QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-7100

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project; Dearborn Historical Museum Collection

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

85.1261

Object label:

Rocky Road to Kansas

Essay:

This quilt consists of 30 pieced blocks separated by sashes, in a pattern known as Rocky Road to Kansas. The blocks have been put together by hand and are made of leftover scraps of fabrics from men's shirts and women's dresses. An interesting feature is the "whisker guard" at the head of the quilt.

Owner's name for the quilt:

Rocky Road to Kansas

When was the form filled out?

5/22/1985

Quilt top made by:

Ross, Elizabeth Wilson

If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?

Received as a gift

Where the quilt was made, city:

Dearborn

Where the quilt was made, county:

Wayne

Where the quilt was made, state:

Michigan (MI)

Time period:

1850-1875

When was the quilt finished?

c1870

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's city:

Dearborn

Quiltmaker's county:

Wayne

Quiltmaker's state:

Michigan (MI)

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

McFadden

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

1900

Number of children:

7

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

72 1/2"

How long is the quilt?

79"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

30

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

pieced of assorted fabrics

How are the layers held together?

Tied or tufted

Where did the maker get their materials?

Sewing scraps

Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:

Michigan Quilts, fig. 41, p. 42 Uncoverings - A Legacy of Dearborn Quilmakers, by Margaret Malanyn, p.28. "Fifteen Dearborn Quilts", Uncoverings 1982, by Margaret Malanyn, p.87-100.

Publications (including web sites) where this quilt or maker was featured:

One image of Elizabeth Wilson McFadden Ross and one image of Nathaniel Ross

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public-Other

Quilt owner's name:

Dearborn Historical Museum

Quilt owner's city:

Dearborn

Quilt owner's county:

Wayne

Quilt owner's state:

Michigan (MI)

How was this quilt acquired?

Gift

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

She willed the family house, contents and land to the City of Dearborn in 1950. Mary Elizabeth Ross

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

How did the quiltmaker participate in the creation of the quilt?

Made entire quilt

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum