This blue and white Jacquard double-woven coverlet is believed to have been made in Ohio, possibly at the factory of Daniel Pursell. The centerfield design is commonly known as "Birds Feeding this Young" and features pairs of peafowl feeding chicks in a nest over floral urns. The three-sided double border depicts a pattern commonly referred to as "Boston Town.” Early twentieth century coverlet scholars referred to these pattern that include Federal architecture with elements of Chinoiserie as “Christians and Heathens.” According to the donor, whose family is from Portsmouth, Ohio, her great-grandmother raised the sheep and spun the wool for use in this coverlet. The donor received the coverlet from her father, Val Bennett Heisel who received it from his mother, Frances Noble Heisel. Frances received that coverlet from her father, the original owner, Laughlin Noble. Daniel Pursell (1812-1880) wove coverlets in Portsmouth, Scioto County, Ohio. Clarita Anderson and Robert Heisey both mention Pursell in their catalogs of known weavers. He only dated one coverlet that is known, but based on census records we can estimate that Daniel Pursell was weaving in Scioto County from approximately 1840 until he enlisted in the 1st Ohio Light Artillery Battery L in 1861 as a bugler. In the 1870 Federal Census, Daniel Pursell is listed as a paper-maker, having abandoned weaving after the Civil War. In the 1880 Federal Census, Purcell is listed as a drug store attendant in Logan, Hocking County, Ohio. He died shortly after. Pursell appears to have designed his own patterns. It is not clear what kind of loom he wove on or how his business was organized, but he clearly had an eye for design and color and ranks as one of Ohio’s most skilled coverlet weavers. The coverlet measures 97.5 inches by 85 inches and 4.25 inch self-fringe along three sides.
This album style quilt top belonged to Susan and Henry Underwood of Baltimore, Maryland. The quilt top is composed of twenty-five 17½-inch blocks. Seventeen are signed or initialed by Underwood family members and friends associated with the Methodist Church. Susan and Henry were married in the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore on August 5, 1830.
Album quilts, so popular in the mid-19th century, were frequently made by groups of women for presentation to a friend or relative upon a special occasion or as a token to honor a highly regarded member of the community. The blocks on this quilt top include traditional pieced and appliqued patterns, and original designs. One block is dated and inscribed: “I love to see the falling leaf/ To watch the waning moon/ I love to cherish the belief/ That all will change so soon/ Henry Johnson/Baltimore March 9th/ 1844."
The blocks or assembled quilt top were given to Susan and Henry, with Susan expected to finish the quilt. The top, never lined or quilted, was passed down through the family to the donor, Susan Underwood's great-granddaughter.
An appliquéd and embroidered adaptation of the Great Seal of the United States centers this cotton quilt made by Susan Strong in the early second quarter of the nineteenth century. Susan probably made this quilt in Ohio, where her family moved prior to 1820. The Great Seal has been in use since 1782 to authenticate documents issued by the United States government. Adaptations of this patriotic motif, a bald eagle with its wings spread, have been used on many quilts.
In Susan’s adaptation, the eagle holds vines in its talons and beak instead of the arrows, olive branch, and banner with E Pluribus Unum that are found on the traditional motif. The thirteen appliquéd 8-pointed stars above the eagle represent the thirteen colonies. The center panel is framed by three borders, each 7½-inches wide. They are appliquéd with the same design of flowering vines growing from corner vases. Two fabrics, a white cotton and roller-printed discharge white on blue cotton, are used alternately for the appliqué and the background. The shield and details on the eagle’s head are embroidered with silk thread in chain and satin stitches. Quilting is 6 stitches to the inch, in various patterns. This patriotic quilt is an example of an important design motif used to decorate many objects during the early part of the nineteenth century.
Susan Strong was born on July 4, 1809, in Frederick County, Maryland. She is listed among the pioneers in Richland County, Ohio, those who lived in the county prior to 1820. Charles, George, and John Strong of Maryland are among the 1818 listing of property owners in Jefferson Township. Susan married William Bell (1805-1847) on December 6, 1831. William was the son of Robert Bell, an early developer (1814) of the town of Bellville, Ohio. They had six children, two boys and four girls (all of whom taught school). In 1840 they moved to Hancock County, but Susan returned to Bellville after the death of William in 1847. She did not remarry and later lived with her daughter, Sarah (Mrs. Charles H. Dewey), in Omaha, Nebraska. Susan died in 1875, at age 66.
