QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-7307

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project; Michigan State University Museum Collection

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

85.1642

If this quilt is owned by a museum, enter the accession number:

1998:53.78

Object label:

Pyramids
Matilda Vary, piecer, Mary Schafer, finishing
Ida Pullum, quilter
Top c1876, Finishing 1980
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#1998:53.78

Essay:

Within the Pyramids quilt, one can find Centennial fabrics. These were patriotic fabrics created to commemorate the 1876 Centennial.

Owner's name for the quilt:

Pyramids

Biography of the quiltmaker?

This quilt was made between 1870-80 by Matilda Godfrey Vary (my husbands grandmother). It had been unused until recently because no one especially liked the pineapple color signed Mary Vary. The Vary-Godfrey-McCrory families all settled in the Marshall-Ceresco-Battle Creek area, and like most Michigan settlers of the early 1800s the majority came from New York state, from families who in turn had moved from the coastal states as settlements moved westward. Isabella Godfrey (1816-1892) married David Godrey, Ceresco. They had two daughters Matilda Godfrey (1848-1924) and Isabelle Godfrey. Matilda (Tillie) married Edmund Vary and had two sons, Clarence Vary (m. E. Janette Phelps) and Edwin Vary (m. Mary Burns). Isabelle Godfrey married Edwin Allen and had a daughter Matilda Allen (m. Howard E. Coffin). Edwin Vary had two daughters, Anne Allison Vary (m. Gerald Robbins) and Janette Phelps Vary (m. Harry Kutten). Isabel McCrory Godfrey made each of her daughters, Matilda (Tillie) and Isabelle (Belle) identical "crazy quilt" couch throws, except that each has a panel near the center embroidered with the daughter's name. The quilts are of silks and velvets, with a wide band of wine colored velvet around the edge, backed with a rather heavy border. I came into possession of both quilts, because Matilda Allen Coffin had no children, so gave her mother's quilt (which says "Belle") to Emma Janette Vary for her grand-daughters, and to keep it in the family. This quilt is now in the possession of Anne Vary Robbins, my older daughter, who lives in Manitowoc, WI. The other quilt, "TIllie"'s I am keeping for my younger daughter Janette Vary Kutter, who is "Tillie's" great-grand-daughter. I am sure there must be dozens (hundreds!) of Michigan-made quilts - finding them and documenting would be a fascinating project. I am sure you have already checked such membership lists as D.A.R., Colonial Dames, various historical societies and churchs, etc. Mrs. S. said you were particularly interested in appliqued quilts - those of course had a great revival around 1920 when they were much in vogue; and of course they, in turn, would be 65-70 years old now, but might be easier to track down now in 1985. I hope some of this will be of interest to you - if you plan to be in Flint soon, perhaps you would like to see Tillie's quilt. Sincerely Mary B. Vary

When was the form filled out?

9/9/1985

Quilt top made by:

Vary, Matilda

Other people who worked on this quilt:

Mary added the border and arranged for the quilting.

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

Purchased the quilt

Where the quilt was made, city:

Ceresco

Where the quilt was made, county:

Calhoun

Where the quilt was made, state:

Michigan (MI)

When was the quilt started?

C. 1876

When was the quilt finished?

ca 1980

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's city:

Ceresco

Quiltmaker's county:

Calhoun

Quiltmaker's state:

Michigan (MI)

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Godfrey

Quiltmaker's birth date:

1848

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

1924

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Godrey, David

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Godfrey, Isabella McCrory

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and /or partner's/partners' name(s):

Vary, Edmund

Number of children:

2

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

2

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

82"

How long is the quilt?

97"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Describe the quilt's layout:

One patch or allover

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Number of borders:

1

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

2

How is the binding made?

Bias grain

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Polyester

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Parallel lines

Describe the quilting designs used:

Outline/Ditch

Describe the sources of the quilt's materials:

Original fabrics include 1876 Centennial prints.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

The Mary Schafer Collection: A Legacy of Quilt History, East Lansing, MI, July 29-December 31, 2001, Michigan State University Museum; Mary Schafer Quilt Exhibit, Whaley House, July 11-13, 18-20, 25-27, 1980

Source of the information on this quilt:

Museum employee

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public- Michigan State University Museum

Quilt owner's name:

Michigan State University Museum

Quilt owner's city:

East Lansing

Quilt owner's county:

Ingham

Quilt owner's state:

Michigan (MI)

How was this quilt acquired?

Purchase

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Who photographed this quilt?

KEVA

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum