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
Cite this Quilt
Brickley, Rebecc. LeMoyne Star. 1866. From Michigan State University Museum, Michigan Quilt Project; Michigan State University Museum Collection; Quilts and Health. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=12-8-4933. Accessed: 04/26/24
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Exhibit
Patterns of Inquiry
Michigan State University Museum
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Story
Rebecca Brickley
MacDowell, Marsha