Agricultural fairs flourished in the mid-nineteenth century and exhibitions of women's needlework skills drew large audiences as they competed for prizes and recognition. A bronze medal, designed by William Barber, was inscribed, “Awarded to Mrs. Joseph Granger for the best Crib Quilt – Worcester, Mass. 1878” by the New England Agricultural Society. A certificate from the office of the New England Agricultural Society states that: “Mrs. Joseph Granger Worcester, Mass. received a Bronze medal awarded at the New England and Worcester Agricultural Fairs, held in the City of Worcester, Mass. September, 1878, for the best Crib Quilt.” Mrs. Joseph (Caroline) Granger’s granddaughter, Claire L. Meyer, donated the quilt, medal, and certificate to the Smithsonian in 1972.
A note with the quilt, written by one of Caroline Granger’s children, states: “Mother’s quilt all hand quilted she made her own designs with a pin. She got first prize at the Sturbridge fair and every time she showed it at the New England fair – there was even questioning that it was machine made so every body had to examine it closely.” Another note, in different hand, that was with the quilt states: “Couverture de berceau piquee a la main por Mmes Joseph Granger qui importa le primier prix – (Medaille d’or) ‘New England Fair’ de 1878.”
The all-white child’s quilt, according to the note referred to in French as a “cradle cover,” is made of cotton. The stylized floral center medallion on a diagonal grid background is finely quilted, 12 stitches per inch. The 9-inch border is quilted with an undulating vine and flowers on a background of parallel diagonal lines. Caroline Granger’s design and precise hand quilting are definitely of prize-winning quality.
Marie Caroline Lamoureux was born on March 3, 1850 in St-Ours, Richelieu, Quebec, Canada. She was the daughter of Antoine Lamoureux and Marie Elizabeth Moge. On January 30, 1873, she married Joseph H. Granger in N. Grosvenordale, Connecticut. They lived in Worcester, Massachusetts, and had twelve children. Two children, born in 1873 and 1875, died before their first birthdays. A daughter, Marie Ida, was about two when Caroline’s quilt won a prize in 1878 and another daughter, Alam Victoria, was born in late 1878. Caroline died on June 9, 1936.
Claire L. Meyer, the Granger’s granddaughter, wrote; “Many thanks for your letter of July 7, 1972 regarding a crib quilt made by my grandmother a hundred years ago. I am also enclosing for your consideration a quilt machine stitched by my grandfather! . . . I hope it will be worthy of the national collection.” The two quilts are worthy, and provide an interesting contrast between the precise handwork of Mrs. Caroline Granger and the equally precise machine stitching of Mr. Joseph Granger.
This late 18th-century medallion style quilt has many examples of block-printed and plate-printed fabrics. The focal center of the quilt, a 12-inch block constructed of four triangles, is surrounded by four pieced borders made of 3-inch and 6-inch triangles. The fabrics in each row are arranged in a mirror image from the ends of the row to the center creating a kaleidoscope effect. The red, copperplate print used in the pieced section of the quilt is the fabric: “Apotheosis of Franklin and Washington” printed in England about 1785. The border fabric is cotton, plate-printed in red, and is similar to English plate prints of 1770-1795. It is quilted 6 stitches per inch in a diagonal grid pattern on the outer border with linear quilting accentuating the pieced triangles of the center.
The many fabrics of this well planned quilt make it a valuable part of the Collection.
A variety of fabrics from the mid-19th century were used for the 6 ½-inch pieced blocks in the “Double Cross” or “Mosaic” pattern. The blocks are set diagonally in strips with white triangles. The bedcover (no filling, no quilting) consists of these strips, joined to create a "Rail Fence" of “Zig-Zag” effect. Fabrics consist of roller-printed florals and geometrics; woven stripes, checks, plaids; and two glazed furnishing fabrics. The lining consists of three lengths of floral motif roller-printed plain-woven cotton. Most piecing on the front is done in an overcast stitch. Later fabrics (c. 1860) are pieced with a running stitch. The two layers of the bedcover are bound on the edges with a 5/8-inch (finished) straight strip of roller-printed floral cotton (one of the fabrics used for the lining), seamed to the front, whipped to the lining. The many examples of fabric design and an eye-catching arrangement of the blocks create interest on this mid-century bedcover.
