Embroidered in dark brown silk cross-stitches and eye-stitches along the top right edge of the center of this quilt is "M. Campbell 1795." This quilt is a rare dated and signed example of the use of reverse appliqué which is found in the center panel and the eight border motifs. In reverse appliqué, the positions of the pattern and background fabrics are reversed from those of onlaid appliqué. The silhouette of the pattern is cut out of the background fabric, and openings are filled by applying a contrasting fabric from underneath. It was not often used in American quilts. The remainder of the quilt top is of geometric pieced work.
Block printed cotton fabrics of floral prints, stripes, and small geometrics, mostly on brown or tan grounds, were used for the appliqué and piecework. The lining is linen and the filling cotton. All appliquéd motifs are outline quilted along both the inside and outside edges. The white backgrounds, center border, and printed fabric blocks in the outer border are quilted in a diagonal grid and chevron patterns, seven stitches to the inch. M. Campbell's skillfully worked quilt is a notable example of the reverse appliqué technique.
“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 example of the “Goose Tracks” pattern was pieced by Mrs. Ellen Parsons of Shelbyville, Tenn. Seven-inch blocks are set diagonally with triple sashing and a miniature “Nine-patch” block at the sashing intersections. The blocks are framed by three 7/8-inch bands, one printed and two plain cottons. The filling is cotton and the lining is plain-woven, open-weave white cotton.
According to a hand-written note with the quilt “Mrs. Parsons planted and grew the cotton in her garden. She picked the cotton and spun it into thread. She wove the threads into cloth to make the lining for the quilt. She pieced and quilted it by hand.” Of course information such as this is difficult to verify. The pieced blocks are outlined, the sashing and borders are zigzag quilted, 6 stitches per inch.
The donor, Mrs. M. B. Holleman, wrote about the quilt when it became part of the collection in 1965. “I am 71 years old and I have no one to leave the quilt to that would take care of it. . . . I will tell you the things my mother [about 1857-1938] told me. My Great Grand Mother made this quilt. She was drown in the river. She was on a horse & the saddle broke. It was slave time and one of her slave women was on a horse also and lived to tell how it happened. She had only one child a girl and the quilt went to her. She never used it and when my Grandmother passed away, my mother got the quilt and when my mother passed on I got it. No one ever used it. (?) We would put it out in the sun real often. I wish I could tell you more about it. I am the only one living now.”
Mrs. Parsons's quilt is a testimony to the importance to the family to hand down to future generations treasured objects and the stories that go with them. When there are no longer heirs to take care of an object, such as this quilt, they are often donated to a museum collection so that others can admire and appreciate them.
In 1945, when Gertrude O. S. (Cleveland) White donated this parlor throw, she wrote: “The silk crazy quilt [parlor throw] was made here at Intervale Manor [Quinebaug, Conn. / Dudley, Mass.] just previous to the year 1888. My initials and the year are on one corner of the lining. My mother, my sister and myself made it.” Eben Stevens, the donor’s father, was a founder of Intervale Textile Mills in Quinebaug.
Intervale Manor was a large private home in the late 19th century when the two sisters and their mother made this parlor throw. In the 1940s Intervale Manor became a tearoom, operated by a family member and known for its hospitality, exceptionally fine food, spacious grounds, and comfortable accommodations. Presently, what remains of the Intervale Manor estate has been converted to small apartments.
Twelve 14 ½-inch heavily embroidered blocks are framed by a 7 ½-inch border. Set off by a gold silk cord and dark red velvet sashing, each of the crazy-patched blocks is given focus and order. Among the embroidered motifs are birds, dragonflies, cats, a ladder, a shooting star, anchors, butterflies, flowers, and geometric motifs. Various initials are embroidered, including “G.O.S. 1888” on the lining and “C.S.” for the two sisters, Gertrude and Celia. An embroidered “A Merry Xmas” may have indicated the deadline for finishing the parlor throw. The crazy patch blocks are embellished with cross, feather, buttonhole, chain, herringbone, outline, running, satin, and couching stitches. The lining is tan glazed cotton.
