Name/Title
Coverlet photographEntry/Object ID
CDP 24.3.AW009Description
Navy and natural figured tied Beiderwand coverlet with corner block for Mary Miller and date 1848. Woven in two panels with wool weft of indigo blue; self fringe on three sides. Roses and geometric sunbursts form the central pattern which is surrounded by a serpentine foliage border and two rows of geometric stars; 74 x 88”.
It was woven by a professional weaver, possibly William McDonnell as there are receipts in the family where Mary Firey Miller purchased textiles from him, including 41 yards of diaper in 1836. It belonged to Mary Firey Miller (1795-1877), daughter of Henry Firey, Jr. and Elizabeth Peters, who married in 1816 Captain Samuel Miller (1783-1849). In 1823, they built a large red brick house along the National Pike (Route 40) and Spickler Road where they farmed. The house still stands, as well as the stone house on the Firey farm along the west side of St. Paul’s Road where Mary was raised, and Mary’s grandfather Joseph Firey’s stone house located northwest of Clear Spring along the Conococheague Creek where he operated a grist mill and farm. The coverlet passed to her son Rev. Victor Miller (1834-1920), a Lutheran minister in Washington County, Maryland and thence through the family.Collection
Coverlet Documentation Project, Ankeney-Woods CollectionAcquisition
Notes
Photographed and documented 11/06/24Made/Created
Date made
1848Place
State/Province
MarylandCountry
United States of AmericaInscription/Signature/Marks
Type
Cornerblock inscriptionLocation
LL, LRTranscription
MARY/MILLER/1848Material/Technique
Woven