Of Scottish or American origin, this child’s quilt was used in the donor’s family. The quilt is constructed with thirty-five 4-5/8" blocks pieced of printed and plain triangles. The fabrics have stripe, geometric, and floral motifs block-printed in rose and brown with penciled blue accents. The quilt is framed by a 4-1/4" border, block-printed with birds, flowers, thistles, and striped edges.
Mildred C. Owen, of Atlanta, Georgia, crafted this child’s quilt for her daughter, Brenda Owen Brown, in the 1940s. “The Three Little Pigs” pattern was designed by Ruby Short McKim in 1934 and published in various newspapers. Embroidered inscriptions and appliqued motifs on seven blocks relate the well-known story. “Open the [applique of a door]; And Let Me in; NO? by the hair; Of my Chin [two appliqued chins]; Then I’ll Huff; and I’ll Puff; I’ll blow [applique of house] in.” Eight other appliqued blocks depict 3 pigs, 3 houses, and two blocks for the wolf. It was quilted by a neighbor. This is a delightful example of a children's story used as an inspiration for crib or children's quilt patterns.
Mildred C. Owen was born on August 18, 1913 in Calhoun, Georgia, to Charles Lee and Nora Starnes Chatmon. She and her two sisters grew up doing many kinds of handwork and made many of their own clothes. Mildred was also an avid gardener, her hybridized daylilies won horticulture awards. Mildred died June 8, 1973 in Atlanta, Georgia.
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.
James Alexander (1770-1870) wove this blue and white, Figured and Fancy, double cloth coverlet for Eleanor Van Etten in Orange County, New York in 1824. The white warp and weft yarns are 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun cotton while the blue yarns are 2-ply, s-twist, and Z-spun wool. In the binding, the yarn is a z-spun cotton single of and there is a secondary yarn which appears to be 2-ply s-twist z-spun cotton. The centerfield is composed of large “Double Tulip” carpet medallions and foliate designs. The lengthwise border is composed of depictions of Independence Hall flanked by eagles and surmounted by stars and floral springs. The crosswise border is made of Masonic columns flanked by eagles. The repeat unit for the Centerfield measures 27 inches by 26 inches. The border is 7.25 inches wide on all four sides. The repeat unit for the crosswise border is 7.25 inches by 29 inches, while the repeat for the lengthwise borders is 27.75 inches x 7.25 inches. The coverlet is composed of two 38 " wide lengths which were woven as one length, cut, and hand sewn together. The coverlet measures 96.5 inches by 76 inches. There is woven inscription in each corner which reads, “Eleanor Van Etten Oct. 14 1824." This coverlet has descended through the Swartwout family of New York for generations before coming to the Smithsonian.
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.
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.
This pieced wool quilt is actually an example of a cleverly designed recycling or repair of a damaged or worn quilt. The original quilt was made of light green, salmon, dark blue, and gray-green wool, all glazed, but only the dark blue corners retain their glaze. At a later date, a pieced pink and brown wool panel complete with its original filling, lining, and quilting stitches, was added across the top.
The lining consists of 6 large segments of plain woven wool or wool and linen; one segment is a plain woven horizontal stripe. The quilt is wool filled and quilted. The quilting patterns are different between the top added panel (7 stitches per inch) and the main body of the quilt (8 stitches per inch). Linen thread was mainly used for seaming; wool thread for quilting. The quilt is bound with 1/2" straight strip of green wool whipped to front and lining; the top added panel is bound with green wool twill-woven tape.
The quilt was part of a larger donation of 18th and 19th century textiles that included coverlets, rugs, printed fabrics, white-on-white embroidered counterpanes, and blankets among other items.
A date of “August 1853” inscribed on seventeen blocks provided a clue to the possible origins of this “Album Patch” quilt. Names and places inscribed on other blocks gave further information. Probably Rachel Young Roseberry started this quilt when the family moved to Brentsville, Va., from Phillipsburg, N.J., in 1853. At the time she and her husband, Michael, had four young children: Emma (1838-1897), Annie (about 1840-?), John (1843-1915, and, Alice (about 1844-?). The names of friends and relatives appear to have been written by the same hand, maybe at different times, and many are further embellished by different floral drawings.