Gertrude Olney was born May 1850 and married Eben S. Stevens in 1873. They lived in Dudley, Worchester County, Mass. One daughter, also Gertrude, was born in November 1873. She married Clarence Cleveland in 1894. Another daughter, Celia, who also worked on the parlor throw was born in 1874. In 1887 and 1888 the two teenagers and their mother created a neat and orderly version of the crazy-patchwork that was quite popular at the time.
Ruth Jones Black Patrick was born January 31, 1905, She was an artist, teacher and illustrator, and began making this quilt, her first, in 1932 for her infant son. He was 20 years old when she finished it! In a 1971 newspaper interview, she is quoted thus, “. . . Edward was a little boy, I needed some sort of cover for his bed and thought I’d do something original. It was just going to be a small quilt . . . but it grew as he did—into twin bed size.” She made her own designs for her quilts, inspired by life, pictures in books, and quilt patterns of the time. Her unique quilts won ribbons at Alabama State Fairs.She married December 25, 1930, Herbert Edward Black(1906-1954), and she died November 25, 1999.
The Princess Lace Loom is a lace pillow for making bobbin lace. It was patented by Sylvester G. Lewis in 1903, patent number 745,206.
It is set up with a lace pattern from the The American Lace Maker, Volume 1, 2016.0048.03 and 20 bobbins wound with Barbours linen. It was also called the Princess Lace Machine, and advertised widely in women's magazines from 1901. It was sold by mail-order.
In 1846 nearly 100 friends and family members contributed signed blocks for an album quilt for Merinda Shedd Wright of Washington, N. H. Possibly made before she moved West, the inscriptions include the towns of Washington, Peterborough, Stoddard, and Goshen in New Hampshire, as well as Lowell and Cambridge Port in Massachusetts.
The signers were the wives or daughters of farmers, marble cutters, mechanics, laborers, shoemakers, doctors, clergy, merchants, and others who populated the New England area in the mid-19th century. A few worked in the Lowell, Mass., mills. They ranged in age from two to the eighties, often mother and daughter combinations.
Ninety-six pieced 8-inch “Nine-patch” signed blocks are set diagonally with 32 half blocks around the entire border. All are signed, and except for one stamped inscription, all are inscribed in ink. Three blocks are dated 1846. The blocks are separated and bordered with printed cotton sashing. The lower corners of the quilt are cut away to accommodate bedposts.
Merinda Shedd, born May 1811, was the daughter of John Shedd (about 1784-1828) and Lydia Farnsworth (1785-1860). Merinda married Zophar Wright (1805-1880). The couple had seven children. It seems Merinda went West, but no further information about her was discovered. Zophar was listed as living in New Hampshire on the 1850 census (pauper) and 1860 census (basket maker). He remarried in 1877 and again in 1879.
Sarah Shedd (1813-1867), sister of Merinda Shedd, penned the following on the quilt: “Oh! A Sister’s heart is deep - And her spirit strong to keep - Each light-link of early hours.” The lines are from a poem, “The Shepherd-poet of the Alps,” by English poet, Felicia Hemans (1793-1835). Sarah was 15 when, after her father died, she found work in the textile mills of Maine and Massachusetts to help support her mother and educate her brother.
In addition to working in the mills, she became a poet and educator. She wrote for the Lowell Offering , and a book of her poetry, Poems of Sarah Shedd, Founder of the Shedd Free Library was published in 1883.
Educated, independent, and able to pursue her own interests after her mother’s death, she aspired to found a public library for her hometown of Washington, N. H. Her entire estate, $2,500 (over $400,000 today), was left to the Town to establish a library which opened in 1869 as the Shedd Free Library and contained many of her own books. In 1881 a permanent building was dedicated that is still a functioning library, having grown from the original 292 books to over 9000.
Her sister's quilt descended in the Nathan Reed Wright family, but they were not related to Zophar and Merinda Wright. Jane Wright, adopted daughter of Nathan, did sign the quilt, apparently as a friend of Merinda.
The large center block of this album quilt is inscribed in ink: “Hester Willard To her Sister Mary Norriston April 12 1842.” Hester’s sister would have been Mary H. (?) Taylor. Almost all of the other 68 pieced and appliquéd blocks contain an inked or stamped signature, and many are dated between 1841 and 1844. Additionally many are inscribed with verse from hymns or period literature expressing parting and remembrance. The signatures on the quilt blocks are those of relatives, neighbors, and friends. They lived either in Lower Dublin in Philadelphia County or in the city of Philadelphia, except for Mary’s sisters, Hester Willard and Emily Taylor, who lived in Norristown, Pa, a suburb of Philadelphia.
All of the 68 pieced and appliquéd blocks are different, creating the sampler effect. Both traditional motifs and delightful original designs are represented. These are arrayed around a 17 x 18 1/4-inch center square. An unfinished quilt top, evidence indicates that it was reassembled at some time. Four blocks have been enlarged with fabrics that appear to be of a later date (1875-1900). The fabrics are mainly roller-printed dress fabrics with some furnishing chintzes, there are no plain-colored cottons.
Mary was probably the daughter of Thomas and Susan Wright Taylor. Neither Thomas nor Susan is listed in the 1850 Census. Earlier, Susan is listed as head of household in the 1830 and 1840 Census for Lower Dublin, Philadelphia, Pa. Many of the Wright family members are buried in the cemetery at the Pennyback Baptist Church which was first named the Lower Dublin Baptist Church. It was the first Baptist Church in Philadelphia. We know no further information about Mary Taylor ---whether she had married, gone west, or died.
This panel consists of 42 alternate squares of cutwork and lacis, edged with a border of needlepoint lace. The knotted filet net is embroidered with motifs like an elephant, a goddess, a horse, a hunter, and a dragon, among others. The woven cutwork squares are embellished with geometric needlepoint insertions and surface embroidery. It was probably made in Spain or Italy in the early 17th Century.
In the mid-1880s Sarah Paul Streeper carefully crafted this velvet parlor throw for her granddaughter, Kate Van Winkle’s, trousseau.
Twenty 8 ½-inch blocks frame a center block, 18 1/2-inches square, on this throw. The blocks are joined with a 1 3/8-inch black velvet sashing. Sarah Streeper used applique, embroidery, and paint to decorate the velvet blocks. The center block has a combination of floral motifs that are also found on the smaller blocks.
Crazy-patchwork is used for one block and other blocks have such motifs as a spider web, fan, and an owl-on-a-branch that were popular on Victorian throws. A letter “A” embroidered on one block may have been for Angeline, Sarah’s daughter and Kate’s mother. The blocks are edged with feather stitching. Stem, buttonhole, satin, couching, French knot and herringbone stitches were used for details. A dark red velvet 4-inch border completes this throw.
Sarah Paul was born September 30, 1813, in Pennsylvania. In 1837, she married Peter Streeper (1812-1876) and the couple had eight children. On the 1880 census, Sarah was living with her youngest daughter, Emily, in Philadelphia. Sarah died there on October 20,1902. She is buried at St. Peter's Lutheran Church, Barren Hill, Pa. Her tombstone is inscribed “Aged 89 years and 20 days / Call not back the dear departed / Anchored safe where storms are o’er . . . we left thee / Soon to meet and part no more.”
Kate Van Winkle, for whose trousseau the parlor throw was made, was born September 1, 1866, in Pennsylvania to Kline and Angeline Streeper Van Winkle. Angeline was Sarah’s eldest daughter. Kate married George F. Grieb May 22, 1888. They had three children and also lived in Pennsylvania. Their granddaughter, Johannah Grieb, donated the elegant parlor throw to the Museum in 1953.
