they were joined after 1860 when sewing machines became common in households. Wool fabrics are used for both the pieced sections and the appliquéd motifs. Wool and silk braid and silk ribbon contribute to the overall design.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1839
quilter
Jolly, Frances M.
ID Number
1983.0241.01
catalog number
1983.0241.01
accession number
1983.0241

1840 Eliza Hussey's Masonic Symbols Quilt`

Eliza Rosecrans Hussey personalized her pieced wool-and silk-star quilt with symbols of the Masonic Society. The embroidered motifs are interspersed between twenty-five blocks pieced in a variation of the “Feathered Star” pattern.
Description
Eliza Rosecrans Hussey personalized her pieced wool-and silk-star quilt with symbols of the Masonic Society. The embroidered motifs are interspersed between twenty-five blocks pieced in a variation of the “Feathered Star” pattern. Another silk quilt in the Collection was also made by Eliza, and was embroidered with symbols and inscriptions of the Odd Fellows. Edward Simmons Hussey, her husband, was an active member of both the Masons and the Odd Fellows.
Eliza, born October 14, 1816, in Pennsylvania, went with her family to Indiana as a young child. She married September 17, 1835. Edward Simmons Hussey in Carlisle, Indiana. They lived in various Indiana towns while Edward worked as a merchant, hotel manager, book keeper, and express agent.
By 1860 they had settled in Brazil, Indiana, where Eliza worked as a milliner. There they raised their family of ten children. Eliza, after some years as an invalid, died March 23,1880. Her carefully designed and crafted quilts are a reminder of the importance of benevolent societies such as the Masons and the Odd Fellows in the developing towns and cities in the Midwest in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1840
quilter
Hussey, Eliza Rosenkrantz
ID Number
1981.0680.01
catalog number
1981.0680.01
accession number
1981.0680

1840 - 1850 Hephzibah Jenkins Townsend's "Hawk Owl" Appliqued Quilt

According to family information, this mid-nineteenth-century appliquéd quilt belonged to Hephzibah Jenkins Townsend of Charleston, South Carolina.
Description
According to family information, this mid-nineteenth-century appliquéd quilt belonged to Hephzibah Jenkins Townsend of Charleston, South Carolina. The central focus, possibily a Hawk Owl perched above a bird’s nest and surrounded by flowers and butterflies, is appliquéd on a 39 x 37-inch panel. A similar bird is on an English block-printed fabric of about 1780. This is framed by a 2-inch roller-printed cotton floral band, a 13-inch white border appliquéd with flowers and birds, and an 11-inch border of roller-printed cotton. The overall diagonal grid quilting pattern is closely worked at 11 stitches per inch. A 4½-inch woven and knotted cotton fringe is along each edge.
Hephzibah (Hepzibah – Hepsaba – Hepsibah) Jenkins was the daughter of Capt. Daniel Jenkins, a Revolutionary War officer, and Hepsibah Frampton. She was born about 1780 in Charleston, South Carolina. Her mother died in childbirth, while her father was imprisoned by the British during the Revolutionary War. Before her death, Hephzibah’s mother seems to have arranged to have two trusted family slaves take Hephzibah to Edisto Island, a difficult journey at that time, to stay with the Townsend family. The little girl grew up at Bleak Hall, the Townsend family home on Edisto Island. Sometime before 1801 she married Daniel Townsend (1759-1842) and they reared a large family on the island. Hepsaba was said to have been beautiful and gifted with a brilliant mind, a strong will, and a sense of justice.
During her stay on Edisto Island, Hephzibah was inspired by the preaching of Richard Furman, an influential Baptist minister who led the church from 1787 to 1825. He was well known for his leadership, promotion of education, and mission work in South Carolina and elsewhere. After becoming a Baptist in 1807, Hephzibah utilized her talents and organizational abilities to found, in 1811, the first mission society in South Carolina, the Wadmalaw and Edisto Female Mite Society. Their fund raising efforts succeeded, and $122.50 was contributed to the missionary fund in 1812, motivating women to organize societies in other Baptist churches. A few years later, about 1815, this society was responsible for building tabby ovens made from a mixture of sand, lime, oyster shells and water. There the women baked bread and pastries which were sold to raise money to support mission work and build a church.
Hephzibah is also credited with founding the Edisto Island Baptist Church, which was constructed in 1818. While Baptists had worshipped on Edisto Island from the late seventeenth century, it was Hephzibah whose efforts built the first Baptist church on the island. She died in 1847 and is buried in the church cemetery.
Initially, the Edisto Island Baptist Church accommodated both the island’s white planters and their enslaved African Americans. During the Civil War the building was occupied by Union troops. After the war, when most of the plantation families left, the church was turned over to the black membership and continues to this day as an African American church. Both the ovens and the church foundation were made of tabby, an early building material consisting of sand, lime, oyster shells, and water. The Hephzibah Jenkins Townsend Tabby Oven Ruins and the Edisto Island Baptist Church are both on the National Register of Historic Places.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840-1850
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T16008
accession number
298698
catalog number
T16008

