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Four generations of quilters in the Zumbrun Family

Michigan; United States

The Zumbrun Family quilts, 13 in all, represent the rare occurrence of the documentation of four generations of family quilters and their work. The quilts produced by Mary Strock Zumbrun, her daughter Olive Zumbrun Blocher, granddaughter Mary Blocher Hershberger, and great-granddaughter Carolyn Oberman and her family. Although the quilts are different from each other in color and design, all of them show a high degree of technical proficiency and represent a love of quilting that has been passed from generation to generation. Oberman reflects on her family's tradition:

Mary Strock Zumbrun made quilts and comforters strictly for her family's use. They were a farm family in Ohio and during the last half of the 19th century when she and her husband were raising a family of eight girls and two boys. A lot of bed coverings were needed. Making quilts was an almost continuous year-around work with another quilt going in the quilting frame as soon as one was finished and came out. All the daughters as well as their mother quilted every day as farm work and chores permitted. But as the daughters grew into their teens and the mother's health was poor- no doubt from childbearing - she more and more did most of the quilting. This I know from reading one of the daughter's (my Grandmother) 1893 Journal which tells much about their daily life.

I know for a fact that all the women in this thrifty and hard-working German family were assiduous sewers, making all their clothing, including bonnets and men's clothing. When a quilt or comforter was in progress, everyone worked on it in their spare time. Very often neighboring women went to each other's homes to help quilt. In my grandmother's 1893 journal which I havbe, she writes of these quilting get-togethers.

Written by MacDowell, Marsha

MacDowell, Marsha and Fitzgerald, Ruth, ed. Michigan Quilts: 150 Years of a Textile Tradition, Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI, 1987, page

Michigan State University Museum

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Michigan Quilt Project
Documentation Project

Michigan State University

Michigan Quilt Project

Michigan State University

East Lansing; Michigan; United States

The Michigan Quilt Project (MQP) was established in 1984 to document, preserve, and present Michigan's quilting history. There are over 10,000 quilts documented through this continuing project.

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12-51-1
Zumbrun, Mary
Quiltmaker

Michigan Quilt Project

Zumbrun, Mary

Michigan Quilt Project

Union City, Darke County; Ohio; United States

Mother of Olive Zumbrun Blocker, the grandmother of Mary Blocher Hershberger, and the great-grandmother of Carolyn Oberman, with her husband Joel.

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12-51-34
Blocher, Olive Zumbrun
Quiltmaker

Michigan Quilt Project

Blocher, Olive Zumbrun

Michigan Quilt Project

Woodland, Barry County; Michigan; United States

Daughter of Mary Strock Zumbrun, the mother of Mary Blocher Hershberger, and the grandmother of Carolyn Oberman

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12-51-35
Hershberger, Mary Blocher
Quiltmaker

Michigan Quilt Project

Hershberger, Mary Blocher

Michigan Quilt Project

Woodland, Barry County; Michigan; United States

Granddaughter of Mary Strock Zumbrun, the daughter of Olive Zumbrun Blocher, and the mother of Carolyn Oberman, with her husband Loren on their 60th wedding anniversary.

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12-51-37
Oberman, Carolyn Hershberger
Quiltmaker

Michigan Quilt Project

Oberman, Carolyn Hershberger

Michigan Quilt Project

Fennville, Allegan County; Michigan; United States

Great-granddaughter of Mary Strock Zumbrun, the granddaughter of Olive Zumbrun Blocher, and the daughter of Mary Block Hershberger.

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12-51-38
c1870
Sawtooth
Zumbrun, Mary

Date Made: c1870

Sawtooth

Creator: Zumbrun, Mary

Location Made: Union City, Ohio (OH)

Contruction: Machine Piecing

Quilt Size: 75 1/2" x 85 1/2"

Quilting Techniques: Hand quilting

Fabrics: Cotton, Print

Project: Michigan Quilt Project

Making quilts was an almost continuous year-around work with another quilt going in the quilting frame as soon as one was finished and came out. All the daughters as well as their Mother quilted every day as farm work and chores permitted. But as the daughters grew into their teens and the mother's ...

