This white counterpane was made for Mary T. Barnes’s dower chest in 1850. She married Gen. John Bratton Erwin in 1866. The 20-inch center of this counterpane is composed of 7-inch squares filled alternately with wineglass and diagonal grid quilting. The center is surrounded by an 8 ½-inch band quilted in a pattern of large triangles filled with shell quilting. This band in turn is framed by a band of 7-inch squares quilted in the same pattern as those of the center. Next comes another 8 ½-inch band quilted in a running vine pattern with shell quilting in the background. Finally, a border of 7-inch squares, again filled with wineglass and diagonal grid quilting, completes this counterpane. An inked inscription, “Mary T. Barnes 1850” is near one corner. Mary’s two daughters donated the precisely quilted counterpane in 1932.
Mary T. Barnes, the only child of Dixon Barnes (1816-1862) and Charlotte Brown Barnes, was born 16 October 1840 in Lancaster County, S. C. Her mother died when she was six. Her father, Col. Dixon Barnes, commanded the 12th South Carolina Infantry during the Civil War and died as a result of wounds during the Antietam Campaign when Mary was about 22.
After her marriage in 1866, she and John Bratton Erwin (1834-1916) settled on her plantation in Lancaster County, S. C. John, trained as a lawyer, fought in the Civil War, and after his marriage managed Mary’s large estates. They had six children, of whom three lived into adulthood. In 1876 John Erwin was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives and in 1886 to the Senate. Mary died in 1893 and John in 1916. Both are buried in the Camp Creek Methodist Church Cemetery, Lancaster County, S. C..
Esther Wheat's quilt is an example of a glazed wool fabric, not only used for bedding but also petticoats in the eighteenth century. The shiny surface of the quilt top was achieved by calendering, a process of applying heat and pressure with metal plates or rollers to a worsted fabric. In Esther's quilt the high sheen of the fabric enhanced the elaborate quilting of the large feathered heart and two pineapples surrounded by a scrolling vine with flowers. According to the donor, Esther Wheat Lee's great-great-granddaughter, the original plain weave yellow wool lining wore thin and was replaced by Esther's daughter, Olive Lee Doolittle. A thin layer of cotton fiber filling was added before the second lining of red twill weave cotton and wool was quilted to the original lining, but not through the quilt top.
Esther Wheat made this quilted indigo-blue wool bed cover for her dower chest in the 1790s. Esther, a twin, was born in 1774 in Conway, Massachusetts. She married Benjamin Lee in 1799 and died at Canastota, New York in 1847. Esther's quilt was passed down through five generations of women before being donated to the Smithsonian in 1973.
Mary Winfield crafted this small quilt for her granddaughter, Julia A. Poole, of Dinwiddie Co., Virginia. Possibly it was intended as a doll quilt. The quilt is composed of 3-inch blocks, some pieced in the “Nine-patch” pattern, some plain. Each plain block is quilted with a single flower or bird.
Mary W. Tucker was born about 1764 in Virginia. She married William Winfield III (1762-1837) on January 6th in either 1783 or 1787. She made another small quilt, also in the Collection, for the same granddaughter.
A town, “Bristol, Tennessee,” and a date, “Jan. 4, 1905,” were prominently embroidered on the parlor throw that Bonnie Blevins made for her family. Donated by her daughter, Blanche Blevins, in 1956, it is an example of the fancy needlework popular in the late 19th century.
Twelve 19-inch crazy-patch and embroidered blocks were assembled for this parlor throw. It has no lining, just a rayon seam binding added at a later date, basted to the front edges. The embroidery motifs (butterflies, birds, animals, etc.) are typical of crazy patchwork, but would appear to be freely drawn rather than from a pattern. The embellishments were done with silk thread utilizing feather, stem, detached chain, French knot, coral knot, satin and buttonhole stitches. Several embroidered inscriptions are present: “I slept and dreamed / that life was beauty / I awoke and found / that life was duty.” It is from a poem by Ellen Sturgis Hooper (1812-1848), a transcendentalist poet who published in The Dial and whose poems appeared in anthologies. Lines from poetry, probably of special personal significance, were frequently added to needlework.
Four blocks of this parlor throw may have been specifically designed by Bonnie to acknowledge her family. The block containing the date and place also contained an embroidered name “Robt.” and the inscription “Think of me.” Robert was Bonnie’s husband, whom she married in 1892. A second block has the name “Fred” and “In God we trust” embroidered on the crazy-patches. Fred Foster was Bonnie’s eldest son, born in 1892. A third block has the embroidered inscription, “God bless our home,” and the name “Worth.” Omar Worth was Bonnie’s second son born in 1896. The fourth block contains an owl with the inscription “Whoo whoo.” It also has a small embroidered name, “Bonnie.” Another patch in the same block has a swan, a child’s head, heart, and the name “Blanche” embroidered on it. Blanche was Bonnie’s third child, born in 1898. The motifs that were used on each of the blocks may have held meaning for that person. Bonnie’s parlor throw was a personal record of her family.
