Name/Title
QuiltEntry/Object ID
2013.39.1Description
Friendship quilt made by the friends of donor's maternal great-great-grandmother, Betsey Juckett Mears. The quilt has an off-white background with the pattern in various color print fabrics. The center of each colored pattern has been signed by a friend with a notation of their residence (Fletcher, Milton, Colchester, Fairfax, Fletcher Center, South Hero). One block is signed and dated: Loisa Boynton, April 4, 1850, Fletcher. The back of the quilt is a plain loosely woven off-white fabric. The quilt has "cut-outs" for the bed posts at the foot of the bed.Context
Betsey Juckett was born September 6, 1820 and died September 3, 1896 in West Milton, Vermont. In 1841 she married Elias Tyler Mears (1807-1903). Her first marriage and his second, they set up home in West Milton where they lived their entire lives.
Friendship quilts were, and still are, a common form of communal gift to celebrate life milestones such as marriages, births, anniversaries, and housewarming. One of the squares is dated 1850 leading to an early construction date of that year. Betsey Mears had no big life events that year - that we know of. She did give birth to her second son in 1851 so this quilt may be for that event.Acquisition
Accession
2013.39Source or Donor
Perkins, Brenda Peterson (b. 1951)Acquisition Method
GiftCredit Line
In Memory of Jeneva Patterson PetersonLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
QuiltNomenclature Primary Object Term
NeedleworkNomenclature Class
ArtNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication Objects