QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-35

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project; Michigan State University Museum Collection; Black Diaspora Quilt History Project

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

90.0001

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

7005.1

Object label:

Todd Family Quilt
Deonna Todd Green (b. 1948) and Ione Todd (b. 1927)
Remus, Mecosta County, Michigan
1989
Collection of the Michigan State University Museum, acc. #7005.1

Essay:

In 1983, at the suggestion of Ken Todd, six Todd women began a quilting project to tell the story of Stephen and Caroline Todd and the six generations of their descendants. Family oral narratives, Bible records, and library documents served as sources for the pictorial and narrative family history quilt which was completed in 1985. Significant events and places in the Todd history illustrated in the quilt include Stephen Todd's escape from slavery in Kentucky, his marriage to a white woman, their near-capture when crossing a raft from Port Huron to Sarnia, and their eventual resettlement in Mecosta as pioneering farmers. When that quilt was raffled off to a cousin at one of the Todd family reunions, Deonna Green and Ione Todd decided to make a duplicate. In 1989 the made this third copy which they presented to the Michigan State University Museum.

Quilt's title:

Todd Family History Quilt

Quilt top made by:

Green, Deonna

Quilted by:

Green, Deonna

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

Purchased the quilt

Where the quilt was made, city:

Remus

Where the quilt was made, county:

Mecosta

Where the quilt was made, state:

Michigan (MI)

Time period:

1976-1999

When was the quilt started?

1983

When was the quilt finished?

1990

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's city:

Remus

Quiltmaker's county:

Mecosta

Quiltmaker's state:

Michigan (MI)

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Todd

Quiltmaker's birth date:

6/23/1948

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

African American

Quiltmaker's educational background:

High School Diploma

Quiltmaker's religious affiliation:

Prodestant Church of Christ

Quiltmaker's occupation:

housewife

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Todd, Marshall

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

African American

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Todd, Ione Sawyer

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

African American

Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):

6/4/1966

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

Green, Grant O.

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

African American German

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

Maintenance Gas Company

Number of children:

4

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

1

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

3

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Self-Taught

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 30-39

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

yes

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

yes

Does/did the quiltmaker belong to a group? Name of the group?

Todd Family

What are the main activities of the group?

Deonna Todd Green, assisted by her mother and other relatives, continues to devote hours to researching her family genealogy, collecting family photographs and documents, and gathering family stories. Quests for information have taken them to local, state

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

82"

How long is the quilt?

79"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Deonna Green, Ione Todd. The quilt is has inscriptions on almost every block.

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

January 1990

Describe where the inscription was found:

top

Number of quilt blocks:

60 and 1

Size of quilt blocks:

9" x 10" and 18" x 20"

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Describe the borders:

1 1/2"

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton or polyester blend

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

Ink drawing/Painting

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton or polyester blend

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

greater than one inch

How wide is the binding (measure on the top only)?

1 3/4"

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Polyester

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

4

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

4

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Michigan Quilts: A Celebration of 150 Years of Textile Tradition, East Lansing, MI, September 12-November 1, 1987, Kresge Art Museum, MSU; African-American Quiltmaking Traditions in Michigan, exhibit, February 3-September 29, 1991, MSU Museum, East Lansing, MI; The Museum of African American History, November 1, 1991-January 1, 1992 (Detroit, MI); Flint Institute of Arts, February 23-April 5, 1992; Ella Sharp Museum, January 14-March 7, 1993 (Jackson, MI). Quilting Sisters: African-American Quilting in Michigan exhibit: Krasl Art Center, St. Joseph, MI, January 13-February 13, 2000; Port Huron Museum, Port Huron, MI, September 8-October 21, 2001; Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo, MI, June 22-September 28, 2002; Castellani Art Museum at the Falls, Niagra Falls, NY, March 13-April 24, 2005. Threads of Freedom, The Underground Railroad Story in Quilts, Oberlin, OH, May 13-August 26, 2001.

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

African American Quiltmaking in Michigan (1997) book, figure 131, page 98. Family History Quilts, Quilter's Newsletter Magazine, September 1988, page 32.

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

Audiotape Interview with quilter by Marsha MacDowell MSUM

Source of the information on this quilt:

Museum employee

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public Museum, Library, or Institution

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?

Purchase

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

1/30/1990, Deonna Green & Ione Todd, seller

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

This is one of three Todd Family quilts. The first was raffled off to a cousin at a family reunion in 1986. A second, more comlex version was exhibited in 1990 as part of the national exhibition Stitiching Memories: African American Story Quilts at Williams College in MA. This third one was commissioned by The Michigan State University Museum. The quilt took thousands of hours, 7 months to comlete. The coat of arms is in the four corners. Color code for generations. There are six generations. It is said that is a story told by my grandfather, William, as told to his by his father, Stephen. The muster in-out records are the actual service records of Stephen Todd. They were traced and embroidered. They were completed in 100 hours. The covered wagon - the means of transportation. The house is where Stephen and Caroline lived in Sheridan Township. The house took aboout 100 hours to complete. The plats of land are the places where Stephen, Caroline and family lived. The church is the Wheatland Church of Christ. Church records show that Stephen and Caroline were members in good standing. The family history is a portion of the Todd Family History that I wrote for the Old Settlers Book. The map denotes the route that Stephen and Caroline used. Stephen being born in Kentucky, Caroline in Indiana and running away to Michigan then to Canada. The census was taken from the 1880 Wheatland Township, Mecosta County census records. This is the first place that Stephen and settled aafter leaving Canada. The river raft tells the story of Fred Kahler, Caroline's father, chasing Stephen and Caroline to Port Huron - going into Canada. Fred Kahler offered the raft driver $100.00 if he would bring the balck man back so that he could shoot him. The center is a crocheted heart with a picture of Stephen and Caroline Todd, their marriage date and where they were married. This information was taken from a general affidaavit. The lumbering industry is where the boys, Charlie, Louis, and William worked to help support the family.

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum

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

Made entire quilt

Who photographed this quilt?

Mary Whalen