1840 - 1850 Hephzibah Jenkins Townsend's Appliqued Child's Quilt

According to family information, this mid-nineteenth-century appliquéd quilt belonged to Hephzibah Jenkins Townsend of Charleston, South Carolina. The central focus of this quilt, a “Tree of Life” motif, is decorated with appliquéd peacocks and other birds.
Description
According to family information, this mid-nineteenth-century appliquéd quilt belonged to Hephzibah Jenkins Townsend of Charleston, South Carolina. The central focus of this quilt, a “Tree of Life” motif, is decorated with appliquéd peacocks and other birds. The branches, flowers, birds, and butterflies are cut from different block-printed cottons. An 8½-inch border is printed with several floral stripes on one piece of cloth. The overall diagonal grid quilting pattern is very closely worked at 13 stitches per inch.
Hephzibah (Hepzibah – Hepsaba – Hepsibah) Jenkins was the daughter of Capt. Daniel Jenkins, a Revolutionary War officer, and Hephzibah Frampton. She was born about 1780 in Charleston, South Carolina. Her mother died in childbirth, while her father was imprisoned by the British during the Revolutionary War. Before her death, Hephzibah’s mother seems to have arranged to have two trusted family slaves take Hephzibah to Edisto Island, a difficult journey at that time, to stay with the Townsend family. The little girl grew up at Bleak Hall, the Townsend family home on Edisto Island. Sometime before 1801 she married Daniel Townsend (1759-1842) and they raised a large family on the island. Hephzibah was said to have been beautiful, and gifted with a brilliant mind, a strong will, and a sense of justice.
During her stay on Edisto Island, Hephzibah was inspired by the preaching of Richard Furman, an influential Baptist minister who led the church from 1787 to 1825. He was well known for his leadership, promotion of education, and mission work in South Carolina and elsewhere. After becoming a Baptist in 1807, Hephzibah utilized her talents and organizational abilities to found, in 1811, the first mission society in South Carolina, the Wadmalaw and Edisto Female Mite Society. Their fund raising efforts succeeded, and $122.50 was contributed to the missionary fund in 1812, motivating women to organize societies in other Baptist churches. A few years later, about 1815, this society was responsible for building tabby ovens made from a mixture of sand, lime, oyster shells, and water. There the women baked bread and pastries which were sold to raise money to support mission work and build a church.
Hephzibah is also credited with founding the Edisto Island Baptist Church, which was constructed in 1818. While Baptists had worshipped on Edisto Island from the late seventheenth century, it was Hephzibah whose efforts built the first Baptist church on the island. She died in 1847 and is buried in the church cemetery.
Initially, the Edisto Island Baptist Church accommodated both the island’s white planters and their enslaved African Americans. During the Civil War the building was occupied by Union troops. After the war, when most of the plantation families left, it was turned over to the black membership and continues to this day as an African American church. Both the ovens and the church foundation were made of tabby, an early building material consisting of sand, lime, oyster shells, and water. The Hephzibah Jenkins Townsend Tabby Oven Ruins and the Edisto Island Baptist Church are both on the National Register of Historic Places.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840-1850
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T16009
accession number
298698
catalog number
T16009

