QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-352

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_0019

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner; Relative of quiltmaker; 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 present owner of this quilt is the great granddaughter of the quiltmaker.

This is a:

Other

Describe the item:

Quilt top, simple bound; no back.

Owner's name for quilt:

Log Cabin, Courthouse Steps

How wide is the quilt?

64 in.

How long is the quilt?

74 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Beige or Tan; Brown; Cream; Red

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor; Light or pastel colors; Dark colors

Quilt's condition:

Good/moderate use

Describe the damage:

frayed wool; general wear

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:

1850-1875

Family/owner's date for quilt:

ca. 1869

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

ca. 1870

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Karey Bresenhan

Further information concerning dates:

Family believes this quilt was part of the wedding trousseau for Martha Virginia Morris, who was married Feb. 11, 1869.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

72

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Side by side

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

1

What is the shape of the quilt blocks?

Squares

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Wool; Other

Fabric types used to make the quilt top:

Velvet

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Foundation Piecing; Hand Piecing

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

no

Description of the back:

no back

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Wool

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:

Center blocks are deep wine-colored velvet; wool "logs" are handpieced; simply bound, but not backed.

Quilt top made by:

Moore, Martha Virginia Morris

Where the quilt was made, city:

Florence

Where the quilt was made, county:

Williamson

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:

Quiltmaker Martha Virginia (Virgie) Morris was born in 1847 in Tennessee. She moved with her mother and siblings to Travis County, Texas, after her father died in 1852. Two years later the family moved to the head of Berry's Creek, near Florence, eighteen miles northwest of Georgetown in Williamson County. Martha Virginia married Civil War veteran John Thomas Moore on February 11, 1869; this quilt is said to have been part of her trousseau. The couple later moved to Ballinger, Runnels County, where they lived until Martha Virginia's death in 1912. The quilt was handed down in the family, and its current owner, great granddaughter Mary Love Berryman, inherited it from her mother.

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

The quiltmaker was known as an expert needleworker, as were her two daughters.

Why was the quilt made?

Wedding

The quilt was made to be used for:

Bedding, daily use

Quilt is presently used as:

Keepsake/memento

Where did the maker get their materials?

Unknown

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,”

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. 60-61.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Berryman, Mary Love

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Morris, Martha Virginia

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

09/07/1847

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Texas

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):

02/11/1869

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

03/18/1912

Quiltmaker's occupation:

homemaker

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Morris, John

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Morris, Sarah E. Frame

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

Moore, John Thomas

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

blacksmith

Number of children:

4

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

4

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale