This Jacquard double-cloth coverlet was donated as "a pair of drapes." Colonial Revival décor favored antique coverlet portieres. It is thought to have been woven in Ohio in the 1830s and is inscribed with the initials "J.W." in each corner. Each of the two sections of the coverlet is 88 inches long, and 36 inches wide. The structure is composed of two sets of warps and wefts made up of 3-ply, S-twist, Z-spun white cotton and 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun madder red and indigo-dyed wool. The centerfield pattern consists of meandering floral straight repeat, creating columns of flowers that change direction at the center due to the coverlet’s two-panel construction. The weaver’s masterful understanding of color led him to change colors both the warp and weft allowing flowers to change color and utilizing half-tones when necessary. A running flower and leaf border frames the entire coverlet with the initials interwoven at the corners in lieu of a traditional corner block.
Jane Caughey (1795-1874), the donor's great grandmother, passed the coverlet down through the generations. Jane and her husband, William (b. 1781) were both born and married in Pennsylvania but lived most of their lives in New Concord, Muskingum County, Ohio. Jane and William’s first child, Rebecca Caughey Martin, was born in Pennsylvania in 1821. The first child born in Ohio, William, was born in 1832.
This coverlet was woven using a Jacquard head, which wasn't readily available in the US until after 1820. These looms and the Figured and Fancy coverlets woven on them were almost always operated by male, professional weavers. The donor's claim that her great-grandmother wove this coverlet is almost certainly false, but the claim that she raised the sheep and prepared the wool used to make it are likely accurate. Coverlet weavers often advertised that they were taking orders and would provide the cotton yarns needed and any dying, if the customer supplied the spun wool yarns.
This coverlet was probably woven by an Irish-born weaver named William Lunn (c. 1787-c. 1855). William and his wife Hannah immigrated to Pennsylvania sometime before 1820, as their son George was born in Pennsylvania in 1825-26. He first appears in Muskingum County, Ohio in the 1840 census, and both he and his son are listed as weavers in the 1850 census. William dies sometime in the 1850s, and his wife Hannah appears living with her son George who is recorded as a farmer in the 1860 Federal Census. The choice of both centerfield and border floral designs match those that appear on signed Lunn coverlets and the time frame and geography also lineup, suggesting that William Lunn wove this coverlet in the 1830s-1840s.
The appearance of the "JW" initials found in the corners of the coverlet are a mystery. There is no one in that belongs to or marries into the Caughey family with initials that match. It is possible that Jane and William Caughey purchased this coverlet at a public vendue or bought a readymade coverlet for which another client had failed to pay. The association with Lunn makes this the only the eighth attributed William Lunn coverlet.
This coverlet has a side to side and top-to-bottom mirror image depicting flowers, fruits, cornucopias, and scrollwork, except for the center medallion, which contains the information "Phebe Ann Baylis 1836" embellished with four simple birds on the wing and a pair of rosettes, all framed by a garland of simple stylized flowers. The arabesque leafy border is interrupted on either side by a strangely proportioned urn and scattered eight-pointed stars, along with fruits, flowers, and birds sparsely placed between the center of motif and border. The coverlet is double-cloth containing two sets of cotton and indigo-dyed wool, warp and weft. The coverlet was woven for Phebe Anne Baylis (b. 1828) of Suffolk County, New York in 1836, when she was just eight-years-old. It was common practice for parents to being building up their children’s wedding trousseaus at an early age, and coverlets and other bedclothes were an expected contribution from the family. It was not uncommon for families to place coverlet orders with weavers for all of their children at once. This coverlet is representative of this arrangement.
According to the 1850 Federal Census, Baylis, at age 22, was living in the household of her 29-year-old brother, Orlando (b. 1821) with her presumably widowed mother, Mehitable (b. 1801) in Suffolk County, New York. The weaver of this coverlet has been the source of much debate over the past thirty years. Nathaniel Young (life dates unknown) was the weaver of this coverlet. His life is a bit of a mystery, but he was likely a Scottish immigrant, first working in the vicinity of New York City and later moving and working in Hudson, Bergen, and finally Morris County, New Jersey. Unsigned Nathaniel Young coverlets are identifiable by the stylized foxglove flower found in the corners of this coverlet, which may appear as a shaded pear to modern audiences. It is unclear whether Young worked for New Jersey’s most famous coverlet weaver David Haring (1800-1889), but the similarity in design and pattern is striking. The details of his life have yet to be fully worked out. He was first described as an itinerant weaver, but the cumbersome nature of the barrel or cylinder loom he would have been using would make this very unlikely. The style and arrangement of the patterns of Young and Haring’s New Jersey coverlets are also linked to those found and made on Long Island, New York, and the existence of this identifiable coverlet may be the missing link connecting those early Long Island coverlets written about by Susan Rabbit Goody with the later coverlets from New Jersey in a similar style.
