QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-9

Who documented this quilt?

Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association, Texas Quilt Search

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin

Texas Quilt Search Number:

tqs_0048

Person filling out this form is:

Daughter of quiltmaker; Quilt owner; Other

Source of the information on this quilt:

This quilt was identified and reviewed during the Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association's Texas Quilt Search, 1983-1985. Karey Bresenhan served as quilt historian.

When was the form filled out?

1983-1985

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

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

The quiltmaker was the mother of the present owner of this quilt.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Harrison Rose

How wide is the quilt?

74 in.

How long is the quilt?

85 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Gold; Green; Pink; White

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Quilt's condition:

Good/moderate use

Damage:

Discoloration or dyes ran; Stains; Tears or holes

Repairs:

Tear or hole sewn together

Notes on condition, damage, or repairs:

In 1985, as part of the preparations for the “Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1836-1936” exhibit in the Texas Capitol Rotunda, the Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association sponsored a Quilt Conservation Seminar. Part of the seminar was a two-day intensive hands-on laboratory attended by quilt experts who stabilized, backed, or otherwise prepared the quilts, including this one, for this exhibition.

Time period:

1876-1900

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1898-1900

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

1895-1900

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Karey Bresenhan

Further information concerning dates:

Karey believes quilt top was pieced and appliqued at one time and then quilted and bound later, probably after 1900 because of the use of an unusual large floral printed backing fabric which resembles cretonne.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

16

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Separated by cornerstones or connecting blocks sashing (different fabric in intersection); Separated by inner only sashing (no sashing along outer edge of outer blocks); Separated by pieced pattern sashing

Describe the quilt setting:

blocks set straight but Harrison Rose motif set on point

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

1

What is the shape of the quilt blocks?

Squares

Number of borders:

2

Describe the borders:

double border of gold and red strips at quilt bottom; double border of gold and green strips at quilt top; no borders at sides

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Can you feel or see paper on the quilt that was used as a construction aid?

no

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

Description of the back:

resembles cretonne

What color is the back of the quilt?

Pink

Describe the back:

Print; Same fabric used throughout

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?

less than a half inch

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Cotton

How thick is the quilt?

Thin (Less than 3/16?)

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Thread type used for the quilting:

cotton

Color of thread used in the quilting:

white

Can you see any knots on the front or back of the quilt?

no

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline; Other

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Other

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Other

Describe the quilting designs used:

Six five-pointed Texas stars surround each rose in each block; one five-pointed star in each rose colored block as sashing junctions.

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

Vivid quilt featuring curved-seam piecing and applique. The actual flowers are pieced; each bloom consists of 33 pieces before the stem and leaves are added--altogether the roses account for some 500 pieces. Flowers are combined in a tri-color gridwork with rose squares at each intersection. Note that orientation of inner red, gold, and white petals changes randomly and that two of the rosebuds feature different colors: one is yellow and one is pink--all others are rose.

Quilt top made by:

Dickerson, Almeda Bell

Quilted by:

Dickerson, Almeda Bell

Where the quilt was made, city:

Brookeland

Where the quilt was made, county:

Sabine

Where the quilt was made, state:

Texas (TX)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Inheritance

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

Almeda Bell was born in Sabine County, Texas in 1880. She married in 1901 and had her first child in 1902. The present owner of the quilt, Rebecca Doris Dickerson Radde, believes her mother made this quilt between 1898 and 1900, but possibly finished it as late as 1908. She notes "My mother always had it. I was the only child to live to be grown. So it became mine."

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

The quiltmaker was related to five of the families who were early settlers in the East Texas area now located within a 25 mile radius of the present location of Sam Rayburn Dam. The Dickersons moved to Texas in 1840 and the Bell family came in 1854. These two families, as well as Letneys, Lowes, and Magees, settled in San Augustine, Sabine, Jasper, Newton, and Nacogdoches counties. Almeda Dickerson attended "all the small schools available and wanted to go to Sam Houston Teachers Normal at Huntsville." Family members apparently objected, but Almeda nonetheless took examinations and received a teaching certificate for the second grade. She taught one year before she married. Her mother taught her to knit and sew. From about sixteen years old she made clothing. Almeda also embroidered and crocheted some examples of her work survive in the family.

Why was the quilt made?

Art or personal expression

The quilt was made to be used for:

Bedding, special occasion

Quilt is presently used as:

Keepsake/memento

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Public domain/traditional pattern

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

One of 62 Texas quilts exhibited in “Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1836-1936,” Texas State Capitol Rotunda, Austin, Texas, April 19-21, 1986.

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

Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association’s Texas Quilt Search Archives

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

Bresenhan, Karoline Patterson and Nancy O'Bryant Puentes, Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, Vol. I, 1836-1936 (Austin: University of Texas Press), p. 118-119.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Rebecca Doris Dickerson Radde

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Bell, Almeda

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

05/16/1880

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

Sabine

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Texas

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):

1901

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

11/20/1965

Quiltmaker's occupation:

teacher for 1 year, homemaker

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

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

Dickerson, [unknown]

Number of children:

several

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

1

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

From Relative

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 11-19

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale

Details

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