QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-354

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_0020

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:

The present owner of this quilt is the granddaughter of the quiltmaker.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Rails through the Mountains

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

New York Beauty, Rocky Mountain Road, Crown of Thorns

How wide is the quilt?

69 in.

How long is the quilt?

89 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Rounded

What color is the quilt?

Green; Orange; Red; White

Antique colors:

Cheddar Orange or Antimony or Chrome Orange

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Quilt's condition:

Very good/almost new

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:

1871

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

1871

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Karey Bresenhan

Further information concerning dates:

Quilt was made when quilter was sixteen, 1871, for her trousseau.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

8 full blocks

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

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:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

Very complex piecing in fan-shaped corners, elaborate sashing, and use of some 2,544 small triangles.

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

no

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

What color is the back of the quilt?

White

Describe the back:

Same fabric used throughout; Solid/plain

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

Describe the binding:

red piping inserted into binding as it was applied.

How is the binding made?

Hand sewn; Straight grain

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

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Grid diamond

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Other

Describe the quilting designs used:

Heavy quilting adds texture. Hearts in counterpane between fans are double quilted each time the curve meets the straight sawtooth strip and again at each sun motif. Sharp diamond grid pattern quilted at center of blocks and in sashing.

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

Quilt remains bright and crisp. This quilt differs from New York Beauty pattern in its use of more complex pieces in the fan-shaped corners, the sashing, and the unusally small triangles. there are 2544 of these triangles in this quilt. Quilt is finished with heavy quilted, adding texture. Use of hearts may indicate quilt may have been made for an engagement or weddding.

Quilt top made by:

Williams, Ellen Priscilla Miller

Quilted by:

Williams, Ellen Priscilla Miller

Where the quilt was made, county:

Monroe

Where the quilt was made, state:

Kentucky (KY)

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 made by Ellen Priscilla Williams (1855-1928) when she was sixteen and living in Kentucky. Family history states that she made the quilt when she was engaged, but her fiancee died before their wedding could be held. Ellen Priscilla did marry, in 1879 to James Buchanan Williams, and the couple moved to Ellis County, Texas in 1891, where he farmed and she raised six children. The present owner inherited the quilt from her first cousin.

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

The quiltmaker made each of her six children a woolen coverlet. According to the family, "She reared and sheared the sheep, carded the wool, spun it into thread, and wove coverlets, all while rearing her family."

Why was the quilt made?

Wedding

Details about why the quilt was made:

quiltmaker made the quilt for her trousseau

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?

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,” 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. 62-63.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Lovelace, Mrs. R. C.

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Miller, Ellen Priscilla

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

09/02/1855

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Kentucky

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

02/11/1928

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

farmer

Number of children:

6

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

3

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

3

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 11-19

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Necessity; Pleasure

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale

Details

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