Anna (Mrs. Henry C. Slaymaker) and her two sisters, Mary (Mrs. William Boothe) and Lucy (Mrs. Thomas Speiden) worked on this slumber throw top that was never completed. Anna’s needlework is also represented by two samplers, embroidered when she was 9 and 10, that are in the Textile Collection.
Twenty blocks, 12 or 13 inches each, are pieced using silks, satins and velvets. Except for two blocks with simple embroidery, they are undecorated. The combination of geometric and crazy-patch piecing gives interest to this unfinished top.
Anna was born on October 2, 1842, to John and Mary P. Stabler Leadbeater in Alexandria, Virginia. John, her father, was the owner of the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary in Alexandria. Anna married Henry C. Slaymaker, a Confederate Civil War veteran, on November 6, 1866, and they had three children (Isabel, Henry C. Jr., and Frank).
The donor, Mrs. Clarence Milton Yohn, included a note about Anna's grandfather, Lt. Henry C. Slaymaker. “[He] was only 16 when he served as a civilian informer in 1861 and 1862, carrying messages from Alexandria and Washington, D.C., quilted in his waistcoat and pretending hunting excursions in the woods in order to get to his cousin, Gen. Robert E. Lee. He was about to be hanged in 1862, when he escaped to join the Confederate Army under age.” After the Civil War, Henry Sr. established a dry goods business, but died at 36 of consumption on February 28, 1880. Anna died on February 15, 1906.
Anna’s sister Mary was born in 1839 and married Capt. William Boothe (1818-1894). She died in 1914. Lucy, the third sister, was born about 1838 and married Thomas Speiden. The three sisters were from the family who founded the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Shop, which was operated by family members from 1796 to 1933, when it became a pharmacy museum. The buildings, which date to the early 1800s, have withstood four wars and a major city fire, and currently house the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum in Alexandria, Virginia.
The popularity of the 1937 Walt Disney movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, based on a German fairy tale, inspired this quilt pattern. The movie has been re-released many times. In 1972 Lehman Brothers published a pattern, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,” that is very similar to this quilt. It was advertised as “a perfect quilt for your favorite child. White bearded dwarves [sic] dressed in bright suits, and colorful trees and flowers surround Snow White and the cottage.”
From the early 20th century, kit quilts have been available in the market to save time and/or provide the quilter with assistance in design or color choices. This quilt was made from a kit as evidenced by stamped lines that are still visible along some edges.
The quilt is appliquéd with motifs that include a stylized cottage, trees, and dwarfs, and, of course, Snow White. All of the dwarfs have coral-colored caps and boots, blue tights, yellow shirts, green vests, and white beards. Details are embroidered with satin, outline, daisy, and French knot stitches. The figures are outlined in quilting stitches, 4 stitches per inch. The 7 ½-inch border is quilted with flowers and diagonal lines. The “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” pattern, based on a well-known children’s story and animated movie, made a special quilt to brighten a child’s room.
Jewett Washington Curtis, a career soldier in the U.S. Army, pieced this brilliantly-colored wool bedcover. Its geometric design incorporates the dates “1889” and “1893.” Each corner has a 44-star flag. The central focus, a star, is flanked by five borders on each side and two mirror-image borders at the top and bottom. The entire quilt is pieced of 7/8-inch diamonds consisting of plain- and twill-weave wool. The still-vibrant colors contribute to the overall effect. Needlework was encouraged in the military as an activity for either relieving boredom in lonely postings or as part of physical therapy during hospital stays.
Jewett Washington Curtis was born in Vermont, on March 7, 1847. In 1862, at the age of 14, he enlisted as a musician in Company K, 104th Regiment New York Infantry for a term of three years. He was hospitalized for a short time at Gettysburg in July 1863. He returned to his unit and was discharged in 1865 near Petersburg, Virginia. About five years later, in 1870, he re-enlisted at age 23 in Company B, 11th Regiment U.S. Infantry. Other than a few years between 1886 and 1889, Jewett served in the U.S. military with various units until his retirement in 1899. He died on March 20, 1927 in Walcott, New York.
