QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-357

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_0023

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 quilt owner is the great granddaughter of the quiltmaker.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Medallion Quilt

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Rose and Bud Medallion

How wide is the quilt?

75 in.

How long is the quilt?

87 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Beige or Tan; Blue or Navy; Brown; Cream; Green; Pink; Red; Yellow

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Quilt's condition:

Good/moderate use

Damage:

Disintegration of fabric; Fading; Fold marks or creases; Stains; Wear to edge or binding

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. 1875

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

ca. 1875

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Karey Bresenhan

Further information concerning dates:

Quilt was made ca. mid 1870s when Benjamin Everett Herring was a small boy and given to him upon his marriage in 1898.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Medallion or framed center

Number of borders:

3

Describe the borders:

A narrow sawtooth frame surrounds the center medallion with a double rose-and-white border utilizing irregular Four Patch blocks at the intersections. The next row of border designs is based on the LeMoyne Star or Lemon Star. The final rows of the border are designed with large triangles composed of many small triangles. This border is a variation of the Birds in Air pattern, i.e. Flying Geese. There is one extra green border strip along the quilt top.

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:

Print; Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

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:

unbleached muslin

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

How is the binding made?

Back turned to front

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

less than a half inch

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:

Echo; Outline

Describe the quilting designs used:

outline quilting on both sides of each piece

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

Karey Bresenhan stated that this quilt is unusual in that it is the exception to find a Medallion quilt as late as the fourth quarter of the 19th century and also to find a Medallion that is not a square. This quilt has additional sawtooth rows added at the two ends to lengthen it into a rectangle, more suited for the narrower beds of the late 19th century. Karey also noted that this quilt contains excellent examples of fourth-quarter 19th century textiles, including copper-toned fabrics with rust and black stripes. She adds that this quilt is a perfect example of how some quiltmakers in the South kept alive old handwork methods long after they had passed out of fashion in other parts of the country.

Quilt top made by:

Herring, Nannie Everett

Where the quilt was made, county:

Newton

Where the quilt was made, state:

Mississippi (MS)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Inheritance

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

Nannie Everett Herring, the quiltmaker, lived in Newton County, Mississippi from 1848 to 1918. She probably married in the early 1860s, for she made this quilt for her firstborn son, Benjamin Everett Herring (born 1868) when he was a child, but only gave it to him upon the occasion of his marriage in 1898 to Emma Elizabeth Ferguson. In 1917 the Herrings left Mississippi to move to Blossom, Texas. The quilt passed down from the quiltmaker to her daughter and then to the present owner's aunt, Susie Herring Webster. The present owner received the quilt in 1982.

Why was the quilt made?

Gift or presentation

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; Traditional pattern variation

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. 1, 1836-1936 (Austin: University of Texas Press), p. 68-69.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Sharp, Billie Woodle

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Everett, Nannie

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

1848

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

Newton

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Mississippi

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):

ca. early 1860s

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

1918

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

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

Herring, Jack

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

farmer

Number of children:

6

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