1840 - 1850 Mary Ann Bishop's "Wreath of Roses" Appliqued Quilt

In the mid-nineteenth century, Mary Ann Bishop appliquéd this cotton “Wreath of Roses” quilt in the then popular red and green combination of fabrics. Nine 18-inch blocks appliquéd with wreaths of roses are separated by 5½-inch plain white sashing.
Description
In the mid-nineteenth century, Mary Ann Bishop appliquéd this cotton “Wreath of Roses” quilt in the then popular red and green combination of fabrics. Nine 18-inch blocks appliquéd with wreaths of roses are separated by 5½-inch plain white sashing. Eight-pointed stars are appliquéd at the sashing intersections. The 8-inch quilt border is appliquéd with three-lobed leaves on an undulating vine. Plain-weave white and red cottons and a roller-printed cotton of brown dots on a green ground were used for the quilt. Diagonal grid and line quilting, 10 stitches to the inch, provides a contrast to the quilted feathered leaves on the sashing. Two gradually curved S-shaped wooden templates, also donated to the Collection, were used for marking the quilting pattern.
Mary Ann Gotschall was born July 7, 1819. She married Hiram H. Bishop (1818-1897) on January 31, 1842, in Harrison County, Ohio. He received his medical training at Starling Medical College in Columbus, Ohio, in the late 1840s. Lyne Starling (1784-1848) was the founder of the hospital and medical school, a new concept at that time of providing medical education and patient care in one facility. During the Civil War, from June 1864 to March 1865, Hiram was contracted as an Acting Assistant Surgeon at the Totten General Hospital, Louisville, Kentucky. In March of 1865, when he left, the hospital had over 6,500 patients and fewer than 100 surgeons.
Mary and Hiram reared four children; John (b. 1843), Naomi (b. 1845), Mary (b. 1848), and Luie (b. 1860). Mary Ann died March 9, 1915, and is buried in the Wilkesville Cemetery. Mary Ann Bishop’s quilt in the “Wreath of Roses” pattern is one of three quilts in the collection that were donated to the Smithsonian by her granddaughter, Maude M. Fierce, in 1936 and 1937.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840-1850
maker
Bishop, Mary Ann Gotschall
ID Number
TE.T07956
accession number
143694
catalog number
T07956

1840 - 1860 "Carolina Lily" Album Quilt

The “Carolina Lily” pattern, popular in the mid-19th century, was chosen for this example of an album quilt. Roller-printed red and blue-green cotton fabrics make up the pieced and appliquéd pattern.
Description
The “Carolina Lily” pattern, popular in the mid-19th century, was chosen for this example of an album quilt. Roller-printed red and blue-green cotton fabrics make up the pieced and appliquéd pattern. The “Carolina Lily” blocks, quilted in diagonal lines, alternate with plain white blocks each quilted with a different floral design. There is a 1-7/8-inch sawtooth band inside the 7-inch plain white border. The border is quilted with a scrolling feathered vine. The quilting is finely done at 12 stitches/inch.
Twenty-one of the “Carolina Lily” blocks have a signature along the stem. Six of the surnames are Crumbaker and six are Stoutsenberger, all born in Lovettsville, Virginia. These families are buried in the New Jerusalem Church Cemetery, the Saint James Reformed Cemetery, or the Lovettsville Union Cemetery. It is not known why or for whom the quilt was made, but the many signatures indicate the place where it was most likely made and used.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840-1860
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T11176
accession number
205528
catalog number
T11176

