“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.
“Pieced by Cynthia Hobby in her 90th year” is the inscription prominently quilted in the center block of this quilt, a variation of the “Meadow Lily” pattern. The quilt is composed of thirty 12-inch blocks, with a 4-inch border. One pieced block has the quilted name “Emily Seamans,” and another the name “Julia F. Seamans.” In the border are the quilted names: “S H Seamans,” M E Seamans,” “J A H Fay,” and the date “March 1869.”
Two of the plain blocks include a quilted outline of a small hand; one with “M” for Millie (1865-1956) and the other “J” for Julia (1867-1960). They were the great-granddaughters of Cynthia Hobby. “We can remember reaching over the edge of the quilting frame to have the outlines of our hands made.” (Family information.)
The quilting was done in 1869 by Mary Elizabeth Hitchcock Seamans (1839-1881) and her sister Julia Ann Fay. Mary married Cynthia Hobby’s grandson, Stephen Harris Seamans, Jr., in 1864.
Cynthia Husted Hobby was born September 22, 1770. She married Squire Hobby (1766-1811). Cynthia died April 5, 1863 a few years after she pieced this quilt at age 90.
This family textile document is one of three quilts donated by the same family.
A note pinned to the lining of this quilt states: “Log Cabin Quilt made by Lilla V’s mother. Lining from wedding dress, 1856.” Unfortunately there is no further information about Lilla V.
Eight-inch “Log Cabin” blocks are set in a “Light and Dark” pattern to create this visually striking quilt. Silks of all types (plain, checked, striped, printed, pattern-woven, damask, plaid, ribbed, ombre-striped, warp printed, brocaded) and plain and plaid satins were used. The brown striped silk from the 1856 wedding dress that was used for the lining, also appears in many of the blocks. The blocks are constructed on plain, printed, and pattern-woven cottons. It is finished with a plaid silk strip binding, seamed to the front, whipped to the lining. It is a fine example of both the popular “Log Cabin” design and of the silk pieced quilts often called parlor or sofa throws.
Most likely this comforter (wadded bed quilt) was the product of Rachel Burr Corwin. The Collection contains three pieced-work quilts and two “comforts,” as well as her spinning wheel, initialed “RC,” and sheets and pillowcases for which she is said to have spun the linen. This particular comforter with a cotton filling also contained a complete, well-worn, pieced quilt (1840 - 1860 Rachel Burr Corwin's "Variable Star" Quilt, TE*T07116.00B). Recycling a worn-out quilt in this way provided a very warm bed covering.
One side of the comforter consists of six rectangular pieces of plain-woven cotton, roller-printed in brown and green on ivory. Long-tailed birds, hanging ornamental urns and flowering branches made up the fabric design. The other side consists of three lengths of plain-woven cotton, roller-printed undulating vertical stripes in rust, brown, and tan. It was tied with 3-ply red wool.
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.
“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.
Crazy-patched square and rectangular blocks were assembled to make Orrie Little’s Parlor Throw. The four corner blocks are made entirely of ribbons. A variety of silks, satins and velvets were used for the other blocks. The lining is a brown-and-black stripe printed fabric. The binding is made of 12 different ¾-inch ribbons, seamed to the lining and whip-stitched to the front. Embroidery is used to embellish the edges of the patches and along the bound edge.
Information given with the donation suggested a possible maker as the grandmother of the donor, Julia E. Harris Little of Hampton, New Hampshire (1828 – 1875). More likely the maker was Orrie Belle Little, Julia’s daughter and the donor’s mother. Orrie was born March 18, 1858 in Hampstead, New Hampshire. She taught music before marrying Edwin S. Pressey in 1887. He was a Congregational minister and they had two children: Sidney and Julia (donor). The variety of fabrics and the examples of embroidery stitches (herringbone, chain, feather, straight, detached chain, and, seed) make it a nice example of fancy needlework at the end of the 19th century.
This example of an 18th century counterpane is composed of worn wool and linen/wool fabrics. A center panel, 55 x 35-inches, is made of unglazed green wool, the 17-inch border is made of dark blue glazed wool. Two corners are made of blue and brown striped linsey-woolsey.
Originally the counterpane was acquired for the study of the early textiles used in its construction. ("Anatomy of a Quilted Counterpane" by Rita J. Adrosko in Weavers Journal; Vol VIII, No4, Issue 32) The lining was of particular significance. Part of it consisted of a coverlet (TE*T14718 NMAH Coverlet Collection) woven in the “Monks Belt” design. It was separated from the top and wool filling and is one of the oldest coverlets in the Collection. The rest of the lining utilizes worn-out fabrics such as were used for the front. The sewing thread is linen (2-ply S-twist). It is quilted, 5 stitches per inch, with linen thread. This counterpane is an interesting example of recycled 18th century fabrics.
