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Beatrice Ruth Calhoun Williamson
Quiltmaker
Texarkana, Arkansas, United States
Black Diaspora Quilt History Project
Beatrice Ruth Calhoun Williamson, “Ruth” was born and lived most of her life in Texarkana, Arkansas. She married William Williamson in 1910. Their first child, a son, died in the influenza epidemic in 1917. A daughter, Maxine, was born in 1919. Maxine grew up and married Woodrow Wilson, and moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas. Maxine Wilson owned and then sold the quilts made by her mother, Ruth. It is believed this quilt was made as a result of a political shift from black people traditionally voting Republican after Emancipation to Democratic leanings during the Roosevelt terms in response to the Great Depression. Black voters were feeling more and more disenfranchised by the Republican party and shifted their political allegiance to the Democratic party in the name of self-interest, because of Roosevelt work programs (WPA) such as CCC, TVA, and FWP.
Occupation (if retired, former occupation):
Homemaker, laborer
Where was the quiltmaker born?
Texarkana, Arkansas (AR), United States
Where did the quiltmaker grow up?
Rural
Father's ethnic/tribal background:
African American
Spouse's/Spouses' name(s):
Williamson, William
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Documentation Project
Black Diaspora Quilt History Project -
Museum
Old State House Museum -
Creator
Donkey Quilt or G... Williamson, Ruth Ca...
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