KID: 12-8-8935

12-8-8935
c1880
Triple Irish Chai...
Zumbrun, Mary

Date Made: c1880

Triple Irish Chain

Creator: Zumbrun, Mary

Location Made: Union City, Ohio (OH)

Contruction: Hand Piecing

Quilt Size: 82" x 87"

Quilting Techniques: Hand quilting

Fabrics: Cotton, Print

Project: Michigan Quilt Project

Mary Zumbrun was either pregnant of recovering from a birth for nearly 20 years, and in ill health, so sat and quilted or did other sewing a lot of the time. Her daughters would help quilt occasionally. This quilt was made in Ohio., Making quilts was an almost continuous year-around work with anothe...

KID: 12-8-8940

12-8-8940
c. 1880
Ceasar's Crown
Zumbrun, Mary

Date Made: c. 1880

Ceasar's Crown

Creator: Zumbrun, Mary

Location Made: Union City, Ohio (OH)

Contruction: Hand Piecing

Quilt Size: 84" x 86"

Quilting Techniques: Hand quilting

Fabrics: Cotton

Project: Michigan Quilt Project

According to a journal written by my Grandmother in 1893, when a family quilt was in the frame, all the women in the family quilted on it when other duties permitted. The quilter's daughters would have helped quilt., Making quilts was an almost continuous year-around work with another quilt going in...

KID: 12-8-671

12-8-671
1941
Double Wedding Ri...
Blocher, Olive

Date Made: 1941

Double Wedding Ring

Creator: Blocher, Olive

Location Made: Woodland, Michigan (MI)

Contruction: Hand Piecing

Quilt Size: 86" x 102"

Quilting Techniques: Hand quilting

Fabrics: Cotton

Project: Michigan Quilt Project

Her work, piecing the blocks and her small quilting stitches, is beautiful. This ability and competence to make a thing of beauty, in spite of hard daily work and rough hands, satisfied a creative urge and gave her much to be proud of.

KID: 12-8-8932

12-8-8932
c1935
Sawtooth
Blocher, Olive

Date Made: c1935

Sawtooth

Creator: Blocher, Olive

Location Made: Woodland, Michigan (MI)

Contruction: Machine Piecing

Quilt Size: 85 1/2" x 88"

Quilting Techniques: Hand quilting

Fabrics: Cotton, Print

Project: Michigan Quilt Project

Her work, piecing the blocks and her small quilting stitches, is beautiful. This ability and competence to make a thing of beauty, in spite of hard daily work and rough hands, satisfied a creative urge and gave her much to be proud of.

KID: 12-8-8933

12-8-8933
1935
Double Irish Chai...
Blocher, Olive

Date Made: 1935

Double Irish Chain

Creator: Blocher, Olive

Location Made: Woodland, Michigan (MI)

Contruction: Machine Piecing

Quilt Size: 84" x 98"

Quilting Techniques: Hand quilting

Fabrics: Cotton, Solid/plain

Project: Michigan Quilt Project

Her work, piecing the blocks and her small quilting stitches, is beautiful. This ability and competence to make a thing of beauty, in spite of hard daily work and rough hands, satisfied a creative urge and gave her much to be proud of.

KID: 12-8-8934

12-8-8934
1940
Potted Buds And B...
Dittman, Wilma Bloc...

Date Made: 1940

Potted Buds And Blooms

Creator: Dittman, Wilma Blocher; Zumbrun, Olive

Location Made: Woodland, Michigan (MI)

Contruction: Hand Piecing, Applique

Quilt Size: 86" x 88"

Quilting Techniques: Hand quilting

Fabrics: Cotton

Project: Michigan Quilt Project

Her work, piecing the blocks and her small quilting stitches, is beautiful. This ability and competence to make a thing of beauty, in spite of hard daily work and rough hands, satisfied a creative urge and gave her much to be proud of.

KID: 12-8-8938

12-8-8938
c1925
Dresden Plate
Blocher, Olive

Date Made: c1925

Dresden Plate

Creator: Blocher, Olive

Location Made: Woodland, Michigan (MI)

Contruction: Machine Piecing, Applique

Quilt Size: 82 1/2" x 97 1/2"

Quilting Techniques: Hand quilting

Fabrics: Cotton, Print

Project: Michigan Quilt Project

Her work, piecing the blocks and her small quilting stitches, is beautiful. This ability and competence to make a thing of beauty, in spite of hard daily work and rough hands, satisfied a creative urge and gave her much to be proud of.

