QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-349

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_0016

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 quiltmaker.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Rose of Sharon with Buds

How wide is the quilt?

96 in.

How long is the quilt?

72 in.

Shape of edge:

Scalloped

Describe the edge:

sawtooth binding in red with red tassel at each corner

Shape of corners:

Other

Describe the corners:

silk tassel attached at square corners

What color is the quilt?

Green; Orange; Pink; Red; White

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Quilt's condition:

Very good/almost new

Damage:

Mildew; Stains; Tears or holes

Describe the damage:

very slight wear

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:

early 1860s

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

ca. 1860-1865

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Karey Bresenhan

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

6

Size of quilt blocks:

17 in. x 17 in. approximately

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

On point or rotated on 45 degrees

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Side by side

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

1

What is the shape of the quilt blocks?

Squares

Number of borders:

1

Describe the borders:

Elaborate rose and swags border in pink, red, and green around entire quilt, with even more decorative design at each corner.

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Print; Solid/plain

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Other embellishment technique

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

multi-layered applique; trapunto

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

no

Embellishment materials used in quilt top:

Other attachments

Describe embellishment materials or techniques:

silk tassel at four corners

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

What color is the back of the quilt?

White

Describe the back:

Hand sewn; Same fabric used throughout; Solid/plain

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

Describe the binding:

red tassel at each corner

How is the binding made?

Hand sewn; Prairie Points

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

half inch - one inch

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Cotton

How thick is the quilt?

Thin (Less than 3/16?)

Describe the quilt filling:

Karey Bresenhan thinks batting may have been prepared by hand because virtually no cottonseeds are visible.

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting; Stuffed work

Thread type used for the quilting:

cotton

Color of thread used in the quilting:

white

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

22

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

20

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Other

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Feathering; Floral; Other

Describe the quilting designs used:

Karey Bresenhan describes quilting as superlative. She counted 22 stitches per inch in several locations on the quilt top and is absolutely sure the entire quilt was quilted by hand. Quilting patterns include a curving feather design to fill precisely the space between the border design and the edge of the quilt. Trapunto designs in white background blocks and on border; very heavily stuffed.

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

Roses are superb example of multi-layered applique. The applique was first done with a running stitch, overlaid with a perfect chain stitch, executed by hand, outlining every piece and every layer. Stuffed work adds texture and dimension. Quilt seems to have a sheen it is so heavily stuffed. Two matching baskets of flowers are in quilt center on white ground; stuffed flowers and other designs appear throughout the quilt, each individually stuffed from the back. According to Karey Bresenhan, "the designs rise in relief above a background completely flattened with many rows of straight line quilting no more than one-fourth an inch apart. The appliqued design, the swag and tassel turn each corner smoothly." According to family history, the quiltmaker was sixteen when she made this masterpiece.

Quilt top made by:

Dickerson, Margaret Wright

Quilted by:

Dickerson, Margaret Wright

Where the quilt was made, state:

Missouri (MO)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Inheritance

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

Quiltmaker Margaret Wright of Missouri is said to have been about sixteen when she made this quilt. The family believes she was born about 1845 and that she died in Pasadena, Texas, in 1916. She made the quilt for her Civil War-era wedding, and she brought it with her when she moved from Missouri to Atoka, Texas, probably in the late 1870s. The couple had four children, the third of which was the present owner's grandmother, Gillie Dickerson Mitchell. According to the quilt's owner, in 1915 or 1916 the quiltmaker traveled by train from Pasadena to Hamlin, Texas, to visit her daughter Gillie; she "had a small trunk with this quilt in it to give to her daughter." Eventually Gillie gave the quilt to her sister Winnie Mitchell Bell; in 1980 Winnie gave the quilt to the present owner.

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

The Dickersons lived on a farm in Atoka, Texas, in Coleman County. After Margaret Dickerson's husband died she moved to Houston to live with a son and his family. The owner believes that her great grandmother and a sister, Lula Wright, made three quilts, one of which is this Rose of Sharon with Buds quilt. A second quilt is believed to be in a San Diego area museum, but that remains unconfirmed. The third quilt is thought to be in the Pasadena-Houston area.

Why was the quilt made?

Wedding

Details about why the quilt was made:

Margaret Wright made this quilt for her hopechest.

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. I, 1836-1936 (Austin: University of Texas Press), p. 54-55.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

O'Rear, Iris Mitchell

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Wright, Margaret

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

ca. 1845

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Missouri

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

1916

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

farmer

Number of children:

4

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

1

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

3

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

1-5 quilts

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale

Details

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