In a 1922 letter from the State Soldiers Home in Orting, Washington, where Jewett was then living, he summarized his military career. “I enlisted on 8th of March 1862 was assigned to Co K 104th Voll. Infantry as a drummer. Served 3 years was discharged on the 8th day of March 1865 at Pellerburg [Petersburg], Va. I enlisted in the Regular ? Army in 1870 served 24 years was retired from the regular ? Army in 1899 my retired pay as a sergeant is 46 50/100 a month. I am not allowed a pension while on the retired list. Will you please inform me what I will have to do (?) that I may be entitled to a Civil War pension . . . . I have been in two Indian engagements The Souix [Sioux] War in 1877 and the Nes [Nez] Perce War of the same year.” He was unable to apply for a pension based on Civil War service while he was on the retired list.
On June 16, 1895, while he was still serving in the military, Jewett married Mary Putnam (1876-1904) in Mill Plain, Washington. Clark Edward Curtis was born on March 22, 1896, two other children died young. According to the family, after his mother died in 1904, Clark lived with various relatives and wasn’t close to his father. He too at the age of 14 set out on his own and eventually joined the army in World War I. Clark didn’t keep in touch with his father, but when Jewett died he received a trunk with his father's things. This quilt was among the belongings in the trunk. It was assumed by the family that the quilt was made in Skagway, Alaska, one of the places that Jewett was stationed during his career. According to military records, Jewett spent several months in 1885 and 1891 in hospital for rheumatism, and 1892-1893 recovering from a finger amputation. He may have learned needlework skills while convalescing.
At the time of donation, Clark E. Curtis wrote: “It is a eight foot by eight foot blanket . . . . My father Mr. Jewett W. Curtis made it; on the top of the blanket is the date he started 1889, and at the other end is the date he finished 1893. It is all hand stitched with over 400,000 stitches in it . . . . This blanket has been in several state fairs and won many ribbons. . . . I do remember, however, the Portland [Oregon, 1905 Louis and Clark Centennial Exposition] and Seattle [Washington, Alaska-Yukon Pacific Exposition] World Fairs, where it won first place ribbons, at which time I was just a very small child. . . . I would like to get my father’s hand made blanket where it belongs, in an institution for all to enjoy.” Jewett Washington’s precisely pieced and prize-winning bedcover is a stunning example of needlework done by a man.
About 1855 in Northfield, Mass., Charles Torrence Ripley was preparing to move his family and daguerreotyping business to Fond du Lac, Wis. This “Friendship” quilt was made by friends and family for his wife, Lucy Arabella (Holton) Ripley.
Friendship quilts are composed of signed blocks of the same pattern often accompanied by an inscription. These quilts were popular in the mid-19th century when many families were relocating further west and a tangible reminder of those they left behind was in order. It is through the many signatures on this quilt that some of its history can be traced.
Blue and white printed cottons are pieced in the “Friendship Chain” (“Album” or Chimney Sweep”) pattern, and the blocks are set diagonally with a 3 ½ -inch blue-and-white polka-dot sashing. The blocks are partly outline-quilted and many have four “Xs” quilted in the white center area.
The majority of the ink-inscribed blocks (28) are from Massachusetts (mainly Northfield) and New Hampshire. Three name towns in Wisconsin, one dated 1854, and the other two, 1920s. Five other blocks are dated 1901 and 1926 and are inscribed in indelible pencil. It would appear that these were written long after the quilt was made and may indicate a significant date or person to be remembered.
In addition to names, places, and dates, many of the blocks contain verses pertinent to friendship. Adaline Swan from Northfield, Mass., penned this on her block in 1851:
“The storm-cloud comes o’er the autumn sky
And the flow’rets in their beauty die,
But friendship true, is an ever green.
That decayeth not ‘neath a sky serene”
(”True Friendship” by James Aylward 1813-1872)
The verses were taken from many sources and may have appeared in magazines or newspapers of the period.
