Elizabeth Franklin of Montross, Virginia wove this three panel, overshot, red, white, and blue, cotton and wool coverlet sometime between approximately 1790 and 1814. Franklin’s great-grand-daughter, Evelyn Balderson Riley (b. 1885) stated that the coverlet was “in the family when the British raided Baltimore and the Potomac." More research is needed to link Evelyn B. Riley to Elizabeth Franklin, and the nature of late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century genealogical documents makes identifying female ancestors all the more difficult. What is known is that Riley’s paternal grandfather, James B. Balderson (b. c.1805) and his wife, Telicia Phenzen Balderson (b. c.1803) owned at least fifty-five enslaved people according to the 1840 Slave Schedule. These were wealthy landed families, and the weaving of coverlets, although possibly done by the women of the family, likely involved the free labor of enslaved women and children.
The coverlet pattern is most commonly referred to as “Pine Blossom/Bloom,” but, as with all coverlet pattern names, they varied based on time and geography. The coverlet is made from cotton and wool, Z-spun singles, suggesting hand spinning for both yarns and an early date of creation. The three panel coverlet measures 111”x78”.
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.
John (Johann) Hartman wove this Figured and Fancy, tied-Beiderwand coverlet in Milton Township, Richland County, Ohio in 1845. The centerfield design is composed of “Double Tulip and Carnation” medallions with offset “Starbursts” arranged in a traditional carpet medallion configuration. The three borders contain addorsed Distelfinken (thistle finches) flanked by rose bushes and Hom, the Germanic tree of life motif. There is self-fringe along three sides. The two corner blocks, which on this coverlet are at the top edge without warp fringe read, “MADE*BY/J.HARTMAN/MILTON/TOWNSHIP/RICHLAND/COUNTY/OHIO/1845.” The coverlet measures 88 inches by 72 inches and is constructed of two panels that were woven as one length, cut, and seamed up the middle, suggesting hand loom production.
John Hartman (c.1807-1888) was born in the German States of the Holy Roman Empire. He and his brother, Peter (1797-1876) immigrated to the United States, moved to Ohio, and opened their own weaving businesses. John wove coverlets in Richland, Ashland, and Wayne Counties, Ohio. His extant coverlets date from 1839-1857. His older brother presumably immigrated first, settling in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania before moving west to Ohio. The weavers were Mennonites who fled their German homeland to escape religious persecution and economic pressures. Peter was a Mennonite preacher as well as weaver.
This blue and white, overshot coverlet is woven in a simple patch pattern variation. The customer’s initials, "M S" and the date “1787” are woven into the fabric at one corner. The weaver of this coverlet is unknown; however, there are several others known. There are two others in the NMAH collection. It is thought that the weaver worked in the Albany, New York areas. The earliest coverlet that is dated in the weaver was woven by this weaver. It is dated 1771 and is currently in the collection of the National Museum of the American Coverlet in Bedford, Pennsylvania. The coverlet was constructed from two panels and measures 91 inches by 64 inches.
This all-white, cotton, overshot coverlet contains a woven inscription which reads, "1811 M.F.” The coverlet has a plain weave ground, with one pattern weft inserted between each ground weft. The coverlet is made of two panels, woven as one length, cut, and sewn together. It appears to have a hemmed upper edge, with applied fringe on both sides and the lower edge. The thread count is 28 warp ends x 32 weft ends per inch. The coverlet measures 80 inches by 71.75 inches. It was likely woven by a New England woman for use in her home.
This coverlet was woven by the LaTourette family, likely John LaTourette (1793-1849) in Fountain County, Indiana in 1842. John and his wife moved from New York and New Jersey first to Germantown, Ohio in 1816. The family moved again in 1828 to Fountain County, Indiana. By 1840, John had established a successful weaving business for himself and his family on their farm. John trained both his daughter Sarah (1822-1914) and son, Henry (1832-1892) to weave as well, and after John’s death in 1849 his children continued the thriving business until 1871. The family was of French Huguenot stock, migrating to New York at the end of the seventeenth century. This coverlet was woven in two panels on a hand loom with a Jacquard attachment. The family still possesses a photograph of the loom attachment sitting on the porch of the house in Indiana. The centerfield pattern is an elaborate floral carpet medallion arrangement. There are borders along three sides. The side borders feature flowering urns and floral motifs, and the lower border depicts scrolling floral designs. The LaTourette family all used the same rose cornerblock design. Sarah and Henry’s later coverlets incorporate the word “YEAR” in to the cornerblock designs differentiating them from those of their father.
This pieced crib or child's quilt in the pattern of "Grandmother's Flower Garden" consists of thirty-two blocks made of hexagons, all with a yellow center. It is hand pieced with a scallop edge and yellow binding. The hexagons are outlined in hand quilting, 4-5 stitches per inch.