Geneva Bonville Foster was born June 21, 1865, in North Carolina. Known as Bonnie, she married Robert Houston Blevins June 10, 1892. They had three children as noted above, and for a time lived in Tazewell County, Va., as well as Bristol, Tenn. It was in Bristol, Virginia, (Bristol lies on the border of Tennessee and Virginia) that Bonnie died at age 43 February, 17 1909. She and her family are memorialized on the parlor throw that is now part of the Collection as an example of crazy-patchwork.
Susan Ann Camp Coe, great-grandmother of the donor, constructed this mid-19th century white-work quilted counterpane. The center, a six-pointed star is framed by a scalloped circle surrounded by floral motifs and a flowering vine arranged in scallops. Another flowering vine is arranged in reverse scallops. Bunches of grapes and leaves adorn the border. All floral motifs and scallops are quilted, with the background quilted in a diagonal grid pattern. The quilting is 6-7 stitches per inch. A straight strip of white cotton is seamed to the front and whipped to the lining for the binding.
In 1951 the donor informed the museum that she had a quilt made by her husband's great-great grandmother in 1792. A note attached to the quilt stated that it was made by Martha Babson Lane Soule of Freeport, Maine, and that "she spun and dyed the worsted and designed the pattern embroidered on it." The donor continued in her letter, "In going through some old correspondence we find that the mate to this quilt was donated to your Museum many years ago by my husband's great-aunt Mrs. Caroline Gordon." That quilt had been donated to the Museum in 1925, and more than twenty-five years later this quilt from the Soule family was also added to the Collection.
This quilt is both pieced and embroidered. The center panel, a 38-inch square, is embroidered in indigo-dyed wool, surrounded by a border pieced of 8-inch printed cotton squares and triangles, with a crewel embroidered outer border. Embroidery stitches include stem, cross, herringbone, seed, buttonhole, Roumanian, running, and couching. Considering the style of the quilt and the use of cotton 2-ply sewing and quilting threads in the construction indicate a date no earlier than the very-late-eighteenth century or probably early-nineteenth century.
The crewel embroidered pieces might have been from bed furniture of an earlier date. The center panel appears to be cut from a larger piece of embroidery; the top and side borders are also shortened; only the bottom border, with a large heart, is a complete design. The base fabrics for the embroidered sections and the lining are cotton and linen/cotton with a thin layer of carded cotton between them. The pieced inner border is composed of two fabrics; one resist-printed the other English copperplate printed ca 1775-1785. The chevron patterned quilting is done in a running stitch, 7 stitches per inch.
Martha Babson Lane was born December 22, 1772 in Freeport, Cumberland, Maine. The Lane family is listed among the settlers in that area of Maine as early as the 1650s. Martha married Moses Soule on May 25, 1793. Moses farmed in the Freeport, Maine area, and was a deacon in the church and a caulker by trade.
Martha and Moses Soule had eleven children, three of whom died within a few months of each other in 1807 at ages three, five and eight. Three other children, born later, were given their names; John/James Babson, Nancy and Jeannette.
One son, Gideon Lane Soule (1796-1879) was the first of his four brothers to attend Phillips Exeter Academy. He later became a professor at the Academy and for thirty-five years, from 1838 to 1873, served as a Principal. Under his able direction the Academy experienced increasing growth, prosperity and prestige.
The youngest son, John Babson Lane Soule (1815-1891), after attending the Academy, graduated from Bowdoin College. Although he completed law studies, he spent his life as a teacher, journalist and minister in Indiana, Wisconsin and Illinois. He is noted for possibly being the originator of the popular slogan: "Go West, young man!" used in an editorial he wrote in 1851 for the Terre Haute Express which was later used by Horace Greeley so effectively in an 1865 New York Tribune editorial. Martha Babson Lane Soule died on December 20, 1837 and is buried in the Lane Cemetery near Freeport, Maine.
Lizzie Lisle utilized a unique floral design for this quilt. The center panel consists of four 28½-inch square blocks each appliquéd with large red, green and yellow flowers, leaves, and berries. The large red flowers have reverse-appliquéd details made of printed yellow cotton. Many of the leaves have cut-out details revealing the white ground beneath them. Green cotton gathered over a solid foundation and attached to the quilt gives a three-dimensional effect to the berries. The center is framed by a red saw-tooth band. The 12½-inch border is appliquéd on three sides with an undulating leaf-and-floral vine. A second saw-tooth band follows the outer edge of the quilt. Fine quilting, 12 to 13 stitches per inch, in a variety of patterns, covers both the background and the appliquéd motifs.