The name of the Museum's donor, “Ione Ripley, Aug 18, 1926, Kenosha, Wisconsin” is written on one of the blocks in purple indelible pencil. The quilt had been kept in the family of her father, Floyd Stratton Ripley, until Ione donated it in 1956. Floyd Stratton Ripley was the son of Charles Stratton Ripley (1851-1914), who immigrated with his parents (Charles Torrance Ripley and Lucy Arabella Ripley) in 1855 to Fond du Lac, Wis., from Northfield, Mass. The initial recipient of this quilt, Lucy Arabella Holton, was born in 1821 in Northfield, Mass. She married Charles Torrance Ripley (b.1815) in 1847, and moved with her 3-year-old son to Fond du Lac in 1855 and had two more children. Her husband established a studio in Fond du Lac, but died in 1861. Lucy died in 1887. Her daughter-in-law, Florence Fellows Ripley (1863-1926), owned the quilt before Ione. Her name, also in indelible pencil, is noted on a block with the date 1901 and Kenosha, Wisconsin. Most likely the donor, Ione, received this quilt after her great-aunt’s death in July 1926.
The quilt was kept in the family for more than 100 years, and now serves as an example of one way a community created a memento for those who left to settle in the West.
This silk quilt, delicately appliquéd and embroidered with baskets and sprays of fruit and flowers, was made by Mary Jane Green Moran when she was a young bride in Baltimore, Maryland. The blocks are set diagonally and separated by a white silk sashing appliquéd and embroidered with bud-and-leaf vines, echoed by the undulating leafy vine in the border. The silk top is closely quilted, 12 to 15 stitches per inch, to a muslin backing. It was said that 1,001 skeins of silk thread were used in the quilting. A woven and knotted golden-colored silk fringe is stitched to three sides of this example of mid-nineteenth- century needlework.
Mary Jane (Mrs. Dr. Moran) exhibited her needlework at various fairs and exhibitions. Her entries won awards. It was noted in one Maryland Exhibition in 1851 that the silk quilt with scarlet lining she made and exhibited "is entitled to notice for the labor and industry evinced." This quilt in the Collection is a fine example of her work.
At the time of Mary Jane Green’s marriage in 1846 to Dr. Jonathan J. Moran, he was a resident physician at Washington University College Hospital in Baltimore. It was in that capacity that he attended the dying Edgar Allan Poe in October 1849. Dr. Moran in later years wrote several versions of those last hours that he spent with Edgar Allan Poe, and lectured on the topic as well. From the accounts, it appears that Mary Moran also nursed the dying Poe, reading to him as well as preparing his shroud.
After the closing of the hospital in 1851, the Morans moved to Falls Church, Virginia, where they were both active in the community and the Dulin Methodist Episcopal Church. Dr. Jonathan Moran became the first mayor of Falls Church in 1875 and served until 1877. He died in 1888, and Mary Jane died the following year.
This unfinished quilt top, which resembles a “Tic Tac Toe” game, was made by Mary La Follette of Primrose, Wis. Two different 8-inch block patterns were used to create the quilt top---an X and a hollow octagon. Ninety-nine blocks, pieced with roller-printed cottons, are framed by a 1 ¾-inch white border. In 1974, Mary’s granddaughter donated this quilt top that had been in the family.
Mary Ferguson was born in November 1818 in Indiana. She married Alexander Buchanan in 1840, but he died in an accident before their first child, Ellen, was born. In 1846 Mary married Josiah La Follette. After a few years in Indiana they moved in 1849 with their children Ellen (b. 1841), and William (b. 1847) to Primrose County, Wis. They farmed, and two more children Josephine (b. 1853) and Robert Marion (b. 1855) were born. Another son, Marion, born in 1850, died as a toddler in 1853. Mary’s husband, Josiah, died in 1856, a few months after Robert was born. After Mary became a widow for the second time, she worked the farm with her children until 1862, when she married John Saxton (1792-1873). In 1873, after his death, she moved to Madison, Wis, where she died April 21, 1894.