“Pleasant dreams to you my friends J.A.L.” is embroidered on a diamond prominently placed near the center of this throw. Sentiments such as this suggest that these throws are often called slumber throws as well as parlor throws. In general, throws were made to display fancy needlework skills and serve as ornament rather than as bedding.
This piece includes a Women's Christian Temperance Union ribbon in one block.
Often they were made in the crazy-patch style that became fashionable in the last part of the 19th century. This throw utilizes crazy-patched and embroidered plain silk diamonds for the “Tumbling Blocks” pattern, creating an intriguing optical illusion.
The center, pieced in the “Tumbling Blocks” or “Cubework” pattern, is framed by a 5 ½-inch crazy-patch border edged on each side by a 1 ¾-inch blue satin band. The lining is pink silk with a 1 ¼-inch blue silk band decorated with feather and herringbone stitches around all four edges. Silk, tinsel and chenille embroidery threads were used for the buttonhole, feather, French knot, herringbone double cross, running, stem, detached chain, and satin stitches that embellish this throw.
An embroidered patch in the border contains a name, “C. D. Whittier,” and date, “1886.” Another has American flag motifs with the dates “1776-1886.” A moose head and an elephant with “Jumbo” embroidered on it are prominent among the flowers, hearts, horseshoes, birds, fans, web, broom and other motifs typically found on patchwork of the period. “Kate Greenaway” figures are embroidered on several patches. Kate Greenaway (1846-1901) was a popular writer and illustrator of children’s books. Her distinctive style for drawing children was widely copied and appears on various decorative arts of the time.
Several painted diamond patches are signed “Agnes R. Hodgson” or “ARH 86.” One patch with that signature has a palette and brushes. Could she have been an artist who provided patches for crazy-patch work? A friend who had her own particular technique? Or was she the maker of the throw?
The only Agnes R. Hodgson that was found appears on the 1860-1880 censuses. Agnes was born in Oregon City, Oregon, in 1859 to Francis D. and Mary Hodgson. In 1870 they were living in Seneca Falls, N. Y. By 1880 she was living in Milo, Yates County, N. Y., with her parents and five younger siblings. Agnes died in April 1888 at Horseheads, N. Y., of spinal disease (probably meningitis). She is buried in the Mt. Hope Cemetery in Rochester, N.Y. No information on the maker or origins of this throw was provided at the time of donation to the Collection in 1961.
This bedcover, no filling or quilting, has over 100 eight-inch blocks pieced in the “LeMoyne Star” pattern. An assortment of roller-printed cottons (florals, geometrics, and plaids) are set off with white pieces. The lining is composed of four lengths of plain-woven roller-printed cotton. The binding is a ¾-inch woven striped cotton tape folded over edge, sewn with a running stitch through all layers. The variety of printed cottons used for the stars and the star motif make this mid-nineteenth century bedcover a typical example of the period.
Nancy Ward Butler made this quilt to commemorate the death of her granddaughter in 1842. Named for her grandmother, Nancy Adelaide Butler was born May 22 1840. She was the daughter of Calvin Butler (1818-1857), the quilt maker's son, and Mary A. Storey (1822-1909) whom he married in 1839. Nancy A. Butler died in February 1842 in Jamestown, N.Y. of scarlatina or scarlet fever, a serious and often fatal childhood disease at the time. In the nineteenth century, expressions of mourning were often part of the designs found on needlework and may have provided a way of working through grief as well as a memorial to a loved one.
"NANCY A. BUTLER. DIED. FEB. 3 * 1842 * AGED 20 mo" is appliquéd on this quilt with roller and discharge printed blue and white cotton. The two sawtooth borders are pieced. The ground and lining are white plain woven cotton and the filling is cotton. The center section is quilted in parallel diagonal lines ½ to ¾ inches apart, in the border is a flowering vine; both quilted 6 stitches to the inch. A similar quilt in the McClurg Museum Chautauqua County Historical Society was possibly also made by Nancy. It memorializes her youngest son, James Butler who died of typhus at the age of 20 in 1844 and a granddaughter, Cynthia Smith Sage, who died in 1845 of consumption at the age of 23. Both are buried in the Laona Cemetery.
Nancy Ward was born in 1779, daughter of Josiah Ward (1747/48-1825). Nancy Ward married James Butler (1780-1853) in 1802 in Buckland, Massachusetts. They settled in Chautauqua County, New York and raised their family, nine children, near Laona, New York. In 1855 Nancy Ward Butler was living in Jamestown, New York with her daughter Nancy Turner (1803-1889). They were both widowed. Nancy died in 1863.
