Notes
According to family tradition, this quilt was made by Laura Helen Henry Carter (1836–1856), a daughter of John (1796–1868) and Elvira McClelland Henry (1808–1875) and a granddaughter of Patrick Henry.
Laura was born at Red Hill on March 15, 1836, and married Dr. James W. Carter (ca. 1826–?) on March 7, 1855. She died on July 4, 1856, at only 21 years old, and is buried at Red Hill in the Henry family cemetery, several feet west of Patrick and Dorothea Henry's graves. The epitaph on her gravestone reads: "Her short life was bright. Her death full of glory."
Laura was a talented seamstress and embroiderer, as evidenced by a collar and handkerchief (76.176.1-2) also made by Laura in the foundation's collection.
On November 21, 1961, Lucile Golden donated the quilt to Preservation Virginia (then the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities). According to her, she inherited the quilt from her mother, who was a descendant of Patrick Henry.
Preservation Virginia transferred the quilt to the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation on April 12, 2025.