According to family information, Elizabeth Bourne Robinson made this quilt for her daughter, Mary (1930-2009). Elizabeth Freeland Bourne was born 3 December 1892 on the family farm in Calvert Co., Maryland. She married Franklin A. Robinson (1883-1970) on 20 November 1929. They had three children and lived on a tobacco farm in Prince George's County, Maryland. Elizabeth died 25 July 1976.
This is a flax (sometimes called Saxony) wheel. The wheel, table and treadle are made of oak, and the other parts are made from maple. The wheel bearings were strengthened by the use of an 1822 copper penny cut into two pieces. The wheel was used on the Stonington, Connecticut of the donors great-grandparents, Peleg Brown (1775-1860) and Elizabeth Babcock Brown, (1780-1871). The letters "AM" can be seen on the front of the stock or table.
A collection (photo shows an example) of diamond-shaped patches for a silk quilt. The 2 3/4" silk diamonds are basted over paper templates cut from letters, plain paper, prayer books or church bulletins, advertising cards, and envelopes postmarked Boston and Cambridge, 1881 and 1882. Many of the patches are joined into small sections of various sizes and shapes by overcasting on wrong side. In addition there are 6 unused paper templates and about 3 pounds of silk fabric remnants. One large pieced section and all of the smaller sections show that the ultimate pattern was to be colored 6-pointed stars with intervening black diamonds. There is also one pieced section in which there are no black diamonds and no organized system of color. Other small sections and one larger block are in the Tumbling Blocks pattern. Probably begun by Clarissa Wright Lord for her daughter Sarah who married Robert B. Hall, a minister in Wolfboro, New Hampshire and Cambridgeport, MA.
This dark blue wool quilt has a center panel quilted with a pineapple motif with sprays of leaves surrounded by a leafy vine, pinwheels and band of simple stylized leaves. At the top, a 15-1/2" border is quilted with chevrons. The side and bottom borders, 17" wide, are quilted with a meandering vine. It has a tan wool lining and filling. No separate binding; top edge, front and lining turned in and sewn with running stitch; sides and bottom, front brought to back with running stitch. Additional quilting: parallel diagonal lines in the open spaces of center and borders, with chevrons in top border. Stitched 7 stitches/inch.
The wool for both the front and lining is said to have been raised on the farm of the Hon. James Udall of Hartford, Vermont, and carded, spun, and woven in the house. James Udall bred Merino sheep, Durham cattle, and Morgan horses. The donor is the grandson of James Udall.
Unfinished quilt top. Twenty-five blocks (each approximately 11" x 11"); 13 pieced in a star pattern alternating with 12 one-piece printed fabric blocks. A note with quilt top and donor information states the quilt was "one pieced for babies [sic] crib . . .by the wives of the officials in George Washington's Cabinet." Sewing thread is 2-ply linen; no lining or filling.
Notes on quilt included with donation. "This quilt is reported to be one pieced by the wives of the officials in George Washington's Cabinet. L.G. Adams." Another: "The old old quilt among your mothers things is one pieced for a babies crib by the ladies of George Washington's Cabinet officials. Every piece is American weave and thread home-spun. Sister got it from Elder Query's wife at Benton [Illinois]. It has been handed down from family to family and Mrs. Query having no heirs gave it to your mother whom she loved dearly."
Ninety 8-inch blocks were machine sewn to make this colorful wool quilt or comforter. It is tied at the centers and corners and has a satin-weave blue cotton lining. A variety of striped, plaid, and solid-colored wool fabrics, both plain- and twill-woven, provide the kaleidoscopic effect on this late 19th century example of a utilitarian quilt.
Small “Nine-patch” blocks, mostly constructed of block-printed cottons, are set diagonally in 5-inch-wide vertical strips. These strips are further separated by narrower strips of dark brown cotton with printed flowers and beige and white striped cotton. Linen thread was used for the chevron pattern quilting (6 stitches per inch). The quilt is an example of early-19th-century fabrics and design.
This quilt top segment is composed of 130 1 ¼-inch squares of printed and plain-woven cottons. This small segment contains a significant sampling of block- androller-printed cottons from the early nineteenth century. Small florals, geometrics, polka-dot, and printed plaids are represented. Block prints have penciled blue. The white dimity squares are in two different weaves. The sewing thread is linen and the pieces connected by overcasting.
Geometric, double-cloth coverlet in blue wool & natural cotton. Said to have been made by Susan Fussell Alexander; Columbia, Murray County, Tennessee, in about 1840. No fringes.
The unknown maker of this quilt chose a traditional pieced pattern, but the fabrics make it memorable. The stars are all pieced of plain and patterned silk diamonds, with the center of the large star composed of black velvet alternating with gold-embroidered ivory satin. The combination of plain and patterned silks in the black background adds to the overall dramatic effect.
This miniature quilt may have been a doll’s quilt, a “first” quilt, or a display on a model quilting frame. Possibly made in Pennsylvania, it consists of twelve 1 to 1-and-1/2-inch blocks in the "Four-patch" pattern. Quilted in a chevron pattern, 3-4 stitches per inch.