John (Johannes) Kaufman (1812-1863) wove this Jacquard, tied-Beiderwand coverlet which features a “Double Lily” carpet medallion centerfield pattern. There is an inner border of addorsed roosters and garlands and an outer border of double flowers along the sides and bottom. There are also two inscribed cornerblocks identifying the maker, customer, place made, and date. Kaufman used red wool and indigo-dyed cotton to weave this coverlet in tied-Beiderwand structure. Sometimes called single-Jacquard, this structure is an integrated weave and identifiable by the ribbed texture of the textile. In the upper left hand corner there is a large amount of red yarn missing due to wear. Smaller amounts of red yarn is missing from five others areas on the coverlet.
John (Johannes) Kaufman (1812-1863) was a Mennonite weaver. He was born in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and began weaving in Hilltown Township in Bucks County in 1837. Samuel Moyer was the customer for whom the coverlet was woven. There are five Samuel Moyers buried in the Blooming Glen Mennonite Meetinghouse graveyard alongside Kaufman, and it is almost certain one of these interrelated Samuels that was the commissioner of the coverlet. This correlation reflects that artisan weavers often gained customers from trade and community networks which they were already a part of. Pennsylvania coverlet scholar, Ron Walter estimates that Kaufman wove between 400 and 500 coverlets. Most are still owned by family descendants but some are in the collections at NMAH, the Pennsylvania Museum of Art, the Mennonite Heritage Center, and private collections like Walter's. Kauffman is known to have operated as a weaver from 1837-1847 when rival weaver, Samuel B. Musselman seemingly forced him out of business. This coverlet is different than most other Kaufman coverlets, because of the indigo-dyed cotton warp threads. His other extant coverlets feature the typical horizontal color bands of reds, greens, blues, and white common in Pennsylvania coverlets. The donor purchased the coverlet in 1927 in nearby Quakertown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Overshot, natural & indigo-dyed coverlet; Pine Bloom design. Probably made in VA by the donors great-grandmother Johnston (no middle name given) (Elizabeth Babb Rusk's grandmother Johnston.)
This Muir Family Figured and Fancy double-cloth coverlet has a geometric, stylized-floral carpet medallion centerfield with floral borders and a dated Muir Family cornerblock trademark in the lower two corners. Two sets of blue and white wool and cotton warp and weft were used to create this coverlet, and there is a self-fringe along the lower edge. The upper edge of the coverlet is worn as is often the case with use. The dark blue yarns are wool singles, and the white yarns are 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun natural cotton.
This coverlet was made by one of the four Muir brothers who emigrated from Kilmarnock, Scotland between the years 1835-41. They were the sons of Scottish weaver, Thomas Muir and were active weavers from 1840-1864, settling first in Germantown, Wayne County, Indiana then dispersing across the state and later into Missouri as was the case with Robert Muir (b. 1808). Robert sold the farm in Germantown and moved to Liberty Twp., Delaware Co., IN. and was active 1840-1864. While in Liberty Township, Robert had invested in the Cincinnati, New Castle, Michigan Railroad. In 1853, he was able to sell his stocks in the railroad along with the farm and relocate to Missouri to live near the family of his brother-in-law, another Kilmarnock-born Indiana weaver, Joseph Gilmour.
Thomas Muir (1810-1888) lived in Indianapolis, Marion Co., Indiana and was also active from 1840-1864. Thomas’ life is a bit of a mystery. There is little documentary evidence of his life in this country, but he and his brother William fought for the Union during the Civil War. John Muir (1815-1892) is the best documented of the weaving brothers. After making it to Indiana with his first wife and four children, the family lived with his brother, Robert. John moved to Greencastle, Putnam County, Indiana in 1843. His weaving shop was located on the North side of the town square. In 1855, he and his brother William invested in land speculation in the town of Fillmore, Indiana, convinced it was going to become the next railroad boomtown. John’s last move was to Jackson Township, Parke County, Indiana where he passed away in 1888.
