Arriving
Reactions to arriving on the Great Plains
were as varied as the women who recorded them. For many the landscape was dramatically different
from what they left behind. Some viewed coming west as a great
adventure and spoke of being "happy as could ever be, even
in our little dugout." Others were fearful and homesick.
Still, they came.
"I can hardly expect ever
to see you all again, until we all meet above."
Martha Ann Devoll Mott letter, October 1879, MS1554, Nebraska
State Historical Society
"When I look back on these
early struggles I regard them as the happiest days of my life."
Mrs. Otis, Tecumseh Chieftain, July 2, 1931
Signature
Quilt
Maker unknown, probably made in Delaware County, New York
(Multiple names inscribed on quilt)
Dated 1846-1849
95.5" x 79.5"
International Quilt Study Center, James Collection, 1997.007.0927
Friendship and signature quilts commemorated the relationships
being left behind as women departed for the West, possibly never
to see family and friends again. Many of these types of quilts
were treasured as mementos of their former lives. Both the 1840s
craze for autograph albums and the invention of indelible ink
contributed to the popularity of this style of quilt.
Sawtooth
Star
Betsy Baker Mead, New York, and Adelia Mead Vore, Crete, Nebraska
1875-1885
88" x 67"
Nebraska State Historical Society,
Source: Rena E. Vore, Lincoln
Adelia Mead Vore of Crete, Nebraska, made this quilt out of sawtooth
star quilt blocks she brought with her to Nebraska in 1885. The
quilt blocks were originally made by her mother Betsy Baker Mead
of Warsaw, New York.
Floral
Album
Maker unknown, probably made in Auburn, Illinois
(Multiple names inscribed on quilt)
Circa 1860-1870
85" x 84.5"
International Quilt Study Center, James Collection, 1997.007.0153
Album quilts made by friends and family commemorated the relationships
being left behind as women departed for the West. Many of these
types of quilts were treasured as mementos of their former lives.
Called albums because each block was unique, as in a photo or
autograph album, these quilts often incorporated floral patterns
that women found in their own gardens or in the natural landscape
of their homes.
Six
Point Star of Bethlehem
Maker possibly Jane Crabtree Dake, New York
1855 or earlier
79" x 70"
Nebraska State Historical Society, Source: Mrs. Marietta Kerl,
Geneva, Nebraska
9012-6
In 1862 this quilt traveled with Jane Crabtree Dake from New
York to Iowa. Ten years later, it was part of the household goods
loaded into a covered wagon and driven from Iowa to Franklin
County, Nebraska, where the Dakes lived, first in a dugout and
then in a soddy.
Floral
Signature Quilt
Maker unknown, probably made in Pennsylvania
(Multiple names inscribed on quilt)
Circa 1850-1860
81.5" x 84"
International Quilt Study Center, Holstein Collection, 2003.003.0246
Friendship album quilts often commemorated the relationships
being left behind as women departed for the West. Many of these
types of quilts were treasured as mementos of their former lives
as women built new futures. These quilts were called albums because
each block was unique, as in a photo or autograph album. Both
the 1840s craze for autograph albums and the invention of indelible
ink influenced the popularity of this style of quilt.
North
Carolina Lily
Catherine Eby Miller, North Manchester, Indiana
1857
84" x 86"
Nebraska State Historical Society, Source: Miss Pluma Sageser,
Burbank, California
10646-3
Catherine Eby Miller made her North Carolina
Lily quilt in North Manchester, Indiana, and brought it west
to Alton, Iowa, in 1880. When Catherine's daughter Elizabeth
headed west for Nebraska in 1886, the North Carolina Lily quilt
went with her, where it adorned the bed in Elizabeth's sod house.
The lily pattern was hand-appliquéd, assembled by hand
and then quilted with six to eight stitches per inch.
Album
Quilt
Maker unknown, possibly made in Battle Creek, Michigan
Circa 1869-1880
89" x 77"
International Quilt Study Center, James Collection, 1997. 007.
0308
Album quilts made by friends and family commemorated the relationships
being left behind as women departed for the West. Many of these
types of quilts were treasured as mementos of their former lives.
Called albums because each block was unique, as in a photo or
autograph album, these quilts often incorporated floral patterns
that women found in their own gardens or in the natural landscape
of their homes.
Kaleidoscope
Mary Rosenbaum, Virginia
1895
83" x 72"
Nebraska State Historical Society, Source: Ollie Rosenbaum, Lincoln,
Nebraska
11692-3
When he was about thirty-three years old, William Rosenbaum of
Kennard, Nebraska, returned home to Virginia to wed Josephine
Clementine Falke. We believe William's mother, Mary Rosenbaum,
presented him with this quilt as a wedding gift. The newlyweds
then returned to Nebraska, where William was a blacksmith and
farmer.