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Lisle, born in Ohio in 1836, was the daughter of John Lisle (1803-1890s) and Elizabeth Johnston (1811-1889). Members of the extended Lisle family were early settlers in Jefferson and Harrison Counties in Ohio, but many also moved westward and settled in Iowa. In Jasper County, Iowa, on February 11, 1886, Elizabeth married Eden Randall. Eden was born in Delaware County, Ohio, about 1840 and served in the Civil War (Co. G, 3rd Iowa Volunteer Infantry).
Mustered in June 8, 1861, Eden was taken prisoner on April 6, 1862, in Shiloh, Tennessee. In January 1863 he was part of a prisoner exchange and rejoined his company, only to be severely wounded in the face and mouth on June 12, 1863, at Vicksburg, Tennessee. He recovered in a hospital in Keokuk, Iowa. Elizabeth and Eden had no children. Elizabeth is buried in Fairview Township, Jasper County, Iowa. Her grandniece generously donated two of her quilts to the Smithsonian in 1949.
Mary Winfield crafted this small pieced quilt of diamond-shaped blocks for her granddaughter, Julia A. Poole, of Dinwiddie Co., Virginia. Possibly it was intended as a doll quilt. Some of the diamond-shaped blocks are pieced in the “Nine-patch” pattern, others are plain white cotton.
Mary W. Tucker was born about 1764 in Virginia. She married William Winfield III (1762-1837) on January 6th in either 1783 or 1787. She made another small quilt, also in the Collection, for the same granddaughter.
A “First Premium” blue ribbon is attached to Amelia Johnson’s silk parlor throw. It was awarded in 1878 at the St. Louis Agricultural and Mechanical Association Fair in Missouri. Fairs were particularly popular events in the nineteenth century. They provided amusements, celebrated achievements, and promoted new ideas. After the Civil War, much money was spent to expand the St. Louis fairgrounds and add buildings. By the late 1870s, its annual agricultural, industrial, and metropolitan displays were worthy of international attention. This parlor throw won a prize at one of the decorative arts exhibitions.
Approximately 500 three-inch “Log Cabin” blocks made of silk were stitched on a muslin foundation to complete the top of this parlor throw. Plain-weave and ribbed solid-colored silks were used to create a mosaic of color. The lining is constructed of red silk fabric quilted 10 stitches per inch to a piece of white cotton fabric. Pink silk thread is used for the quilted trapezoid pattern on the lining. The “Log Cabin” top and quilted lining are joined together and edged with a heavy twisted cord composed of white, pink, green, and black silk cords. This parlor throw is a prize-winning example of the fancy needlework that was so fashionable in the Victorian period. The donor, J. A. Goodall, provided little information about his Aunt Amelia when the parlor throw was added to the Collection in 1940.
Eight-inch square blocks pieced in a “Four-patch” variation are arranged to form diagonal chains. A variety of roller printed cottons (geometrics and florals) and woven stripes, checks, and plaids are represented on the pieced blocks. The pieced blocks alternate with 8-inch squares of the same roller-printed cotton. The quilt is cotton filled, and lined with a plain-woven cotton. It is bound with ½-inch (finished) straight strips of 2 different roller-printed cottons folded over the edge, seamed to the front, and sewn to the lining with a running stitch. The two corner cutouts with 4-inch diagonal slashes to accommodate bedposts, are typical of many nineteenth century quilts.
This fine example of a framed center quilt belonged to the Alston family and came from the Fairfield-on-the-Waccamaw plantation near Georgetown County, South Carolina.
The center is composed of three block-printed squares. These were specifically designed and produced in the first half of the 19th century to be used as quilt centers or for cushion covers. The center of the quilt is framed by five borders cut from printed floral stripe cottons, each with a tiny geometric band. A sixth border is appliquéd with flowers and birds cut from various glazed chintzes.
Mary Pleasants Younghusband Brooke made this pieced and appliquéd quilt top at her home in Brooke Grove, Maryland, about 1835-1840. In 1910-1920, the donor (Mary Farquhar Green), her mother (Edith Brooke Green), and grandmother (Anna Farquhar Brooke) added the embroidery, lined the top, and hemmed the edges. Although family tradition held that the piecework and appliqué were done in 1797, the roller-printed cottons that were used for the piecework indicate a later date.
Mary Younghusband was born in Virginia and married Roger Brooke V in 1804. It is said that her father, Isaac Younghusband, left her a shilling to buy a piece of rope to hang herself for marrying a Quaker. Mary and Roger had five children. Mary died in 1840.