Nancy A. Butler Werdell, the donor, writes; "I am the namesake of the child, 'Nancy A. Butler,' memorialized on the quilt made by my ancestor [great-great grandmother], Nancy Ward Butler."
She also commented about the quilt in Modern Maturity magazine in 1990; "Nancy was my great aunt! I inherited [the] quilt a number of years ago and donated it to the Smithsonian [1976]. I am so pleased that I have added to the folk history of our country in a small way. A quilt (or any prized treasure) preserved in the bottom of a trunk is a waste. Let's open our trunks and share our treasures." With the quilt, is a carefully printed, undated award; "Second Prize for the most Beautiful Quilt."
In this variation of the “Tree of Life” design, flowers and long-tailed birds are appliqued beneath a flowering tree on the central panel. It is framed by borders of two appliqued undulating vines with flowers and perching birds. A few of the fabrics used for the appliques are block-printed in red, blue, and brown. The outer 10 ½-inch border is a floral roller-printed fabric. The lining, white cotton, has four blue stamps. One of them is a portrait in a floral wreath with the inscription: “HENRY CLAY THE STAR OF THE WEST THE FRIEND AND PROTECTOR OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY.” It is quilted 11 stitches per inch. The quilt is a fine example of a popular design, “Tree of Life,” often thought to be derived from the patterns found on palampores that were produced in India in the 18th century.
Two quilted and stuffed blocks help identify this quilt; “M. L. Mc May 24th 1860” (Mary Larson McCrea) and “J Mc” (Rev. James McCrea, her husband). According to family information that accompanied the donation, a close inspection of the quilt even reveals the handprint of one of her children. Other designs in the quilting were inspired by the ferns and flowers gathered near her home.
This pieced quilt artistically embodies two quilting techniques popular in mid-nineteenth-century America: raised and ground quilting. Sixteen 10-inch blocks, pieced of plain white and printed red cottons in the “Crown” pattern, are set diagonally with elaborately quilted and stuffed plain white blocks in floral patterns. The quilt has a 9-inch border edged by two pieced sawtooth bands, the inner one of the same fabric as the pieced blocks, the outer one composed of green printed cotton. It is quilted with feathered vines. The quilting is 10 stitches per inch, all a fine tribute to Mary McCrea’s needlework and design skills.
Mary Lawson Ruth, daughter of Samuel and Margaret Ruth, was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, in 1835. The family, like many in that period, moved to Ohio where Mary received her education and taught school at Millwood (Quaker City), Ohio. An account of Quaker City, Ohio, describes the early school, founded in 1810, as a log cabin equipped with a few books and a supply of hickory and beech switches, although by the time Mary was teaching in the 1850s the school presumably had improved.
On July 3rd, 1856, Mary married Rev. James McCrea. A white silk shawl with a white silk embroidered floral border that was worn by Mary McCrea at her wedding was included in the donation. They had seven children.
She was profiled in family information as an “accomplished needlewoman . . . proven by the exquisite stitchery in the quilt and infants’ clothing.” A baptismal gown, also part of the donation, was made for her first child, Samuel P. McCrea, born in 1857, and subsequently worn by all her children. “She made all of the clothing worn by her family including her husband [his clothes].” James McCrea was both a teacher and ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church. Mary died in December 1880 and is buried in the Murray, Indiana, cemetery. The “Crown” quilt as well as jewelry, infant apparel, and family portraits, were included in the bequest to the Smithsonian by Miss Mary E. McCrea in 1941.
This example of a late 18th-early 19th-century bedcover is quilted in a pattern of repeating large feathered clamshells, 7 stitches per inch. The quilt was made with glazed indigo wool, has a wool filling, and wool/cotton lining. Both sewing and quilting threads are 2-ply blue wool. The edges of the front and original lining were turned in and stitched with blue wool. It has had much wear and a second lining of a cotton/silk fabric was added at later date.
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. Little of the glaze remains on this quilt.
One particular fabric among the many on this quilt is a cotton, block-printed in blue, rust, and dark brown. It is a Lord Nelson commemorative print with "SACRED TO NELSON" printed on a monument. It is printed from a 10 ½-inch wood block. Nelson commemoratives were printed very soon after his death in 1806, but this appears to be a later version, c. 1830, because of the dyes used. Other fabrics are roller-printed cotton florals and geometrics, some in several colorways. The lining consists of three lengths of plain-woven ivory cotton. The binding (finished) is a straight strip of printed cotton seamed to the front, whipped to the lining. This pieced quilt consists of alternating 5 ¾-inch pieced blocks made of 4 equal triangles and 5 ¾-inch plain blocks made of printed cottons. The variety of fabrics makes this a vibrant quilt example of the period.
