PACLARIO-L Archives

From:
Subject: Signature Quilt
Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2004 16:26:29 EDT

To all of you who responded to my e-mail, thank you. I've had so many
responses to post it again because the original message was sent to multiple lists
and the attachment was not allowed. So, I have put it into the body of my
e-mail and want to thank you all for your patience with me. If this is sent to a
list that has already received it, please forgive me. This will make things
simpler for me.

A MOTHER'S LOVE
This is my transcription of a quilt made for Violet M. Guthrie, in 1858, with
signatures and names from several locations in PA. I have read it as a grid
with six blocks across and six blocks down. Each row is read from left to
right starting at the top.

Because of the degrading nature of early ink formulas, certain signatures
have migrated into 'blobs'; literally. Some inks have 'rusted' words or letters
away. There are some methods that can be used to decipher those problem
areas. Since I moved to Colorado, I have missed the wonderful textile area that I
had built into my home in Ohio. (Note: Colorado itself is too fabulous to
wish I were home and I can visit Ohio often.) It has been quite a while since I
have had an opportunity to attempt reading the inscriptions, so I took the
quilt to the Pioneers Museum, and was able to read much more using their lights.
What follows is the result of that attempt and my time spent studying names
while working on my Westmoreland, Cambria and surrounding counties' Plummer
family genealogy.

For your reference, '/', represents a standard museum symbol to denote that
the following word or words are listed under the previous word or words on the
actual acquisition. Example: Sarah A. Miller/Youngstown/Pa was written on
her block as Sarah A. Miller

Youngstown

Pa.
A ? following a letter indicates the previous letter was unreadable. When a
letter or word could be read as either or, I have listed both. A ? following
an entire word and in parenthesis indicates that the reading of the entire
previous word was in question. Also note that the 'a' in Maffett could be an 'o'
because I have seen it spelled both ways.

Row 1: La?ydia H. Miller/Youngstown/Penna; Isabella M? Miller/Latrobe/Pa;
Jane Robison/Salem/Pa; Hiney(?) Brown/Latrobe/Pa; Mary or Meary Maffett/Clarion
Co./Pa; Miss Hannah White/St. Clair/Pa

Row 2: Sarah A. Miller/Youngstown/Pa; Nancy(?) Maffett/Clarion Co/Pa; Mary or
Marg. Guthrie/Holmes Co/O; Rebecca Corbetts/Clarion Co/Pa; A Mothers
Love/Sarah Guthrie/Fountain/Hill; Asenath/Maffett/Clarion

Row 3: Cousin Aggia/Fountain Hill/Pa; Pl___r(?) Maffett/Clarion; May
Beaty(?)/Cl____onville(?)/__(?)14,18__(obviously a date, but I'm afraid this one is
gone forever); Maggie Culbertson/New Derry/West. Co./Pa; Lydia J.
Taylor/Loyalhanna; Heziah Maffett/Clarion

Row 4: Nannie or Annie Morrison/Mar. or Near New Derry/___(?)(probably a
date); Martha B. Hamilton/Somitville(?)/Co.1858; Blank block(for those of you who
are quilters, this may be a "No one but God" block because it makes the quilt
less than perfect: speculation); Pieced for/Violet M. Guthrie/1858 (written on
left side of block) F.Hames/ManorDale/Westmoreland/Pa (written on right side
of block); M. or N. P. Culbertson/UnityTp/Pa; Martha Fulton/New Derrry/Pa.

Row 5:Martha McIntyre/New Derry/Pa; Nancy or Nannie Barnett/Blairsville/Pa;
Jane C. Fulton/New Derry/Pa.; Perlina Mills/Clarion County/Pa; Martha Robinson
or Robertson/New Derry____(?)/Pa; H, M orN_? Gutherie/NewDerry/Pa

Row 6: Mary Lowry/Strattonville/ClarionCo/Pa; Maria Bell/When chance this
name to see/Say, will you not remember me; Eliza/Bell/Latrobe/Pa; Margaret
Reed/New Derry/Penna; Eliza Reed/New Derry/Penna; Violet M. Guthrie/Pleasant
Retreat/Pa

The study of signature quilts is interesting and at first I thought this one
was made to celebrate the upcoming marriage of Violet and J. F. Hames (whose
signature is decidedly masculine, but I could be wrong about that). I found a
Fountain Hill in eastern PA and I have located two references to Pleasant
Retreat, both in eastern Pa. One, somewhat questionable source, describes it as a
retreat where many marriages took place and I found a tree with some marriage
locations as Pleasant Retreat, Chester Co., PA. I haven't located a Pleasant
Retreat in Chester Co. yet. Since an unmarried Violet, ae. 27, and her
widowed mother show up in New Derry in the 1860 census, then a marriage appears
unlikely. (Or it was just a reeealy long engagement) The second reference to
Pleasant Retreat is as a school in eastern PA. I have studied early 19th century
female academies extensively; if Pleasant Retreat was such an academy, the
thought occurs that she might have been a teacher.(?) Thanks to Barbara, who
responded to my first e-mail: the 1850 West., Co, Derry Twp. census lists a James
Guthree; wife Sarah, ae. 57, and Vilett M., ae. 20. They live next door to a
Benjamin Fulton who has a 5 yr. old daughter, also named Vilett. We all know
about census record discrepancies. I'm on my way to PA to do more research. I
have visited the Derry Area Hist. Soc., at the Fulton House in New Derry and
members recognized several names.

I purchased the quilt at a show in western Ohio from a PA dealer simply
because the locations reminded me of my beloved grandfather who taught me my love
of history when I lived with him in Derry too many years ago to reveal. Further
research and time will fill in more of the blanks. Response to my first
e-mail tells me what a wonderful group you all are and I know I will eventually
unlock the secret of why "A Mothers Love" was made. When I do, I would like it
to go 'home'; wherever that proves to be.

Jan Thomas, Textile Specialist and Researcher

This thread:

• Signature Quilt by