QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-373

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_0039

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 quilt's maker.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

TEXAS Quilt

How wide is the quilt?

78 in.

How long is the quilt?

84 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Red; White

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Quilt's condition:

Good/moderate use

Damage:

Fold marks or creases; 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.

Time period:

1876-1900

Family/owner's date for quilt:

ca. 1880-1900

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

ca. 1886

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Karey Bresenhan

Describe the quilt's layout:

Medallion or framed center

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Other

Number of borders:

3

Describe the borders:

3 rows of pieced, not appliqued, T E X A S wrap around the center red and teal blue medallion

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

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

The stars and all the letters in TEXAS are pieced except for the 12 letters S, which appear to be appliqued. One S is sewn on backward.

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

no

Describe embellishment materials or techniques:

One backward S

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

Description of the back:

muslin

What color is the back of the quilt?

White

Describe the back:

Same fabric used throughout; Solid/plain

How is the binding made?

Front turned to back

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

Can you see any knots on the front or back of the quilt?

no

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Double parallel lines; Single parallel lines

Describe the quilting designs used:

diagonal quilting in star block; quilting around letters

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

This is one version of the classic "word" quilt, although in this case the word honors a state rather than featuring the alphabet or a person. TEXAS is spelled in every direction; it appears 12 times in four blocks that wrap around a central block featuring an eight-point star; quilt probably made to celebrate 50th anniversary of the Republic of Texas. 1886 is also the quilt maker's 50th birthday. Colors are same as those in Texas flag, though the eight-point star is not a Lone Star. There is one reverse S on the quilt and it seems likely that this was a deliberate "mistake."

Quilt top made by:

Callan, Nancy Rebecca Dickson

Quilted by:

Callan, Nancy Rebecca Dickson

Where the quilt was made, city:

Campbell

Where the quilt was made, county:

Hopkins

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 Callah family. The present owner inherited it from her father, who had inherited as a little boy.

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

Nancy Callan was born in Alabama in 1836 and came to Texas at the time of her marriage to George Washington Callan in 1861. She and her husband had nine children by 1879. Her husband died in 1885, leaving her to raise eight of her children and two foster children. She made this TEXAS quilt while "she was taking care of a foster child who was very ill."

Why was the quilt made?

Commemorative

Details about why the quilt was made:

possibly honoring the 50th anniversary of Texas independence

Quilt is presently used as:

Keepsake/memento

Where did the maker get their materials?

Unknown

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Original to maker

Where did the quiltmaker find the pattern for the quilting design on the quilt?

Original to maker

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

an original version of the classic "word" quilt

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. 100-101.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Billie Jean Callan Coldewey

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Dickson, Nancy Rebecca

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

12/10/1836

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

Cherokee

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Alabama

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):

01/01/1861

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

08/01/1912

Quiltmaker's occupation:

homemaker

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

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

Callan, George Washington

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

farmer

Number of children:

9

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

4

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

5

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale