QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-356

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_0022

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 great grandson of the quiltmaker.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Wild Goose Chase

How wide is the quilt?

86 1/2 in.

How long is the quilt?

74 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Rounded

What color is the quilt?

Brown; Gold; White

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Quilt's condition:

Good/moderate use

Damage:

Stains

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; Message

What is inscribed on the quilt?

TWC M.E. Aiken / When this you see think of me Nov 1874

Method used to make the inscription:

In the quilting; Other

Describe the method used to inscribe the quilt:

quilted in to one of the plain blocks

Location of inscription:

on block

Time period:

1850-1875

When was the quilt finished?

1874

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1874

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

1874

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Karey Bresenhan

Further information concerning dates:

date is quilted onto the quilt

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

21 pieced; 21 white-work

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Alternating with plain squares

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

2

What is the shape of the quilt blocks?

Squares

Number of borders:

3

Describe the borders:

three borders on each side, one each in brown, white, and gold, with Nine Patch blocks, also in white, gold, and brown, at each corner.

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric types used to make the quilt top:

Muslin

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:

Orderly quilt with 21 pieced blocks, each containing 166 small triangles, alternating with heavily quilted white blocks. he brown triangles are pieced in each block to link with those in other blocks, giving the quilt an overall grid look.

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

no

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

Describe the back:

Same fabric used throughout; Solid/plain

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

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

less than a half inch

How wide is the binding (measure on the top only)?

thin brown binding

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:

Outline

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Floral

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Other

Describe the quilting designs used:

Counterpane blocks are each quilted with different motifs, including hearts, flowerpots, leaves; outline quilting on triangles and around edge of plain blocks.

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

Geometric precision is impressive. Quilted inscription is done as though handwritten. 3,480 pieced triangles demonstrate skill of quiltmaker.

Quilt top made by:

Means, Margaret E. Aiken Cody

Quilted by:

Means, Margaret E. Aiken Cody

Where the quilt was made, city:

Jackson

Where the quilt was made, state:

Georgia (GA)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Inheritance

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

Quiltmaker Margaret E. Aiken made this quilt for her marriage to T. W. Cody, quilting both their initials into one of its blocks. The quilt passed first to their daughter Carrie Cody Likes, then on to Marion Virginia Means, who was probably her daughter-in-law from her second marriage. Myrtle Means was the mother of the present owner.

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

The quiltmaker made this quilt for her marriage to T. W. Cody in 1874. The couple had one daughter, Carrie, in 1876, prior to leaving Jackson, Georgia, for Lampasas, Texas. Mrs. Cody was widowed, then married a second time, to Ruben Lee Means, with whom she had four children by 1899. In 1901 the family moved to Valentine, Texas, where Ruben was a rancher and an ordained Baptist minister. Margaret was a homemaker; she died in 1942 at age eighty-six.

Why was the quilt made?

Wedding

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. 66-67.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Means, Herbert Arthur

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Aiken, Margaret

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

12/01/1856

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Georgia

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

1942

Quiltmaker's occupation:

homemaker

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

Mr. Means was a rancher and an ordained Baptist miniter

Number of children:

5

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

2

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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