It was her youngest son, Robert or “Fighting Bob” La Follette who became well known in politics. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1885-1891), governor of Wisconsin (1901-1906) and U.S. Senator (1906-1925). He died in Washington, D.C., in 1925.
Among many qualities, Mary was known for her industry, strong character, and active participation in the pioneer life of Primrose, Wis. The quilt top is a reminder of one of her skills, that as a seamstress. Her obituary in the Mt. Horeb Times of April 1894 stated “The brilliant career of her youngest son, from this period on, and the esteem in which her other children were held, must have been a source of pride and comfort to her in her old age.”
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.
Lydia Pearl Finnell may have made this parlor throw for her trousseau. It exemplifies the fancy needlework techniques popular in the late 19th century. Motifs and designs that appear on the throw can be compared with patterns that appear in needlework manuals of the period. The patterns consisted of simple outline drawings, which allowed the user to enhance them to the best of their abilities. Lydia’s talents and schooling are reflected in her elaborate and well-executed interpretations. Highly decorated items, such as this, were often placed in the parlor to display the maker’s needlework skills.
Eighty-two patches of fabric make up this extensively adorned parlor throw. The central irregular patches are framed by an eight-pointed star made of 2-3/8" strips of black silk pile, giving it the name “Star Quilt.” Each patch is decorated with flora (e.g., pansies, sumac, thistle, etc.) or fauna (e.g., frogs, chicks, swans, owls, etc.) motifs. Ruching, and satin, French knot, plush and outline embroidery stitches are among those techniques used to embellish the parlor throw. The competent use of the plush stitch is evident on many of the motifs. This stitch produces loops that are later cut, combed, and sculpted with scissors to give a three dimensional effect to each motif. The lining is red wool embroidered with small daisy motifs. A braid attached to the 2-7/8” border of black silk pile completes the quilt.
Lydia Pearl Finnell was born March 3, 1867, to William and Sarah Irvine Finnell in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. At the age of three, she was sent to live with her Aunt Lize (Eliza Finnell Terhune) and Uncle Boley (William Terhune). They taught her the social graces as well as housekeeping skills, cooking, animal husbandry, and some rudimentary doctoring skills. At the age of 14 or 15 she attended Daughters College in Harrodsburg, where she received an excellent education for the time. This included plain and fancy needlework and the fine arts of canvas and china painting.
Lydia married Bushrod Allin (1871-1942) of Harrodsburg on November 8, 1899. Bushrod and Lydia did not have any children, but raised Mary Forsythe Finnell, the daughter of Lydia's brother Charles Handy Finnell. Lydia died March 31, 1949 and is buried in the Spring Hill Cemetery, Harrodsburg, Kentucky. Lydia’s “Star Quilt” is a unique example of extraordinary design and needlework skills, truly a “star” in the Collection.
In 1883,Fidelia Dickinson created this parlor throw, a veritable textile sampler of silk fabrics from 1783 to 1883. She made it as a wedding present for her daughter Anna, who married Isaac Newton Knapp on December 5,1883. Not only did Fidelia collect all the fabrics, but she made a key to the origins of each.
In 1931 her grandson, Arthur, wrote: “I have recently inherited a patchwork quilt made in 1883. I believe that it is an exceptional example of the quilt work of the time. It is in a perfect state of preservation and the exact history has been preserved of some forty pieces in it. The oldest piece is dated 1783. . . . I would be pleased to give this quilt to the National Museum for preservation, if you are interested.”
Twenty-eight 8 ½-inch crazy-patched blocks are set off by a 5 ½-inch red velvet strip at the top and bottom. Four corner blocks are pieced in fan patterns, a motif often found on throws of the period. In addition there are embroidered motifs of a butterfly, spider web, and flowers. One badge or ribbon was worn by John Northend, Fidelia's son-in-law, on Connecticut’s “Battle Flag Day” in 1879. “Lovers Delight” is stamped on another patch.The throw is lined with a machine-quilted dark red silk and tied every 4 ½ inches with small silk ribbon bows.
The distinguishing feature of this parlor throw is an embroidered number found on various patches. These numbers correspond to a detailed explanation of their source that was included with the donation. Thirty-six of the forty numbered pieces are from items worn on the occasion of their own weddings by relatives and friends of the bride or groom. Some examples are: “Wedding dress of Fidelia S. Hall (who made this quilt). Married Abner Wolcott Dickinson. February 28, 1844.” “Wedding vest of Abner Wolcott Dickinson.” “Wedding dress of Mary Elizabeth Dickinson. Married John Northend, May 6 [22], 1877. A sister.”
The oldest piece was from a “Wedding dress of Eunice Hills. Married Timothy Hall, M.D. April 3 1783 in East Hartford, Connecticut.” There was even a piece of Anna’s gown described as “Wedding dress of Anna Dickinson. Married Isaac Newton Knapp. December 5, 1883. Afterwards part of the wedding trousseau of Bessie Knapp Pierce [their daughter] in 1909.” Items from parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, cousins, and friends are included. The wedding present that Fidelia crafted for her daughter is a textile version of a family tree.
Fidelia S. Hall was born July 12, 1824, in East Glastonbury, Hartford, Conn. She was the daughter of Betsy Wells (1802-) and Austin Hall (1798-1851). Fidelia married Abner Wolcott Dickinson (1820-1903) on February 28, 1844. They lived in Connecticut and raised nine children. Daughter Sarah Anna (referred to as Anna), was born February 18, 1854. Anna taught school before her marriage to Isaac Newton Dickinson (1851-1930) in 1883. They had five children and lived in Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. Fidelia died March 20, 1909, and is buried in the Wassuc Cemetery, New Britain, Hartford, Conn. Anna died August 15, 1931, in Paris, France, and is buried in Washington, D.C.
Fidelia fashioned her wedding present to her daughter not only as a lovely item for Anna's home, but also as a very personal textile document connecting Anna to her family and friends.
Sarah Elizabeth Smedley Henderson carefully crafted this silk parlor throw with a date of 1883. It was donated to the Collection in 1939 by her sister, Blanche Smedley-von Daur. Along with a third sister, Matilda Smedley, Sarah and Blanche were active in establishing the American National Institute in Paris.
While living in Paris in the early 1890s, Matilda organized a successful program to assist young American women who were studying in France. She returned from France in the mid-1890s to expand this work. From modest beginnings, an Institute was established to aid struggling American art students in Paris. It was estimated in 1895 that over 3000 young women were studying in Paris. Matilda was the resident director of the Institute, which helped with living accomodations and provided a meeting place for the students. In 1908 bill was introduced in Congress to convert the New York-incorporated American National Institute to a Federal corporation, although the bill never became law.
Plain-, pattern-woven, ribbed, watered and printed silks as well as velvet and plush fabrics, are found on this parlor throw. The crazy-patchwork frames a center square of pansies printed on velvet. Typical embroidered motifs, mainly floral, some painted motifs, and a Kate Greenaway printed vignette decorate the patches. The date, 1883, and a few initials are embroidered on the throw. Feather, straight, buttonhole, French knot, satin, stem, detached chain, chain, and herringbone stitches embellish the crazy-patchwork. It is lined with a printed wool fabric of plumed leaves and flowers in an imitation of a warp-print fabric. A dark red velvet 4-inch border completes the throw.
Sarah born about 1866, and her sisters Blanche and Matilda were from Ireland. Sarah, according to the 1920 census, immigrated to the United States in 1886. Blanche and Matilda are shown on the passenger list of the ship Etruria that arrived in New York from England and Ireland in October 1886. Sarah married William Henderson about 1890. The couple had three children, William, James and Sarah Evelyn. It is not clear whether the date, 1883, that is found on the parlor throw is necessarily the date it was made, or a date significant for some other reason, as is sometimes the case.