QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-4933

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project; Michigan State University Museum Collection; Quilts and Health

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

85.0596

If this quilt is owned by a museum, enter the accession number:

7245.1

Object label:

LeMoyne Star
Rebecca Brickley
Ionia, Michigan
1866
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#7245.1

Essay:

Donor William Brickley provided the following information about Rebecca Brickley, who was born in Pennsylvania on May 3, 1820:

This quilt was made by my great-grandmother Rebecca Brickley, wife of Jacob Brickley, who died of cancer of the breast October 18, 1866 at the age of 46 years, 6 months and 15 days. In 1865 my great-grandmother discovered that she had cancer of the breast. She told the family, you all want to go to Michigan, so we will go this year so I won’t be left behind. In the fall of 1865, they had harvested the crops and sold the farm in Niagara County, New York.Then they started for Michigan with their possessions in wagons and with cows tied behind the wagons.They left Lockport, NewYork, in the late fall and travelled all winter to reach Ionia, Michigan in the spring of 1866. Great-grandmother made the quilt for my grandfather while she was dying. Grandfather was very choice with this quilt and refused to have it used. His daughter and then I have respected his wishes, and the quilt has not been used.That is why it is 120 years old and in original condition.

Owner's name for the quilt:

LeMoyne Star

Biography of the quiltmaker?

"This quilt was made by my great-grandmother Rebecca Brickley, wife of Jacob Brickley, who died of cancer of the breast October 18, 1866, at the age of 46 years, 6 months and 15 days. In 1865 my great-grandmother discovered that she had cancer of the breast. She told the family "You all want to go to Michigan, so we will go this year so I won't be left behind." In the fall of 1865 they had harvested the crops and sold the farm in Niagara County, New York. Then they started for Michigan with their possessions in wagons and cows tied behind the wagons. They left Lockport, New York, in the late fall and travelled all winter to reach Ionia, Michigan, in the spring of 1866. Great-grandmother made the quilt for my grandfather while she was dying. Grandfather was very choice of the quilt and refused to have it used. His daughter and then I have respected his wishes, and the quilt has not been used. That is why it is 120 years old and in the original condition."

When was the form filled out?

5/17/1985

Quilt top made by:

Brickley, Rebecca

Quilted by:

Brickley, Rebecca

If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?

Received as a gift

Where the quilt was made, city:

Ionia

Where the quilt was made, county:

Ionia

Where the quilt was made, state:

Michigan (MI)

Time period:

1850-1875

When was the quilt started?

1866

When was the quilt finished?

1866

Why was the quilt made?

Memorial

Details about why the quilt was made:

Great-grandmother made the quilt for my grandfather while she was dying.

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's county:

Ionia

Quiltmaker's state:

Michigan (MI)

Quiltmaker's birth date:

5/3/1820

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

10/18/1866

Quiltmaker's occupation:

Seamstress, served an apprenticeship in a tailor's office.

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

Brickley, Jacob

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' ethnic/tribal background:

English

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

Farmer

Number of children:

3

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

1

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

2

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

68

How long is the quilt?

78

Shape of edge:

Straight

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

42

Size of quilt blocks:

6 1/2" x 6 1/2"

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Alternating with plain squares

Number of borders:

1

Describe the borders:

7.5" plain, solid red

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

How is the binding made?

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 are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

8

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

8

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Grid/crosshatch

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Michigan Quilts: A Celebration of 150 Years of Textile Tradition, East Lansing, MI, September 12-November 1, 1987, Museum, Kresge Art Museum, MSU; Quilts from the Michigan State University Museum Collection, traveling exhibit: Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, MI, October, 1992 - January, 1993: Southwestern Michigan College Museum, Dowagiac, MI, June - September, 1995; Midland County Historical Society, Midland, MI, December 1, 1997 - January 25, 1998.

Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:

Michigan Quilts (1987) book, figure 37, page 39

Publications (including web sites) where this quilt or maker was featured:

Photos of quilter

Source of the information on this quilt:

Museum employee

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public- Michigan State University Museum

Quilt owner's name:

Michigan State University Museum

Quilt owner's city:

East Lansing

Quilt owner's county:

Ingham

Quilt owner's state:

Michigan (MI)

How was this quilt acquired?

Gift

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

Rebecca Brickley, mother of W. Frank Brickley, father of Fred W. Brickley, Father of William J. Brickley, who donated to MSU Museum

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

Great-grandmother made the quilt for my grandfather while she was dying. Grandfather was very choice of this quilt and refused to have it used. His daughter and then I have respected his wishes, and the quilt has not been used. That is why it is in the original condition.

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

How did the quiltmaker participate in the creation of the quilt?

Made entire quilt

Who photographed this quilt?

Peter Glendinning

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum