'new' old quilt pics

16 years ago

Thought you might be interested in seeing another old family quilt.....not owned by me, unfortunately, but made by my family. It is an album quilt, made by Sarah Ann Anderson in 1846...she married a Newlin, one of my family. Sarah inscribed one block

"When I am in the silent grave, which they may see and look upon, and think of me when I am gone."

This is only one example of the, to our minds, morbid messages placed on quilts, samplers, etc. I have an 1824 sampler that has the following;

"When I am dead and in my grave

and all my bones are broken

When this you see remember me

That I am not forgotten"

(believe me, she is not forgotten...I think of her when I look at her sampler, and all the girls that made the samplers I have....I have only been able to trace one girl, in an English sampler made in 1846...and, only because she included a place name....I sleuthed on the internet and eventually found an ancestor...not the direct line, though, for Ann died unmarried)

The quilt is is is excellent shape, and I've included an overall pic so you can see the quilting (blurry, but good enough, I think, to show how wonderful the quilting is.... and, a close up of one of the block centers, with the inking....Nicholas & Sarah Newlin, Middletown, Delaware Co, Penna.

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Comments (8)

toolgranny
16 years ago
That is just wonderful. Thanks for sharing with us. I have a historical search going on also but so far, no results. I'll tell you about it sometime offline.
Linda
day2day
16 years ago
I enjoy looking at old quilts.They are such treasures. I wish I had some of my ancestors handiwork. I'm intertested in genealogy and sometimes , when learning info about an ancestor,I start to feel like I know them a little bit. It must be interesting to learn about a person through a quilt or other handiwork- to get an inkling about how they lived and the kind of people they were.TFS.
Geraldine
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budster
16 years ago
I found this very interesting to see such lovely handiwork. Can you take a picture of your sampler? I own no handiwork other than what was produced by a grandmother, but still it is nice to see what others produced way back. Thanks again for sharing your treasure. Budster
nanajayne
16 years ago
What a treasure. Thank you for sharing. I just visited Selburn Museum in Burlington, Vt. They have such a wonderful collection of old quilts and samplers. I envy those who have them to cherish. Jayne
scrappyjack
16 years ago
What a beautiful quilt and such a timeless treasure!
I also am interested in genealogy, and having the items your ancestors cherished is such a thrill!

Let me know if you need a look-up in Knox Twp. , Clarion Co. Pa. (Lucinda area) or Marienville Forest Co. Pa.

Jackie
sandra_ferguson
Original Author
16 years ago
Jackie, thanks for the kind offer, but my research has been mainly in Belmont Co, Ohio, various places in Va, and Chester Co, Pa.....my father's folks were all in Chester - Quakers who came over with Wm Penn in 1683, and my maternal side came into Va in the early 1600s. Some from both sides moved to Ohio, and none of my direct lines went much further west than the Ohio river...thank goodness....this meant I have been able to visit all the areas they lived, the 'reward' from spending all those hours with dusty books in even more dusty libraries, doing research!
If I can help you with any of those areas, just ask.
biwako_of_abi
16 years ago
What a wonderful collection you have. It's amazing that this family quilt is so well preserved.
sandra_ferguson
Original Author
16 years ago
biwako, I think album quilts often stay in good shape because they weren't used daily...they were special, and as such, were often kept in a cedar chest, to be only brought out and looked at. The ones I have is in perfect shape.....except where the fabric was 'burned' by the black dye and mordant...there wasn't even any batting, an indication to me that it wasn't really meant for use, but as a keepsake. Those winters in PA sure would have needed quilts with batting!