KID: 12-8-9839

12-8-9839
c1920
Grandmother's Flo...
Blocher, Olive

Date Made: c1920

Grandmother's Flower Garden

Creator: Blocher, Olive

Location Made: Woodland, Michigan (MI)

Contruction: Hand Piecing

Quilt Size: 90" x 92 1/2"

Quilting Techniques: Hand quilting

Fabrics: Cotton

Project: Michigan Quilt Project

Her work, piecing the blocks and her small quilting stitches, is beautiful. This ability and competence to make a thing of beauty, in spite of hard daily work and rough hands, satisfied a creative urge and gave her much to be proud of.

KID: 12-8-9840

12-8-9840
c1940
Broken Star
Blocher, Olive

Date Made: c1940

Broken Star

Creator: Blocher, Olive

Location Made: Woodland, Michigan (MI)

Contruction: Hand Piecing

Quilt Size: 93" x 93"

Quilting Techniques: Hand quilting

Fabrics: Cotton, Solid/plain

Project: Michigan Quilt Project

Her work, piecing the blocks and her small quilting stitches, is beautiful. This ability and competence to make a thing of beauty, in spite of hard daily work and rough hands, satisfied a creative urge and gave her much to be proud of.

KID: 12-8-9842

12-8-9842
1966
Double Wedding Ri...
Hershberger, Mary

Date Made: 1966

Double Wedding Ring

Creator: Hershberger, Mary

Location Made: Woodland, Michigan (MI)

Contruction: Hand Piecing

Quilt Size: 76 1/2" x 102"

Quilting Techniques: Hand quilting

Fabrics: Cotton, Print

Project: Michigan Quilt Project

The quilter, my mother, was a very good seamstress who made most of her children's clothes and other items for household use. I think she didn't start making quilts earlier in her life because she liked better to sit and tat or crochet at which she was expert rather than to sit and quilt.

KID: 12-8-8936

12-8-8936
12/1966
Leafy Lanes
Hershberger, Mary

Date Made: 12/1966

Leafy Lanes

Creator: Hershberger, Mary

Location Made: Woodland, Michigan (MI)

Contruction: Hand Applique, Embroidery

Quilt Size: 90" x 97"

Quilting Techniques: Hand quilting

Fabrics: Cotton, Print

Project: Michigan Quilt Project

The quilter, my mother, was a very good seamstress who made most of her children's clothes and other items for household use. I think she didn't start making quilts earlier in her life because she liked better to sit and tat or crochet at which she was expert rather than to sit and quilt.

KID: 12-8-9843

12-8-9843
1985
Colorama
Oberman, Carolyn

Date Made: 1985

Colorama

Creator: Oberman, Carolyn

Location Made: Fennville, Michigan (MI)

Contruction: Applique

Quilt Size: 62" x 90"

Quilting Techniques: Hand quilting

Fabrics: Solid/plain

Project: Michigan Quilt Project

A rainbow was chosen because the recipient likes rainbows.

KID: 12-8-8939

12-8-8939
1965
Star of Bethlehem...
Oberman, Carolyn

Date Made: 1965

Star of Bethlehem

Creator: Oberman, Carolyn

Location Made: Spring Lake, Michigan (MI)

Contruction: Hand Piecing

Quilt Size: 82" x 95"

Quilting Techniques: Hand quilting

Fabrics: Cotton

Project: Michigan Quilt Project

The first summer after I graduated from high school, I saw this pattern in a newspaper, decided I would like to make a quilt, so sent for the instructions, purchased material and started to piecing. However because of marriage, raising a family, and working full time, the piecing dragged along for t...

KID: 12-8-9844

12-8-9844
May 1989
Winter Sunset
Oberman, Carolyn

Date Made: May 1989

Winter Sunset

Creator: Oberman, Carolyn

Location Made: Fennville, Michigan (MI)

Contruction: Machine Piecing, Hand Applique

Quilt Size: 83" x 100"

Quilting Techniques: Hand quilting

Fabrics: Cotton

Project: Michigan Quilt Project

I have been making a quilt for each of my 6 grandchildren when they graduate from High School. They know I am doing this but they don't see their quilt until it is presented to them.

KID: 12-8-43

12-8-43