Thirty-six nine-inch “Album Patch” or “Friendship Chain” pieced blocks are composed of plain red and white or printed green and white cottons. The “Album” blocks are framed by a 1 ½-inch border of printed green and plain white triangles. All blocks are signed in ink denoting name, and sometimes a date and/or place. Ink drawings are added to several of the inscriptions. The same red and green cottons and thread were used throughout the quilt and nearly half are inscribed “1853.” The addition of dates of “1858,” “1859,” and “1871,” suggest signatures may have been added after the quilt was completed. Places included Washington, D.C., Youngsville ?, Newark, N. J., and Brentsville, Va.
Rachel Roseberry’s quilt represents a personalized textile document containing names of friends and family and associated dates that may represent visits, marriages, deaths or other significant events related to that name. Album quilts such as this were popular in the mid-19th century, as was the use of the red and green color combination.
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.
The 17-inch center block of this early 19th-century quilt is appliquéd with a charming array of floral, geometric, and heart-shaped designs. It is surrounded by five pieced borders.
Block-printed, copperplate-printed, Indian-painted, and roller-printed techniques are represented in the fabrics that were used for piecing. Plain-woven and pattern-woven white cottons are also evident. The 8 ½-inch blocks that make up the borders are pieced in a variety of patterns popular in the first half of the 19th century. It has a cotton filling and is quilted, 7 stitches/inch.
The quilt is probably from southern New England, possibly Connecticut, where it was found. The many, many fabrics, different pieced block patterns, and appliquéd designs contribute to this sampler of 19th- century quilt making.
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.
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.
Jane Winter Price pieced this example of the “Carpenter’s Wheel” pattern in the second quarter of the nineteenth century and quilted her initials, “JWP,” into a white triangle at the lower edge of the quilt. According to family information, she may have made this quilt during a previous engagement when she lived in Maryland, before the death of her fiancé. “Keate Price McHenry from her Mother” is written in a corner of the lining. Catherine (Kate) Price McHenry was Jane’s daughter, born in 1856 in Arkansas.
Thirty “Carpenter’s Wheel” pieced blocks are set diagonally with alternate white blocks on this elaborately quilted example of mid-nineteenth-century needlework. The blocks are 11½ inches square, and the blue-ground chintz border is 7½ inches wide. The white squares are quilted, 15 stitches per inch, with sprays of flowers and grapes against a background of diagonal lines 1/8 inch apart. Double clamshell quilting is found in the white triangles inside the border. Both the pieced blocks and the border are quilted 9 stitches per inch. The wide border effectively frames the artistic placement of pieced blocks and finely quilted white blocks and triangles.
Jane Winter Price, born in 1818 in Maryland, was the daughter of Catherine Winter Dunnington II (1790 -1863) and Richard Price (b 1771). Catherine was married in 1813, but widowed in 1823. In 1838 she, along with her two living children, Jane and George Richard Price, left with others for Alabama. Jane married Josiah W. McHenry (b.1815) in 1849. In 1860 they lived in La Pile, Union County, Arkansas, with their four children, Catherine (b. 1850), Barnabas (b. 1852), George (b. 1854) and Jane C. (b. 1856) and Jane’s mother, Catherine, then aged 70. By 1870, they were living in Homer, Louisiana, where Jane died in January 1899.
This quilt is among several items that G. Ruth McHenry donated to the Smithsonian in 1961. It had been given to her by her aunt, Kate (Catherine) Price McHenry. Catherine Price McHenry was the daughter of Jane Winter Price, who probably made this quilt before her marriage to Josiah W. McHenry in 1849.
This precisely quilted example of white-work was handed down in the Chardavoyne family. The donor, Martha C. Cramer, wrote that her grandmother told her; “. . . that the spread was the handiwork of ‘an orphan’ who was adopted by her grandparents [William and Amy Chardavoyne] . . . the orphan was illiterate, perhaps because schools were not available.” The quilt came to the donor “. . . in 1905 when my grandmother came to make her home with us following the death of her husband.” In 1981, the donor added, “I should like to donate the spread to the Smithsonian I am now 85 years old and have no close relatives.”
The quilt or counterpane has a center medallion of quilted floral patterns surrounded by quilted floral, feathered, and grid patterns. Both the sewing and quilting threads are linen. It is elaborately quilted at 11 stitches per inch. No binding; front and lining are turned in and sewn with running stitch. It is a fine example of white-work quilting from the late 18th-early 19th century.