The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1916-11-24
OF SOUTH CAROLINA
SECESSION QUILT

in 1860 by Mrs. Philip Drury Cook of
Fairfield County, S. G. Mrs. Cook
was the grandmother of Mrs. John
w. Cunningham and Mrs. Jesse Hix,
both of Union county. Her maiden
name was Jemima Ann Threwitts
Williamson. She was born in Vir-
ginia, but in early youth came with
her parents to Fairfield County, S. c.,
and was there married to Philips
Drury Cook, who in the COS was Gen.
Cook of the Coast Artillery of the
S. S. A. Mrs. Cook was the mother
of four children-one son and three
daughters. The son, Capt. John
Waring Cook Of the United States
army, was killed in the Mexican war.
Of the daughters, the youngest died
at the age of nineteen. The oldest
married Walter Blount Williamson,
the second married Col VIM. Alston,
both of Fairfield county
While Gen. Cook was in service on
the coast, Mrs. Cook carried on the
plantation work with the help of an
overseer. She spent the year 1860
in designing and making this histori-
cal secession quilt, which was given
her oldest granddaughter, who is now
Mrs. John w. Cunningham of Union
county. Later on she made a quilt
of very beautiful floral design, which
she gave to her second granddaugh-
ter, Mrs. Jesse HiX, of Union, but
when Sherman's men burned the Ais
ton home in Fairfield they cut up this
quilt and used it for saddle blankets.
Mrs. Jesse HiX, who lived with her
grandmother when very little girl,
says she remembers that her grand
mother put the quilt into the frame
then rolled a big table under it and
so sketched the entire design, and she
remembers what a long, long time
Grandmother was making on it and
how often the big frame had to be
pushed to one side to make way for
some other work."
The quilt is three yards square, and
is made of fine white cambria, with a
very thin wadding and quilted in tiny
stitches to form the outlines. Then
cotton picked from the seed by hand
and bleached to snowy whiteness and
carded by hand was shuffled with a
bodkin through the sheer thin lining
to raise the figures. This gives it a
beautiful appearance and makes it
really a work of art.
The design is historical and orig
inal. The centre represents an eagle
whose outspread wings rest upon the
inverted horns of two cornucopias,
from which are falling fruits and
flowers. From the beak of the eagle
floats streamer bearing the motto,
"E pluribus unum." Upon the back
of the eagle stands the Goddess of
Liberty bearing flag staff in her
right hand, a sheaf in her left. Back
of the Goddess to the right of the
flag staff and just above the starry
background is the word Secession,
beneath which is the date 1860. On
the left Of the Goddess is the name
Yamey, while the ten letters in
the name Washington form an arch
over her head. Beneath this picture
is the name P. d. Cook. the husband
of the designer. In the beautiful bor-
der of flowers and beadinggs that sur
rounds this centrepiece four arches
are inserted, each bearing the name
Of the four governors belonging to
the Notification Period-183O-183
Above the Goddess is Butler"
below "Hamilton,' to the right "Mc-
Duffie," to the left "Hayne." Around
all this is a wide band of grapes and
roses and in each corner two large
cornucopias filled with fruit and flow
ers.
Midway on each of the four sides
is the State emblem the Palmetto
tree and shields, and on each shield
there are two cunning little figures.
On the approach of Sherman's
army this quilt was packed in a box
with other family treasures and buried
deep in the earth. When taken up it
was badly stained and discolored, and
repeated washings were necessary.
This, no doubt, has made the letters
and figures less distinct. 1t was on
exhibition at the Charleston Exhibi-
tion in the Union county exhibit in
1902 as the following clipping from
The News and Courier will prove:
Union is without a doubt ahead in
historical exhibits; the beautiful hano.
made quilt surpasses anything in de-
sign and workmanship on exhibition"
Exposition Committee on Awards.
Mrs. Cook also made a dress for
herself out of woolen threads raveled
from scrapes of black cloth, carded
and REGARDED by hand with white
homegrown wool and woven on a
hand loom into a beautiful gray cloth.
The trimmed it with rows and rows of
tiny buttons cut out by hand from
gourd and covered with black silk
After the close Of the war when
the women of Columbia got up ba-
zaar for the benefit Of the disabled
Confederate soldiers, Mrs. Cook at
tended this bazaar and wore this dress.
1t attracted much attention and Mrs.
Cook at once don natnd IL Ia tho hnunnr