William Muir (1818-1888), the youngest of the brothers was trained as a drawboy and silk and paisley shawl weaver in Scotland, immigrating to the US in 1840 where he first lived in Germantown, Wayne Co., Indiana and was active from 1840-1864. In 1842, William left the partnership with his brother, John and moved to Indianapolis where he operated a three-loom workshop and employed two Irish weavers, Jonathan Wilson and Robert Shaw as journeymen. William’s business grew with the new city and by 1858, he sold railroad stock and his holdings in Indianapolis, purchased a 340-acre farm Clay County, Indiana, and essentially retired from full-time weaving.
The fact that the brothers were all active at the same time and likely shared or had copies of the same patterns and used the same signature trademark cornerblock, makes it hard if not impossible to associate this coverlet with any single brother. The Henry Ford Museum has another coverlet by the Muir Family in the exact same pattern suggesting that rather than a bespoke piece commissioned by an individual, this pattern was produced on spec and either marketed by the brothers themselves or sold through a dealer. If like the Craig family of Indiana, the Muirs were also using a modified drawloom rather than a Jacquard pattern mechanism to produce their coverlets, the tie-ups, treadling, and weaving would have been repeated from memory. The fact that William was trained as a drawboy would suggest that the family was engaged in drawloom weaving.
Double-woven Jacquard coverlet with a center medallion, surrounded by "checks", and vines with leaves. The Double Rose pattern is used at the top and the bottom of the coverlet. At the bottom it is located just above the border. There is one border design present and it is found on three sides.The border design includes pillars, flowers, and diamonds. The two lower corners include the name of the maker and the date. The corners say:"MADE BY J*HAAG INEMAUS FOR (BLANK SPACE) 1854.
very late 19th century--time of the Columbian Expo
date made
c. 1858-1876
maker
Schum, Philip
ID Number
TE.T10304
catalog number
T10304.000
accession number
183488
Description
Weavers at the Lancaster Carpet, Coverlet, Quilt, and Yarn Manufactory, owned by Philip Schum, likely wove this Jacquard, purple and white, double-cloth coverlet sometime between 1856 and 1880. The center field features a small, lobed medallion with tulips surrounded by a field of eight-pointed stars. Around this is an elaborate border created by a point repeat of a pattern consisting of a personified Columbia waving an American flag. A banderole proclaims, “Hail Columbia,” and four shielded eagles decorate each corner. There are also flowers, leaves, pears, and swag garland designs tying the border figures together into a cohesive design. There is fringe along three sides. This coverlet was woven on a broadloom, and possibly a power loom and measures 76 inches by 83 inches.
Philip Schum (1814-1880) was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Holy Roman Empire. He immigrated to New York, moving to Lancaster County, PA in approximately 1844. He was not trained as a weaver and there is no evidence that he ever was. What we do know is that Philip Schum was a savvy businessman. He worked first as a "Malt Tramper" in New York, a position presumably linked to brewing and malting of grains. After six months, Philip was able to afford to bring his first wife Ana Margartha Bond (1820-1875) to join him in Pennsylvania. Once reunited, Philip worked as a day laborer, shoemaker, and basket-maker. He purchased a small general store in Lancaster City in 1852. By 1856, he has built his business enough to sell at a profit and purchase the Lancaster Carpet, Coverlet, Quilt, and Yarn Manufactory. Philip's first wife, Anna, passed away sometime before 1879, because in this year, Philip married his second wife, Anna Margaret Koch (1834-1880). The two were tragically killed in a train accident in 1880, when a locomotive stuck their horse and buggy. The New Era, a local Lancaster newspaper titled the article about the incident with the headline, "Death's Harvest." Lancaster Carpet, Coverlet, Quilt, and Yarn Manufactory began with just one or two looms and four men. It grew to four looms and eight men quickly. By 1875, the factory had twenty looms and employed forty men. Philip Schum was no weaver. He was an entrepreneur and businessman who invested in the growing market for household textiles. Philip's estate inventory included a carpet shop, weaving shop, dye house, two stores, and a coal yard. At the time of his death were also listed 390 "Half-wool coverlets." These were valued at $920. In 1878, Philip partnered with his son, John E. Schum to form, Philip Schum, Son, and Co. Another Schum coverlet is in the collections of the MFA-Houston. This particular coverlet was purchased by the donor's grandfather in either Cincinnati or Pittsburg while he was serving as a ship's carpenter along the Ohio River trade routes. The family would later settle in Crawford County, Indiana. This fact also shows that Philip Schum's coverlets, quilts, yarn, etc. were not just being made for the local market. Schum was transporting his goods west and presumably in other directions. He was making for an American market.