1840 - 1860 "Rose of Sharon" Applique Quilt

Even though this appliquéd quilt has no known maker, nor specific place of origin, it is a fine example of mid-nineteenth-century quilt making.
Description
Even though this appliquéd quilt has no known maker, nor specific place of origin, it is a fine example of mid-nineteenth-century quilt making. It consists of nine 23-inch blocks, the center and four corner blocks are appliquéd with a large variation of the Rose of Sharon pattern. Four other blocks are quilted and stuffed motifs popular at the time; an eagle with a shield and flags, an eagle with arrows and an olive branch, a grape-vine and a basket of fruit. The 12-inch border of the quilt is appliquéd with swags and roses. Also on the border are thirty-six small quilted and stuffed motifs of birds on branches, flowers, and grapes.The fabrics used are roller printed cottons. The background is closely quilted with diagonal lines, 12 to 13 stitches per inch. Many of the motifs found on this quilt expressed patriotism and often embellished quilts as well as other household items in the nineteenth century.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1840-1860
quilter
unknown
ID Number
TE.T12918
accession number
246047
catalog number
T12918

1840 - 1860 Newman Family's "Tulip" Applique Quilt

The uncomplicated quilting and simple tulip motifs rendered in red and green make this a striking example of mid-19th century quilting.
Description
The uncomplicated quilting and simple tulip motifs rendered in red and green make this a striking example of mid-19th century quilting. The quilt is from donor Mary Newman's family, long-time residents of Somerset, Kentucky.
The pieced tulips are appliquéd on 16 ½-inch blocks, which are set diagonally. They alternate with plain white blocks of the same dimensions. The tulips are quilted with close parallel lines, filling the shape and following the outlines. The background is 3/8-inch straight grid quilting.
The “Tulip” quilt came to the Museum in 1936. At the time Edith B. Newman wrote, “I have a very beautiful [quilt] . . . early handmade and very artistic . . . which I inherited from my husband’s family. . . . I am growing old and have no immediate heirs who might appreciate it. . . . [It should] bear the name of my deceased husband’s sister [Mary] as its donor.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840-1860
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T07886
accession number
141830
catalog number
T07886

1840 - 1860 Sophia Denty's Floral Appliqued Quilt Top

According to family information, shortly after the quilt maker, Sophia Denty, married she moved into a house built in 1729 located in Fairfax, Northern Virginia.
Description
According to family information, shortly after the quilt maker, Sophia Denty, married she moved into a house built in 1729 located in Fairfax, Northern Virginia. The house at the time had an old English garden that Sophia had always admired and it was supposedly the inspiration for the patterns she chose for this quilt top.
Twenty-five 17¼-inch blocks were appliquéd with red and green flowers and leaves in sprays, wreaths, and vases. Embroidery enhances a few of the stems. Two blocks have appliquéd star designs and one has appliquéd pineapples. Plain-weave cottons in plain colors were used. The 8¼-inch border is appliquéd with a meandering vine bearing leaves and buds. The blocks were joined after 1840. The color scheme, red-and-green, and standard designs are typical for many mid-nineteenth-century quilts.
Sophia Barker was born on January 26, 1813, in Fairfax, Virginia. She married James Compton Denty on July 10, 1832. They lived in Northern Virginia with their eight children. Sophia died February 19, 1886 and is buried in the Pohick Church in Accotink, Fairfax, Virginia. Emeline Denty Talbott donated her grandmother’s quilt top to the Smithsonian in 1972.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840-1860
maker
Denty, Sophia Barker
ID Number
TE.T15351
catalog number
T15351
accession number
293862

1840 - 1860 "LeMoyne Star" Pieced Quilt

The pieces that are used to make the 71 “LeMoyne Star” blocks on this quilt create a useful record. They represent an assortment of fabrics used for ordinary mid-19th century clothes.
Description
The pieces that are used to make the 71 “LeMoyne Star” blocks on this quilt create a useful record. They represent an assortment of fabrics used for ordinary mid-19th century clothes. Brown, tan, grey, and rust-colored fabrics, most twill-woven cotton/wool, were used to piece the blocks. These alternate with 6 ½-inch squares of brown and grey striped cotton/wool fabric. The quilt is lined with a plain-weave, cotton warp/wool weft fabric. Brown carded wool serves as the filling. The quilting pattern consists of parallel diagonal lines 1 ½-inch apart, quilted at 3-4 stitches per inch.
The machine- and hand-woven textile examples might not otherwise have been preserved if not used to craft this quilt.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840-1860
maker
unknown
ID Number
1979.0167.01
catalog number
1979.0167.01
accession number
1979.0167

1840 - 1860 Hasbrouck Family's Applique Counterpane

This counterpane, with a version of the “Tree of Life” motif, portrays a vignette of family life in the mid-nineteenth century. It was said to have been made for the Hasbrouck family by an Englishwoman.
Description
This counterpane, with a version of the “Tree of Life” motif, portrays a vignette of family life in the mid-nineteenth century. It was said to have been made for the Hasbrouck family by an Englishwoman. In the 1870 and 1880 censuses, Mary Ward, who was born in Ireland, lived with them and worked as a domestic servant. Perhaps the counterpane was made by her or Elisabeth Tompson, who is listed as part of the Hasbrouck household on the 1860 census. In 1975, the Smithsonian acquired the counterpane from Josiah and Ellen Hasbrouck’s grand-daughter, Margaret Blauvelt Hasbrouck Elliot.
Block- and roller-printed dress and furnishing cottons from 1800 to 1845 are used for the design. The ground is white cotton stamped or printed “Fine Sheeting” with the number “31” in a wreath of leaves, and a vase of flowers on a platform. Embroidered details on the counterpane are worked in both silk and cotton. The border is appliquéd with a flowering vine, and the counterpane is edged with appliquéd scallops.
Josiah Hasbrouck was born in 1830. He married Ellen Jane Blauvelt in 1856, and had five sons, the first of whom died in infancy. They lived in Esopus, Port Ewen, Ulster County, New York, where Josiah Hasbrouck was a physician. The idyllic scene may have represented Josiah and Ellen Hasbrouck and their four sons Walter, John, Gilbert, and Josiah enjoying the banks of the nearby Hudson River.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1840-1860
quilter
unknown
ID Number
TE.T17737
accession number
319091
catalog number
T17737

1840 - 1860 Catherine Byer's Pieced and Appliqued Quilt

A stamped inscription of leaves and a bird frame the names: “Eby Byers & Catherine Byers” and the place, “Chambersburg.” Below Chambersburg is noted "1837," in a penned ink inscription ---possibly a later addition?
Description
A stamped inscription of leaves and a bird frame the names: “Eby Byers & Catherine Byers” and the place, “Chambersburg.” Below Chambersburg is noted "1837," in a penned ink inscription ---possibly a later addition? Did Catherine make this quilt?
Catherine Byers, born in 1805, was the daughter of Frederick Byers and Anna Eby of Pennsylvania. Catherine married James Crawford (1799-1872) in 1826. They raised their children and lived on the family homestead in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Catherine died in 1892. Both came from families who were early settlers of Pennsylvania, some of whom had fought in the Revolutionary War.
Thirty-six pieced blocks, each with a center square of dark blue printed cotton and three appliquéd leaves at each corner create a unique pattern. The central focus is the 9 ¾-inch-block with the inked drawing and inscription. The quilt is framed by a 6-inch border and is quilted at 10 stitches per inch. As no information was included with the quilt, it is difficult to know who made the quilt and the significance of the date.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840-1860
maker
Byers, Catherine
ID Number
1980.0253.01
catalog number
1980.0253.01
accession number
1980.0253