Martha Powell created this quilted and stuffed counterpane. Stuffed work refers to the technique of adding extra cotton wadding under the designs before quilting, resulting in a three dimensional effect. The center of this counterpane is a sunburst in a laurel wreath surrounded by a flowering vine. This is in turn is framed by arcs of flowering vines. Around the outside edge are baskets of fruit and sprays of flowers. It has a cotton lining and filling. All the stuffed motifs are outlined in quilting. The background is quilted in a triple diagonal grid, 11 stitches per inch. No separate binding, front brought to back 1/4" and whipped.
Martha Powell was born in DeKalb County, Georgia, on August 6 1831. She married Fielding Travis Powell (1828-1898) in 1849 or 1857. He practiced law, was a surgeon during the Civil War, and was also known for his many writings in various fields. They had two sons, and a daughter (donor of the quilt). Martha died in 1917 and is buried in Atlanta, Georgia.
Adele Paturel probably made this example of crazy patchwork not only to show her skills in needlework but also to serve as an album of special occasions. Among the many patches with motifs of the era (flowers, animals, spiderwebs, etc.) are several printed silk ribbons commemorating California events and organizations, some dated 1887 and 1888.
Adele Paturel was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1865. She was brought to California as an infant and lived there until her death in 1954. She married Emile Soher (1863-1910) in 1895. He was a member of the Native Sons of the Golden West, and several ribbons included on Adele’s parlor throw are from that organization.
Seven large squares and six large triangular sections, set diagonally, create the focus for this mosaic counterpane from the early 19th century. The segments are both pieced and appliqued with a multitude of block-, plate-, and roller-printed cottons as well as a few Indian painted cottons. It is finished by a narrow border attached with piping along each side, creating a frame for the center. The lining is a roller-printed, floral motif cotton; small pieces of the same fabric were also used for the geometric top. The many fabrics used to create the complex design make it an interesting example in the Collection.
This padded and quilted blue satin square, produced by William Skinner and Sons, was probably a sales model used at their New York City store. The sample is padded and hand quilted in a 2¾-inch grid pattern. Extra filling in the unquilted borders makes them higher than the quilted surface.
In the early 20th-century, William Skinner and Sons was a prominent silk production and textile manufacturer. From 1874 the manufacturing business was located in Holyoke, Massachusetts. After the death of the founder, William Skinner in 1902, his sons took over the business. The family sold the business to Indian Head Mills in 1961. This square is an example of “Skinner’s Satins,” as they were popularly known.
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.”
Four lengths of a cotton fabric with a palm-tree-and-pheasant design were used to create the top for this tied whole cloth comforter or counterpane. A color palate of blue and white on a dark brown ground was used for the roller-printed copy of an 1815 English block-print design. The lining, four lengths, is also a cotton roller-printed fabric of a striped geometric in brown, red, and white on a tan ground. A very thick layer of cotton was used for the filling. It is tied with white cotton. The Collection has other quilts made by Rachel Corwin.
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.
According to information given with the donation in 1945, this quilt originally belonged to Abbie Corey Brackett. Abbie Corey [Corah] married Ichabod Brackett, a hired man on the Corey family farm in Plainfield, Conn., in 1816. “All her father, Squire Joshiah Corey would allow her to take from home, were the two quilts, which she made. He allowed her nothing more. The Coreys were Scotch.” While this may have explained the other “quilt,” a woven coverlet, this particular quilt dates from about 1825-1835.
The quilt top consists of lengths of a single glazed, roller-printed cotton. The “Pillar Print” design is in red and brown, with an olive drab color added by surface roller. The combination of architectural and floral elements was particularly popular from 1825 to 1835 in American household furnishing fabrics. The quilt has a plain-weave white cotton lining and cotton fiber filling. Concentric diamonds and a quilting pattern variously known as “Rob Peter and Pay Paul,” or “Lafayette Orange Peel” or “Dolly Madison’s Workbox,” quilted at six stitches per inch, complete the quilt.
Records indicate that Abigail Corey was born about 1789. She married Ichabod Brackett (about 1790-1862) 3 February 1816. Sadly, after his death, Abigail is listed on the 1870 census as “Nabby Brackett” born about 1787 and living in Dudley, Worcester, Mass., as a pauper. On the 1880 census she is listed as Abigail Brackett and an “inmate” in Dudley. The donor received this quilt and a woven coverlet from a friend of her mother’s, Mrs. Hattie Vinton Wright, who was the great-granddaughter of Abbie Corey Brackett. When the items arrived at the Museum in 1945, they were deemed “excellent examples representing types not duplicated in the collections.”
Forty-two 8¾-inch blocks of pieced baskets with appliqued handles are set diagonally with 8¾-inch squares of roller printed cottons. These are framed with three 1½-inch borders. The squares, one of the borders, and the binding are all the same small floral, roller-printed cotton. A squared spiral pattern (6 stitches per inch) was used for the quilting.
The quilt was in the Corwin family of Middle Hope, New York. Mother, Rachel Burr, and daughter, Celia, both have other needlework examples in the Collection.