QUILT INDEX RECORD

2-33-36

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Signature Quilt Pilot Project

Who documented this quilt?

Signature Quilt Project Public Submission

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Odd Fellows Signature Quilt

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Odd Fellows Quilt, Double Irish Chain (repair)

Brackman # or other source & #:

2414

How wide is the quilt?

69 1/4 inches

How long is the quilt?

76 5/8 inches

What color is the quilt?

Green

Antique colors:

Double Pink; Madder Brown; Madder Red or Cinnamon Red

Type of inscription:

Multiple Names

What is inscribed on the quilt?

All 30 blocks appear to have been signed, at one time. We determined this by taking a Black light and holding it over the center of each block. We could see faint markings and lines, but could not make out any other signatures. The following names are stamped or stenciled: 1A) Minetta E. Hobbs 1B) Irene Glennon 1C) I. Glines 1D) P. ______________ 1E) blank 2A) blank 2B) blank 2C) blank 2D) S.J. Kelley 2E) blank 3A) Christian or Christine I. Webster 3B) Lizzie A. Hobbs 3C) Antonia ? Howe 3D) C. Glines (who is Celia Glines) 3E) Eliza C. Glines 4A) blank 4B) A.E. Farrar 4C) Irena J. Glines 4D) H.S. Elleiott (strange spelling) 4E) Eliza C. Glines 5A) Eliza L. Glines 5B) S. Rosebrook 5C) blank 5D) Charles Pillsbury 5E) blank 6A) L.E. Moody 6B) blank 6C) blank 6D) C. Glines 6E) Irena L. Glines

Method used to make the inscription:

Stamped; Stencil

Location of inscription:

on block

Time period:

Timespan

Date estimated by an antique dealer, quilt historian or appraiser:

2nd half - 19th century

Further information concerning dates:

Some of the signers' names show up in the 1860 and 1880 census. The name Charles Pillsbury is listed as an American Civil War Soldier, drafted into Company D, 16th Infantry Reg., Union, Maine in 1864. He was 25 in 1861.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Floral; Plaid; Print; Striped

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Other applique

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

There is a separate binding made of muslin.

Features or notes about the quilt's appearance, materials, or construction:

One block that has a Madder Brown print has disintegrated greatly, to the point that someone made an Irish chain block in Poison Green and Double Pink and appliquéd the block over the other one with a whipstitch method.

Where the quilt was made, city:

Lancaster, NH ??

Where the quilt was made, county:

Carroll or Coos County

Where the quilt was made, state:

New Hampshire

Where the quilt was made, province:

Lunenburg, Vermont ??

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

Describe anything about the history of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:

I am looking into the possible reason this quilt was made by researching the individuals who signed it and learning of their possible connections. For example, "Eliza J. Glines," b. 1843, was 27 in 1870 and still lived with her mother "Irena Glines," another signer of the quilt. Eliza C. Glines, b. 1825, lived with L.E. Moody (Lucy Etta Moody)in 1910, as an 85 year old widow. Her son-in-law, Elias M. Moody was head of the household.

Why was the quilt made?

Autograph or friendship

Describe the source of the pattern:

Unknown

Commercial name of the pattern for the top:

Orange Judd Farmer: Odd Fellow's Quilt

Describe anything about the design of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:

The inscriptions are located in the center of the blocks. I have been in contact with the Lunenburg, VT Historical Society and hope to follow up with that. I also plan to go to the NH Vital Statistics office and pull birth records. These are preliminary steps planned.

Quilt owner's name:

Patricia Cummings

Quilt owner's city:

Concord

Quilt owner's state:

New Hampshire

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

I contacted the Lunenburg, VT Historical Society and received the following e-mail, re: the quilters: Dear Patricia, I apologize for the length of time it has taken me to respond, but I have been out of state. My typical response time is quite a bit shorter; I hope I have not inconvenienced you. The main church congregation in Lunenburg in the mid 1800s was the Congregational Church. Our Society has records from some years in that time period but these sources are not available for public use. One of our members would be pleased to check any names for you, if you would care to supply them. Public records for the town of Lunenburg are housed with our town clerk, Patricia Scott. Her office is located in the center of Lunenburg on Route 2, directly across from the town common. Currently she has summer hours which are Monday - Friday 8:30 AM - noon. After Labor Day, she will be open in the afternoons as well, Monday - Thursday 1-3. The clerk records include birth, death, and marriage for residents. There are also land deeds. In a town fire many years ago, some birth, death, and marriage records were lost for some years in the 1800s. Our town cemeteries also offer some evidence of residency. Only one has a registry and that is only complete to the mid 1900s. The two other cemeteries have residents from the late 1700s. Our village cemetery (located in the center of town by the town common) has suffered much damage from fallen trees and vandals over the past few years, but most of the headstones are easy to locate and read. You did not give your location, but if a visit to Lunenburg with time to investigate the records and cemeteries is not something you can manage, members of our Society would be happy to assist you. We are a volunteer organization and research can take us many months to complete, but often that time frame is tolerable. Regarding the contributors to your quilt - one that the Society owns, and others we've seen, have contributors from Dalton, NH, the Gilman section of Lunenburg being just across the Connecticut River. Historic documents from the 1800s show day visits to and from friends in Lancaster, NH, so it is possible that contributors could be from Lancaster. Their historical society possibly could check names in their available documents for you. It is also possible that we are familiar with the family from whose estate the quilt came. If you were able to acquire that information, it may quickly and more easily yield some answers! I hope I have helped you some. Please don't hesitate to seek further information if I have not addressed all your questions adequately. Christine Lingley, secretary Researcher's Note: I have sent a list of names of the quilt signers, in so far as they can be determined, and plan to visit Lancaster, NH and Lunenburg, VT, at my earliest convenience. ~Patricia~ Further correspondence from Christine indicates that a Reverend Glines and his family lived in Lunenburg, but no other information whatsoever was mentioned. I went to the Bureau of Vital Records in Concord, NH, to see if I could find birth records for any of the names on the quilt. I find that 19th century birth records are incomplete. I found a few improbably matches, and one interesting one: Minetta F. Hobbs, born 11/9/1863 in Carroll, NH. It remains to be seen if this is the same "Minetta." I can see that I've only just begun to research this!

Description of quilt:

This 30 block quilt in 19th century hues was made for a four poster bed. Nineteen of the blocks are signed. Signatures have been lost on 11 of the blocks. There is faint evidence that most, if not all of the blocks, had been signed and the signature has now faded away.

Essay:

We found this quilt to purchase in a northern New Hampshire quilt shop. I had not had an opportunity to purchase a signature quilt, up to that point in time, and I liked the nineteenth century fabrics. Of course, I wondered who had signed the quilt and if I could possibly find out. The dealer told us that the quilt had been purchased in Lunenburg, VT, not far from the NH border, and that recognized family names from both locations. I am still trying to find some solid connections and information about this quilt, but those sites are not next door. Perhaps next summer we can travel to the area. I like the patch (the Double Irish Chain block). It is such a wacky "fix" as it doesn't really fit in with the rest of the quilt, block-wise or color-wise. It does cover a severely-wrecked block underneath.

Who photographed this quilt?

James G. Cummings

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

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