Jacquard single weave figured and fancy coverlet in blue, red, white & green. Fringe on 1 side. Color banding. Center field alternates sunbursts & floral medallions. Border on lower edge and two long sides, double bird & roses. Corner blocks with inscription: John B. Welty, boonsboro, Washington County, Maryland 1838.
Weavers at Emanuel Ettinger & Co. wove this Jacquard, tied-Beiderwand coverlet in Aaronsburg, Centre County, Pennsylvania in 1852. The coverlet features a "Double Carnation" carpet medallion centerfield and "Double Rose" borders along the sides. The top and bottom borders depict rows of urns or baskets with three flowers each. There are two inscribed lower cornerblocks that identify the manufacturer and place and date made. This coverlet was woven on a broad loom with a fly shuttle attachment and possibly even on a power loom. Structurally, this coverlet was woven in tied-Beiderwand, which is an integrated weave structure which utilizes dedicated warp threads to bind or tie two separate structures together. These binding warps alternate sides along the coverlet’s surface giving it a ribbed appearance. A combination of dark blue, medium blue, and red wool and natural cotton yarns were used for the warp and weft. The top and bottom borders depict an urn of basket with three flowers.
Emanuel Ettinger (1802-1889) was born in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and moved to Centre Co. in 1820. He appears on the Federal Census from 1830-1880. The 1850 Federal Census lists him as a weaver with two unrelated journeymen weavers living with him and a forty-two-year-old live-in laborer named Absolom Roop, who was born in Germany. It is as likely like that the other weavers, Jacob Fisher, John Folk, or the Emanuel’s neighbor, weaver David Ochre wove this coverlet as Emanuel. These men were almost certainly the employees of E. Ettinger and Co. In 1860, Emanuel Ettinger is recorded as a laborer with a 17-year-old apprentice, Daniel Harter. Emanuel Ettinger also appears in the U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists in 1865 and 1866. It is from this that we learn Ettinger had a partnership with a man named Stover and also his own independent pianoforte manufactory. Ettinger and a group of other wealthy Aaronsburg businessmen invested in the Aaronsburg Academy as a subscription school in 1865, but the venture eventually failed leading the development of public education in the town. He is listed as a retired weaver in the 1870 Federal Census and a farmer in the 1880 Federal Census. His son William Ettinger (b. 1824) first appears on the 1850 Federal Census as a “coverlid weaver” in Shrewsbury, York County, Pennsylvania. By 1860, William was living two houses from his father and presumably involved in the management of the family’s various entrepreneurial enterprises. There are extant coverlets that bear his name as well E. Ettinger and Co. The 1864 IRS Tax Assessment List indicates that besides weaving, William was also operating as a Class 3 Peddler and involved in the Ettinger and Stover partnership. There is also evidence in the tax assessment list that William was involved in leather goods and tobacco. The 1880 Federal Census recorded William living in Milton, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania and working as a butcher, suggesting that William had divested himself from weaving to focus on leather goods, cattle, and supplying meat to Central Pennsylvania.
The donor of the coverlet, who was born in Iowa in 1891 reported that she received the coverlet from her mother. This coverlet presumably made the journey West with the family sometime after 1852. There is some loss along the top and toward the bottom center of the coverlet; however, this coverlet is important as material evidence of Westward migration as well as evidence of rural industry.
This Jacquard tied-Beiderwand coverlet features a “Double Rose and Starbust” centerfield pattern with small borders on all four sides composed of addorsed birds and floral motifs. The blue warp yarns are cotton, the filing yarns are green, olive, red and dark blue wool. The color scheme of this coverlet is atypical, as it does not include white. The coverlet measures 92x80 inches. The pattern repeat unit is 15 1/4x14 inches. The horizontal color banding was woven in three-inch-wide wide. There is a self-fringe on three sides. On two sides it is 2 ½ inches deep on the lower edge it is 4 inches deep. This coverlet is unsigned, undated, and came to the NMAH collections as the gift of a coverlet collector with no other information pertaining to the provenance. Based on the style and colors, it is likely from Pennsylvania or Ohio. The lack of signing or dating may indicate factory production. The style of the coverlet would date it to approximately 1835-1850.
This blue and white, Figured and Fancy, double-cloth coverlet features a carpet medallion centerfield composed of "Double Cornucopia" medallions flanked by lilies and scalloped diamonds. The coverlet’s side borders are composed of a Greek key design decorated with stylized carnations, irises, and thistles. The top and bottom borders feature the signature Craig family, “Bellflower and Bluebell” pattern. The 1842 dated courthouse with cupola cornerblock trademarks identify this coverlet with the Craig family. The coverlet was originally owned by great-grandmother of the donor, Mrs. Tenant of Shelbyville, Indiana. Being double-cloth, this coverlet has two sets of warps and wefts—one set composed of a wool weft and cotton weft, and the other a cotton weft and wool warp.
The Craig Family weavers consist of Scottish-born, William Craig, Sr. (1800-1880), Scottish-born cousin, James Craig (1819-1896), William Craig, Jr. (1824-1880), and James Craig (1823-1889) make up the two generations of weavers who intermarried with other Scottish immigrant weaving families, dominating the coverlet market in Floyd, Decatur, and Washington counties in Indiana. It is almost certain that their regional influence extended into Western Kentucky as well. The Craigs were prodigious weavers and entrepreneurs and the number of extant coverlets attest to this fact. Also of interest is a published interview with William Sr.'s granddaughter, Rena Craig Gilchrist found in Indiana Coverlets and Coverlet Weavers (1928) by Kate Milner Rabb. Rena Craig Gilchrist recounted how her grandfather was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland in 1800, moving to South Carolina in 1820 to assume the role of foreman at a Southern cotton goods factory. In 1832 the Craigs and other immigrant weaving families, the Gilchrists and Youngs moved to Mt. Caramel, Indiana. In 1838, the family moved again, further distributing weavers, to Decatur County, Indiana. The Craigs at first wove on their farm just outside of Greensburg, Indiana, but soon sons William Jr. and James ventured out on their own, marrying other weaver’s daughters, and establishing workshops in Greensburg and Anderson. Their coverlet weaving became regionally famous and people were reported as having come from fifty to sixty miles by wagon with woolen yarn for enough coverlets for each child at marriage.
The Craigs continued to weave until 1860 when William Sr. retired. Cousin James opened a shop in Canton, Indiana. A local resident described his loom as," “different from any other loom I have ever seen in that the threads of the warp were each run through a loop of cords to which were attached leaden weights about the size of an ordinary lead pencil, and I should think from twelve to fifteen inches in length. I do not remember accurately about that. The other end of each cord was attached to a pedal, of which there was a considerable number. A number of cords may have been attached to a pedal, according to the colors and figures being used. This enabled him to depress any of the threads of the warp that he pleased by operating the pedals with his feet, thus opening a space for the passing of the shuttle, of which he used as many as he wished colors in the pattern.” This description suggests that members of the Craig family were using modified drawlooms, possibly what is sometimes referred to a Scotch loom, which was used to weave figured double-cloth ingrain carpet. This is interesting because the introduction of the Jacquard head attachment, which used chains of punch cards, made figured weaving much faster and cheaper in the decades before the Craig family’s foray into coverlet weaving.
This red, blue, and white, geometric, double-cloth coverlet features a "Snowball" center field pattern with "Diamond" border. The design is similar to those found in John Landes' pattern book No. 51. (centerfield) and No. 57 (border). It was woven circa 1800-1825 almost certainly in Pennsylvania. The coverlet also features an applied red white and blue fringe attached with 2-ply blue linen thread. It is made up of two sections which were woven as one length and seamed with a 2-ply indigo blue linen thread. Although the accession file notes that Mrs. Miller, the donor, has information on the origin of the coverlet, no such information was included in the accession file. The top edge of the coverlet has a 1" wide, red-dyed, twill woven, woolen tape attached
This red, green, dark blue, and natural colored jacquard tied-Beiderwand coverlet can be attributed to Jacob B. Gernand (1797-1871) likely between the years 1835-1850 in Graceham, Frederick County, Maryland. This coverlet features a “Double Rose” carpet medallion centerfield with a double border of stylized grapevines and diamond and tassel design. There is a self-fringe on the sides and bottom border. "MIDDLE/TOWN/FRED_K/COUNTY/MARY-/*LAND*" is woven into the lowers cornerblocks. It is these cornerblocks that help to attribute this coverlet to Gernand. Of the known weavers in Frederick County, Maryland, Jacob B. Gernand is the only weaver to abbreviate Frederick as “FRED_K.” Gernand purchased the rights to a patented Jacquard loom in 1835, and his only dated coverlet was woven in 1836.