This album quilt from the mid-19th century is constructed of 49 blocks; the majority of them are signed in ink or cross-stitch. On some of the blocks Maryland towns of Westminster, Emmitsburg, and Taney Town are named and ten blocks state dates of 1843, 1844 or 1845. According to donation information the quilt belonged to Pink Phillips, mother of the donor, Marion Taylor. Pink may have been a family name.
The “Lily” motif, popular in the 19th century, is also known as “Peony,” “Cactus Flower,” or “Tulip” pattern. The red and green roller-printed cottons used for the motif are also typical of the period. The blocks are framed by a green and white saw-tooth border.
According to family tradition, Sarah Pendleton appliqued this crib cover in the 1850s. The motifs, both block-printed and roller-printed, are mainly floral with one bird. A herringbone stitch was used to attach the motifs. A plain white cotton fabric was used for the lining. A 5 ½-inch machine embroidered mesh and ball fringe completes the counterpane.
Sarah E. Neil was born at Belize, Louisiana, May 21, 1837. The daughter of William and Ellen Neil. She married William E. Pendleton (1824-1901) on December 8, 1856. They had seven children, but only three attained adulthood. Sarah died December 5, 1898.
Patience Ramsey pieced this quilt with four-pointed stars set with white diamonds, a pattern published in Godey’s Lady’s Book in March 1851. Although no name was given to the design in the magazine, in recent times it is known as “Job’s Troubles.” The roller-printed cottons used for the quilt date from the 1850s.
Patience Ramsey was born in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, in 1832. She married William Gutshall and they had thirteen children. She died in 1880. This quilt and another in the Collection were donated by her granddaughter about 100 years after Patience stitched them.
This “Ocean Wave” quilt was begun by Mary Ann Bishop of Wilkesville, Vinton County, Ohio, in 1875 and quilted in 1888. Roller-printed cottons with a few woven checks and plaids were pieced for the patterns that set off the quilted plain, cream-colored cotton centers. A saw-tooth strip of red cotton appliquéd to the 6-inch border frames the “Ocean Wave” pattern. Quilted, at 9 stitches per inch, with straight lines on the pieced sections, the feathered circles and feathered leaves provide a surface texture to the quilt. Two gradually curved S-shaped wooden templates, also donated to the Collection, were used for pencil 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 “Ocean Wave” pattern is one of three quilts in the Collection that were donated by her granddaughter, Maude M. Fierce, in 1936 and 1937.
This quilt tells two stories. The original quilt consists of pieced vertical strips of block- and roller-printed cottons dating from the 1830-1850s. It was filled, lined with a plain woven brown cotton, and quilted.
An “Eight-pointed Star” pattern was used for a new top to cover the original, older, worn out quilt. Seven-inch “Star” blocks are set diagonally with 7-inch squares of printed cottons; framed with a 4-inch border of striped cotton. This top consists of roller-printed cottons of geometrics, florals, and stripes. The “new” top was quilted to the “older” quilt, but in a different pattern. Both are quilted at 7 stitches per inch. The edges of the older quilt were cut off and a binding of ¾-inch straight strips of 4 different roller-printed cottons is seamed to the front, whipped to the lining. The quilt is an example of recycling an older quilt by adding a more fashionable new top.
This well-worn, white-work quilt bears an inked inscription: “Picked up by Horatio G. Coykendall Lieut. And Adj. 18th Wis. Infty in South Carolina during Shermans March to the sea.” Donated by his granddaughter in 1970, she wrote: “My grandfather was a captain serving until Sherman and was on Shermans march thru Georgia to the sea. This quilt was picked up on this campaign and he has written in one corner this fact.”
The quilt is stuffed and corded. A center motif of crossed sprays of narrow-leaved vines is encircled by a meandering vine with leaves and clusters of berries. A 12-inch band of diagonal grid quilting frames the design.
Horatio G. Coykendall was born December 7, 1840, in Peoria County, Illinois. He served in several Illinois and Wisconsin military units during the Civil War. According to a Memoriam published by the Military Order of Loyal Legion of the United States Minnesota Commandery (Circular No. 7 Series 1906), he fought in many campaigns including Lexington, Shiloh, and the siege of Vicksburg. After the war he was involved in railroad building and was described as a man “of an iron will and great energy of character, which made for success in business . . . In the home life he was exemplary, kindly and sympathetic, a consistent Christian and worthy citizen.” He died at Rochester, Minnesota, March 22, 1906.