Name/Title
CoverletEntry/Object ID
2024.250.1Description
Geometric woven coverlet, woven, in navy and beige. From donor #68, Belle Lawson. Records indicate that Belle Lawson donated a coverlet referred to as "Grandma Lawson's Coverlet, born 1800 - died 1892", as indicated in historical society donor notebook. It is believed that this is the same quilt.Context
Our records indicate that Belle Lawson donated a coverlet to the Society belonging to her grandmother Keziah Cromwell Lawson (1800-1892). Keziah and Stephen Lawson, Belle’s grandfather, lived in Charlton, NY most of their lives as farmers. They moved to Rosendale, between 1860 and 1870, where their son, Charles Lawson was already living, as a farmer with his wife, Melissa. About 1919, after the passing of Keziah, Stephen, and Charles, Melissa and her daughter, Belle, moved to 515 Ransom St. in Ripon, now known as the Pedrick-Lawson House, managed by the Historical Society.
The geometric pattern in this coverlet was created using indigo dyed weft, likely of wool, and natural warp, likely of cotton. The geometric pattern is a repeated ‘chariot wheel’ motif. The earliest woven coverlets were done using a type of overshot weave. Perhaps the name “overshot” refers to the way the dyed yarn or pattern weft “shoots” over the plain weave or warp. The simple, and reversible, geometric pattern is created based on a combination of blocks. The weaver creates the pattern by raising and lowering the pattern weft with treadles.
This coverlet, like all coverlets not woven on a broad loom, has a center seam. The coverlet was woven as one continuous 36 inch wide length, then cut in half. The two halves were then sewn together, making the whole coverlet 72 inches wide. The National Museum of American History has a very similar coverlet with the ‘chariot wheel’ motif. While the date of the Lawson coverlet has not been confirmed, they date their quilt as no earlier than 1790 but no later than 1825 because at that point the introduction of the Jacquard patterning mechanism to create figured and fancy coverlets all but replaced traditional overshot patterning in many regions of the United States. Interestingly, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation also has a coverlet with a nearly identical chariot wheel pattern that dates to 1793. One could speculate that Keziah herself may have woven the coverlet in preparation for her marriage, at the age of 18, as was the common custom for women of the period. This would date the coverlet to 1818. The coverlet is likely over 200 years old. It is speculated that at about the age of 70, when Keziah moved west, she took the coverlet with her and after her passing it ultimately came into Belle's possession.Acquisition
Accession
2024.250Source or Donor
Belle LawsonAcquisition Method
DonationMade/Created
Date made
circa 1818Time Period
19th CenturyInscription/Signature/Marks
Type
LabelLocation
corner of coverletLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
CoverletNomenclature Primary Object Term
BedcoverNomenclature Class
BeddingNomenclature Category
Category 02: Furnishings