Jacob Gernand was born in Frederick County and married three times. His first wife was Elizabeth Williar. He married his second wife, Anna Theodora Becker in 1823, and his third wife was Sybilla Wilhide. He had children with each of his wives. Two of those children were also known weavers, Eugene J. Gernand and William H. Gernand (1823-1883). Jacob was very active in the Moravian Church and served as his local postmaster for many decades. The 1850 Maryland Census listed Jacob as a farm with real estate valued at $1450.
This panel represents one half of a finished coverlet. The weaver used red and blue wool and white cotton yarns to create this “Nine Snowball” overshot coverlet. The bottom edge has an applied, woven fringe. The other three sides are unfinished and the long border edge may have had a self-fringe at one time. The “Pine Tree” Border was created from reductions and extensions of the main, centerfield pattern. This coverlet was likely woven in Pennsylvania.
This double-woven wool coverlet has borders on three sides. The lower edge has a double border, while the two sides, have triple borders. In both cases the borders feature a variation of the "Pine Tree" motif. The lower edge has a cut self fringe, while the sides have an uncut self fringe. The center of the coverlet features a pattern similar to the "Irish Chain" pattern found in quilting. It is believed this coverlet was made in Pennsylvania in the mid-1840s. Coverlets such as this were highly valued possessions. They would have been mentioned in household inventories, and acquired for a young woman's dowry or hope chest.
This blue and white, geometric double-cloth coverlet was woven with cotton and wool yarn. The pattern used is commonly known as “Whig Rose.” Interestingly, there are no borders on this coverlet, and there is no evidence to suggest it has been cut down over its lifetime. According to the donor, this coverlet was owned and used by Eliza Hackly Pelton Pettibone, of Crown Point Indiana, before 1850. The coverlet measures 92 inches by 74.5 inches and is constructed of two panels that were woven as one length, cut, and sewn together with a center seam.
According to the donor, this double-woven coverlet was made for a member of the Piper family who lived near Oakville, Pennsylvania. Made of cotton and wool, it's believed to have been woven before 1850. The letters “SP” are embroidered into the lower left-hand corner. The donor’s grandfather was Samuel Piper. This coverlet was woven in two sections, which were sewn together. There is a self fringe on the bottom, and a tape fringe on each side. There are twenty-five dots in each block. This coverlet is double-woven, and therefore reversible.
Cotton and wool geometric double-woven coverlet, woven in dark blue, light blue, red and white. The pattern is sometimes called "Rings and Chains"' and similar to John Landes' pattern no. 57. The coverlet is in good condition though the top edge was probably re-bound and the fringes are incomplete on the sides edges. There is a seam down the center of the coverlet. The coverlet was made in the first half of the 19th century.
This blue and white, double cloth, Figured and Fancy coverlet features Great Seal eagles and Federal style steeple architecture in the borders, and “Double Tulip” medallions in the center. The tulip medallion (the type woven by James Alexander and other New York State weavers) is repeated throughout the centerfield of the coverlet. The eagles in upper and lower edges have a Masonic symbol and little monkeys and dogs in-between. The words "Agriculture & Manufactures are the Foundation of Our Independence July 4, 1825 P + Wagman GNRL Lafayette" are woven into each of the four corners. 1825 was the 50th anniversary of American independence as well as the first year of a two year visit from famed Revolutionary War hero, the Marquis de Lafayette. The coverlet may have been made as a commemorative item for both of these events. This coverlet design has been replicated numerous times dated from 1824-1840 and appears in major museums across the country. NMAH has another red and white coverlet of the same design. This design was initially associated with weaver, James Alexander of New York, but the consensus has changed. This group of coverlets was woven by more than one weaver whose identities have not yet been found. The floral medallions harken back to Scottish and English double-woven carpet designs. See also T14962 and T16116.
According to family lore, Martha Mildred Mills Vaughn (b. 1822) wove this "Sixteen Patch" pattern, overshot coverlet from cotton and indigo-dyed wool before her marriage to husband, William Vaughn in Atlanta in 1838. Martha Vaughn was the grandmother of the donor and lived in Macon, Georgia. The pattern is developed in six inch squares composed of forty-nine blocks of uniform size, and bordered with a one and a half inch band. The coverlet is woven in three sections. The donor remembered her grandmother telling her that she spun the yarn used in the coverlet, and "made" it. According to donor she made the coverlet before she married, leading to the date attribution of 1830-1838. This would make Martha between the ages of eight and sixteen. There is no federal census record which matches her information suggesting that Martha may have died prior to the 1850 Federal Census when other members of the household were first recorded by name. More research is needed to determine which William Vaughn could have been Martha’s husband in order to learn more about the family.