1840 - 1860 Paulding Family's "Tyger" Quilt

“I have a quilt that has been in my husband’s family for generations . . . It is supposed to have been slept under by Martha Washington . . .” was the claim when it was offered in 1974.
Description
“I have a quilt that has been in my husband’s family for generations . . . It is supposed to have been slept under by Martha Washington . . .” was the claim when it was offered in 1974. While the quilt was probably made in the mid-19th-century, the fabric that was used made the quilt exceptional. It is a copperplate-printed cotton produced in 1785 by Bromley Hall, England’s largest eighteenth-century textile printing firm.
Copperplate-printing is a process, developed after 1760, by which a pattern is etched on a flat plate, color applied by brush with the excess removed by a scraper, and then the plate and fabric passed through a flat printing press. The pattern found on the fabric of this quilt is labeled “Tyger” in the Bromley Hall pattern book. It features a wide variety of classical and pastoral motifs such as two boys riding leopards, architectural ruins, a dancing shepherdess, peacocks, parrots, sunflowers, and dragonflies, among many others.
Both the front and back of this quilt are composed of pieces of fabric copperplate-printed in brown. Each side has its own lining (one of cotton, one of linen), with a layer of cotton wadding between the two linings. A block-printed border is used for edging both layers and the two sides are whipstitched together. Most likely the "Tyger" fabric and block-printed trim were from an early set of bed furniture. The quilting consists of widely-spaced Vs, worked in crooked lines with uneven stitches, plus or minus four stitches per inch.
The quilt was from the William Paulding family of New York . William Paulding Jr. (1770-1854) was a lawyer and active in politics. He served in the War of 1812, and as mayor of New York City 1824-1826. In 1838 Paulding, along with architect Alexander Jackson Davis, designed and built a country villa named “Knoll” (“Pauldings Folly” by his critics). The house is known today as “Lyndhurst” in Tarrytown, N. Y. A National Trust Historic Site, it remains one of the extravagant examples of 19th-century Gothic Revival mansions along the Hudson River.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840-1860
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T17289
accession number
314087
catalog number
T17289

1840 - 1860 Hexagon Silk Quilt

Using an elaborate silk quilt, such as this hexagon example, in the parlor gave the accomplished needlewoman an opportunity to show off her work.
Description
Using an elaborate silk quilt, such as this hexagon example, in the parlor gave the accomplished needlewoman an opportunity to show off her work. This unknown maker displayed both her design and needlework skills as evidenced in the intricate pieced work, embroidery, and quilting on both quilts which were combined to make one.
The large star shapes on the top quilt are composed of 1-3/8-inch silk hexagons. Each shape is contained within a ring of black hexagons, further set off by another circle of stars made of 5/8-inch diamonds. In contrast, the center focus is a rose, embroidered in chenille yarn, on black velvet. This is echoed by the 4-1/2-inch black velvet border embroidered in a rosebud vine pattern. It is completed with a cotton filling and red cotton lining, and quilted with outline stitching on the hexagons and diamonds.
A second quilt is made of red silk with cotton filling and a printed cotton lining. It too is quilted, using red silk thread, in diagonal grid, feather plume, and circle quilting patterns. The quilting on both is 14 to 15 stitches per inch. The two complete quilts are stitched together around the edges and finished with a green binding.
The fine quilting, the use of a variety of silks and velvets, and the intricate work all contribute to this impressive example of needlecraft from the later part of the 19th century.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840-1860
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T12917
accession number
246047
catalog number
T12917

1840 - 1860 Ann's "Quilt" or counterpane; Womack Plantation, Virginia

“This quilt was made in 1840 by Ann, a colored slave girl 16 yrs. old, who wove and spun and took care of all linen on the plantation of Capt. and Mrs. William Womack (Aunt Patsy and Uncle Billy) in Pittsylvania Co. Virginia.
Description
“This quilt was made in 1840 by Ann, a colored slave girl 16 yrs. old, who wove and spun and took care of all linen on the plantation of Capt. and Mrs. William Womack (Aunt Patsy and Uncle Billy) in Pittsylvania Co. Virginia. Grandma Adams made her home with Aunt Patsy after mother’s death and inherited her large estate.” So wrote Mrs. Womack’s great-niece, Florence Adams Dubois in a note included in the 1976 donation.
Little is known of the quiltmaker, Ann. She is probably mentioned in William Womack’s will November 1, 1849, “. . . to my beloved wife Martha Womack during her natural life the following Negro slaves to wit, Ann . . . “
Thirty 14-inch blocks appliquéd with a crossed tulip motif are set with a 2-inch tan sashing. A 5/8-inch orange cotton bias strip is seamed to the front, and whipped to the back along three sides. The fourth side has a 1 ½-inch straight strip of cotton seamed to the front, and whipped to the back. While the blocks may have been made in the 1840s, the bedcover was probably assembled some time later.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840-1860
ID Number
TE.T18124
accession number
323485
catalog number
T18124

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