1850 - 1875 Long Plantation "Feathered Star" Pieced Quilt
date: label: date made
content: 1850-1875
name: label: maker
content: unknown
notes: label: Description
content: In the donor’s words: “The . . . quilt was pieced and quilted by the wives of the Negro slaves, with my grandmother being there to see that they did it right. The cotton filling in the quilt was raised on the Long plantation. The quilt came to me from my mother who had received it from her mother-in-law. This quilt, when first made and even after I received it, was green, red and white . . . the green has faded out [to tan]. You will find some machine stitching on the border around the quilt, my mother did this a number of years ago as it became worn from use . . . the quilt is very precious to me because of the history related to it.”
label: Description
content: The plantation the donor refers to is situated on Little Cypress Creek in Upshur County, Texas. It was homesteaded by M.S. Long Sr., the donor’s grandfather. M. S. Long, originally from Ireland, traveled by wagon train from Tennessee (where he had first settled) to Texas in the 1840s. He brought along slaves who built houses and other buildings, and then cleared lands for crops such as cotton, corn and cane. The plantation grew to well over 1,000 acres and the donor’s grandparents lived there the rest of their lives. It was on this plantation that the quilt was made.
label: Description
content: The quilt consists of four 28” blocks and 2 half-blocks pieced in a “Feathered Star” pattern. The blocks are joined by triple 1 ¼” strips with red 8-pointed stars at the intersections. It has a plain-woven white and brown stripe cotton lining. A border strip (2 2/3”) of white cotton is stitched over the original red, green (now tan), and white sashing. Possibly the quilt was cut down to eliminate worn areas. It is quilted, 5-6 stitches per inch.
label: Description
content: This “Feathered Star” quilt and a thimble used by the donor’s great-grandfather in Ireland for making and repairing leather goods are in the Collection. The donor was the last in the family and did not wish to see these treasured items lost or thrown away. The quilt is an example of a utilitarian, well used household item made by slaves as part of their work on a plantation.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Texas, Gilmer
topic: label: Subject
content: Quilting
label: Subject
content: Slavery
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Textiles
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content: Textiles
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content: Domestic Furnishings
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content: Quilts
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Bonnie L. Carroll
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1979.0933.01
label: catalog number
content: 1979.0933.01
label: accession number
content: 1979.0933
objectType: label: Object Name
content: quilt
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: fabric, cotton (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: thread, cotton (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: filling, cotton (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 83 in x 68 in; 211 cm x 173 cm