QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-15

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_0054

Person filling out this form is:

Blood relative 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:

This folk art quilt was made by the grandmother of the present owner.

Owner's name for quilt:

Crazy Quilt

How wide is the quilt?

82 1/2 in.

How long is the quilt?

70 1/2 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Beige or Tan; Black; Brown

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor; Dark colors

Quilt's condition:

Very good/almost new

Damage:

Tears or holes

Describe the damage:

small holes

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.

Type of inscription:

Date; Initials

What is inscribed on the quilt?

M.C.F. IMF DWF Havie March 1911

Method used to make the inscription:

Embroidery

Location of inscription:

on block

Time period:

1901-1929

When was the quilt finished?

1911

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1911

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

1911

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Karey Bresenhan

Further information concerning dates:

dated

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Subject of the quilt:

family life and scenes on a Texas farm ca. early 1900s

Number of quilt blocks:

patches of various sizes

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Side by side

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

every block is different

Number of borders:

1

Describe the borders:

On all sides: rectangular blocks in black, brown and tan pieced side to side and embroidered in different colors with three-leaf clovers.

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Wool

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Multiple scrap; Solid/plain

Describe the fibers or fabrics in the quilt top:

men's woolen suit fabrics; probably from sample books (evidence of holes and glue in corners of blocks)

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing; Machine Piecing

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

Blocks are pieced together then embroidered with designs and figures that record quiltmaker's family history.

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

no

Materials used to make the back:

Flannel

Description of the back:

print flannel in pale green, beige, purple, and teal.

What color is the back of the quilt?

Green

Describe the back:

Print; Same fabric used throughout

How is the binding made?

Edges turned in/ no separate binding; Machine sewn

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?

No filling

How are the layers held together?

Not quilted

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

A carefully executed woolen Crazy quilt whose embroidery tells the story of the quiltmaker's life and family on a Texas farm in the early 1900s. The quiltmaker could neither read nor write, yet this quilt is packed with family history. Images include the china lamp the quilt maker's husband gave her that she cherished but never used for fear of fire; her youngest son's pet javelina hog Havie, which terrorized the farm; a memorial block for her baby daughter Martha, whose death in infancy caused the quiltmaker's hair to turn white at age 22; the Percheron horses and Hampshire sheep raised by her son; the two horses "borrowed" one night by the outlaw Younger brothers; three blocks her young grandchildren embroidered with their names or initials when visiting one summer; a patch of flowers she watered daily as she tossed out the dishwater; an old fashioned "morning glory" gramophone; five-pointed Texas stars of every variety; and a Lone Star flag. Perhaps the most fascinating story behind one of the blocks is the story of the centipede. As the quilt owner tells it, "When my father, John Hicks Florence, was about a year and a half old, Grandma Julie had to take him with her when she worked in the garden. One day he screamed, and when she reached him, she found that he had picked up a centipede and put it in his mouth. This caused him to have what is called a 'Geographical Tongue.' Although I was the baby and the eighth child to be born in the family, I inherited my father's 'Geographical Tongue.'"

Quilt top made by:

Florence, Julia Savannah Beaty

Where the quilt was made, city:

Mesquite

Where the quilt was made, county:

Dallas

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:

This quilt was passed down in the Florence family from the quilt maker to her oldest son. He passed it on to his daughter, the present owner, Zenaide Florence McDaniels. She writes that "I was so young when my grandmother died that I did not feel a closeness to her. But since her quilt was chosen for this book [Bresenhan, Karoline Patterson and Nancy O'Bryant Puentes, Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, Vol. I, 1836-1936], I have made a minute study of each square in the quilt and now feel a personal, loving relationship with her. Now I know where I inherited my love of animals, wildlife, and all aspects of nature."

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

Julia Savannah Beaty was born in 1850 in Arkansas and orphaned at age four. She was reared by a family in Grand Saline in Van Zandt County, Texas, where she met and married David Walker Florence in 1866. The couple established a homestead in Mesquite in 1871, two years before the town was even platted; the family ranch is recorded as a Texas historical landmark. Julia Florence died in 1914 at age sixty-four.

Why was the quilt made?

Art or personal expression

Details about why the quilt was made:

commemorates family history

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?

Other

Describe the sources of the quilt's materials:

fabric samples for men's wool suits; probably from sample books

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Original to maker

Describe the source of the pattern:

family history

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. 130-131.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Zenaide Florence McDaniels

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Beaty, Julia Savannah

Quiltmaker's birth date:

1850

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Arkansas

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):

1866

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

1914

Quiltmaker's occupation:

homemaker

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:

rancher

Number of children:

3

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

1

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

2

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Pleasure

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale

Details

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