Elizabeth Franklin; coverlet, overshot; 1790-1814; Virginia
date: label: Date made
content: 19th Century
label: date made
content: 1790-1814
name: label: maker
content: Franklin, Elizabeth
notes: label: Description
content: Elizabeth Franklin of Montross, Virginia wove this three panel, overshot, red, white, and blue, cotton and wool coverlet sometime between approximately 1790 and 1814. Franklin’s great-grand-daughter, Evelyn Balderson Riley (b. 1885) stated that the coverlet was “in the family when the British raided Baltimore and the Potomac." More research is needed to link Evelyn B. Riley to Elizabeth Franklin, and the nature of late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century genealogical documents makes identifying female ancestors all the more difficult. What is known is that Riley’s paternal grandfather, James B. Balderson (b. c.1805) and his wife, Telicia Phenzen Balderson (b. c.1803) owned at least fifty-five enslaved people according to the 1840 Slave Schedule. These were wealthy landed families, and the weaving of coverlets, although possibly done by the women of the family, likely involved the free labor of enslaved women and children.
label: Description
content: The coverlet pattern is most commonly referred to as “Pine Blossom/Bloom,” but, as with all coverlet pattern names, they varied based on time and geography. The coverlet is made from cotton and wool, Z-spun singles, suggesting hand spinning for both yarns and an early date of creation. The three panel coverlet measures 111”x78”.
place: label: Place Made
content: United States: Virginia, Westmoreland
label: place made
content: United States: Virginia, Montross
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Textiles
label: See more items in
content: Coverlets
label: See more items in
content: Textiles
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of George J. Hassett
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TE.T7410
label: catalog number
content: T.07410.000
label: catalog number
content: ?I7410.000
label: accession number
content: 129754
objectType: label: Object Name
content: coverlet, overshot
label: Object Name
content: coverlet
label: Object Type
content: Pine Bloom
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: overshot (overall production method/technique)
label: Physical Description
content: pine bloom (overall pattern)
label: Physical Description
content: red (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: white (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: blue (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: wool (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: cotton (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 78 in x 111 in; 198.12 cm x 281.94 cm