QUILT INDEX RECORD
23-19-634
Where are the records for this quilt housed?
University of Rhode Island
Who documented this quilt?
Rhode Island Quilt Documentation Project
Rhode Island Quilt Documentation Project Number:
51
Person filling out this form is:
Quilt owner
When was the form filled out?
03/07/1992
Choose the best description of the source to the quilt:
Quilt owner
If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?
Inherited
This is a:
Finished quilt
Quilt's title:
Bear's Paw
How wide is the quilt?
84 inches
How long is the quilt?
95 inches
Shape of edge:
Straight
Shape of corners:
Straight
What color is the quilt?
White; Red; Brown
Overall color scheme:
Multicolor
Quilt's condition:
Good/moderate use
Damage:
Stains
Time period:
1876-1900
Family/owner's date for quilt:
Late 1800s
Fiber types used to make the quilt top:
Cotton
Fabric types used to make the quilt top:
Unknown
Fabric styles used in the quilt top:
Print; Solid/plain
Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:
Hand Piecing
Materials used to make the back:
Cotton
What color is the back of the quilt?
Gray
Materials used in the quilt binding:
Cotton
How is the binding made?
Hand sewn; Straight grain
What kind of filling is used in the quilt?
Cannot tell
How thick is the quilt?
Thin (Less than 3/16?)
How are the layers held together?
Hand quilting
Color of thread used in the quilting:
brown
Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:
5 per inch
Quilting designs used, overall motifs:
Outline
Quilt top made by:
Brown, Mercy Lena
Quilted by:
Brown, Mercy Lena
Where the quilt was made, city:
Exeter
Where the quilt was made, state:
Rhode Island (RI)
Where the quilt was made, country:
United States
How was this quilt acquired?
Inheritance
Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:
Passed down through family on father's side.
Why was the quilt made?
Unknown
The quilt was made to be used for:
Unknown
Quilt is presently used as:
Unknown
Where did the maker get their materials?
Unknown
Where did the maker find their pattern?
Unknown
Where did the quiltmaker find the pattern for the quilting design on the quilt?
Unknown
Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:
Quilt show of Narragansett Bay Quilters ca. 1982 (unknown date and name); "Nineteenth-Century Patchwork in Rhode Island," Vermont Quilts Festival, Northfield, VT, July 8-July 10, 1994.
Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:
Fig. 136.Welters, Linda and Margaret Ordonez (eds.), Down by the Old Mill Stream, Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2000. pp. 255-257. Dimock-Quaglia, Cynthia. "The 'Vampire' Quilt: A Material-Culture Study." Uncoverings 20 (1999): 159-83.
Ownership of this quilt is:
Private
Quilt owner's state:
Rhode Island (RI)
Quilt owner's country:
United States
Quiltmaker's maiden name:
Brown
Quiltmaker's gender:
Female
Quiltmaker's birth date:
1873
Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:
Exeter
Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:
Rhode Island
Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:
United States
Quiltmaker's date and place of death:
01/17/1892
Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:
English
In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?
Rural
Quiltmaker's father's name:
Brown, George T.
Quiltmaker's mother's name:
Brown, Mary E.
Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:
Quiltmaker believed to be a vampire by the townspeople. When Mercy died of consumption, like her mother and sister before her, her brother began to get sick as well. Mercy's body was exhumed to see if she had blood in her heart, in which case she was a vampire and may be draining her brother of life. The heart was found to have blood, so it was burned in the graveyard and the ashes were mixed into a concoction for her brother to drink. He died of consumption three months later.
Who photographed this quilt?
RIQDP
Access and copyright information:
Restricted
Copyright holder:
Linda Welters, Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design, University of Rhode Island
Cite this Quilt
Brown, Mercy Len. Bear's Paw. 1876-1900. From University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island Quilt Documentation Project. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=23-19-634. Accessed: 03/29/24