QUILT INDEX RECORD

15-11-3466

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Wisconsin Quilt History Project

Who documented this quilt?

Wisconsin Quilt History Project

Wisconsin Quilt History Project Number:

6596

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner; Relative of quiltmaker; Other

Source of the information on this quilt:

Maker was great-great-great-great-great grandmother of owner.

When was the form filled out?

10-28-1995

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

Interviewer:

Timpe, Sharon

Where was the quilt documentation day held?

Racine WI

This is a:

Finished quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Broken dishes

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Yankee Puzzle, Hour Glass

How wide is the quilt?

93.50 in.

How long is the quilt?

98 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Black; Blue or Navy; Green; White; Yellow

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Quilt's condition:

Fair/worn

Describe the damage:

Noted as fragile

Type of inscription:

Signature

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Catherine Bradford

Location of inscription:

other

Describe where the inscription was found:

In center of medallion

Time period:

1800-1849

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1825

Describe the quilt's layout:

Medallion or framed center

Size of quilt blocks:

2 in. x 2.25 in. to 2.50 in. sizes vary

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Side by side

Number of borders:

3

Describe the borders:

Yellow 0.75 in. border White 3 in. border with garland flowers, bugs, and butterflies embroidered on the print that is on the white background Green 2 in. fringe

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Silk

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Checked; Solid/plain; Striped

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

What color is the back of the quilt?

Blue or Navy

Describe the back:

Different fabrics; Print

How is the binding made?

Edges turned in/ no separate binding

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Wool

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

6

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline

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

Quilting stitches are uneven. Owner says it may have been quilted by two different people as there is a difference in the quilting stitches in that the center quilting stitches are fine (maybe a younger woman), the rest of quilt large bulky stitches(maybe an older woman). Owner thinks the quilt could have been made for trousseau, needed twelve quilts to get married. She thinks the dark spot at head probably pillows; blue on back not Mother Hubbaard; Base border was a print they needleworked over but didn't cover all of the print. Back has four inch strips of blue print at top. Back is navy dots. Legend: no quilt is perfect because only God is perfect; If made a perfect quilt we invited the wrath of God, tempting fate.

Quilt top made by:

Bradford, Catherine Penniman

Quilted by:

Bradford, Catherine Penniman

Other people who worked on this quilt:

May have had a second quilter; unknown.

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Inheritance

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

This quilt was made by the wife of Captain Charles Bradford and given to her daughter Catherine when she was married in 1825. She gave it to her daughter Catherine upon her marriage in 1855. This Catherine gave it to her only daughter Clara Agnes upon her marriage in 1880. (Clara Agnes's sister Catherine died of scarlet fever as a child.)The quilt has been passed to each eldest daughter named Catherine Bradford . Present owner is Catherine Bradford Kollath.

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

The descendant's line traces to William Bradford born 1589 and orphaned at two years old. Came to America on the Mayflower and eventually became Governor of Plymouth.

Where did the maker get their materials?

Old clothes; Sewing scraps

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. 1893 Chicago Exposition by Mrs. Potter Palmer. Perhaps 1st Columbian Expo celebrating the 400th anniversary of Columbus' arrival in North America. 1932 prize for most unusual and oldest in the Athena Club, Athena VT.

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

"Wisconsin Quilts: Stories in the Stitches" by Ellen Kort, 2001 Howell Press, pages 2-4. "Wisconsin Quilts: History in the Stitches" by Ellen Kort & Revised by Maggi McCormick Gordon, 2008 Krause Publications, pages 14-15.

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

Family are direct descendants of early Governor Bradford of Massachusetts.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Kollath, Catherine Bradford

Quilt owner's state:

Wisconsin (WI)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Penniman

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

11-05-1778

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Penniman

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

Bradford, Captain Charles

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

Other quilts by family members of this maker are in the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts and can be found under the numbers 6594 and 6595 in the Quilt Index. Museum file for this quilt includes a handmade chart of eight generations of Catherine Bradfords.

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts

Details

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