03 Quilt Made by Mrs. Etchison on display in the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources Collection
Davie County Public Library
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Quilt Made by Mrs. Etchison on Display in the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
Collection
The following information is a screen capture from the North Carolina Department of Cultural
Resources. It is a description of the quilt Mrs. Etchison made for her marriage in 1852. The link to the
website and this specific quilt is
http://collections.ncdcr.gov/dcr/ProficioScript.aspx?IDCFile=DETAILS.IDC,TITLE=NEW
SEARCH,URL=search.html,SPECIFIC=25361,DATABASE=WebTagSet635470681928216999
(Note: If the above link does not connect to the quilt, go to http://collections.ncdcr.gov and search on
Etchison. The correct entry is described as a Bedcover, Quilt, Whig’s Defeat.)
This quilt is located in the North Carolina Museum of History. It is known as “Whig’s Defeat” in the
Museum Collection but is called “Tennessee Beauty” in Cana Connections by Betty Etchison West.
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BEDCOVER
Davie County Public Library
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Davie County Public Library
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Accession #: H.1976.118.1
Agency: Museum of History
Date Made: 1852
Dimensions
(English): [Lt]7' 3 5/8" [Wdt]7' 13/16"
Dimensions
(Metric): [Lt]222.5 cm [Wdt]215.5 cm
Category: FURNISHINGS
Class: BEDDING
Alternate Name: QUILT, BED
Signature/Marks:
Description:
QUILT; WHIG'S DEFEAT PATTERN; PIECED AND APPLIQUED, SQUARES SET
ON DIAGONAL, DIAMOND AND SQUARE SASHING, RED, GREEN, AND RED
ON WHITE, GREEN BINDING, WHITE LINING.
Vessel Name: Title: WHIG'S DEFEAT
Associations: ETCHISON, LOUISA GREEN FURCHES __MAKER
Place Made: USA NORTH CAROLINA DAVIE
Place Used: USA NORTH CAROLINA DAVIE
Davie County Public Library
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Use
History:
MADE FOR THE 1852 WEDDING OF LOUISA GREEN FURCHES ETCHISON (1830-1911),
DAVIE COUNTY. QUILTING DONE BY BRIDE AND HER MOTHER AND SISTER.
Style: Maker: ETCHISON, LOUISA GREEN FURCHES
How
Made:
Materials: COTTON
EXPANDED DESCRIPTION:
WHIG'S DEFEAT PATTERN, PIECED BLOCKS IN RED, GREEN, GOLD, WHITE. "THE PATTERN WAS
DESIGNED AT THE TIME OF THE ELECTION OF 1844 WHEN THE WHIG PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATE, HENRY CLAY, WAS DEFEATED BY THE DEMOCRAT, JAMES K. POLK". THE PATTERN
DOES NOT FIT INTO A STANDARD CATEGORY. FAMILY CALLED THIS QUILT "TENNESSEE
BEAUTY". WHIG'S DEFEAT OR TENNESSEE BEAUTY QUILT, BRACKMAN #4074. HAND PIECED,
HAND APPLIQUE. 20.5" BLOCKS: EIGHT HALF BLOCKS; TWO QUARTER CORNERS. PLAIN
COTTON; WHITE, RED AND GREEN. SET ON POINT. 3.5" RED AND WHITE PIECED SASHING;
CORNER - TWO SIDES - TEN PIECED FINGERS. DOMESTIC BACKING. 1/4" STRAIGHT GRAIN
BINDING, HAND SEWN. THIN COTTON BATTING. HAND QUILTED, 22 STITCHES PER INCH;
SINGLE THREAD; GREEN, RED, BLUE OR WHITE. QUILTING PATTERN BLOCK: FOL LOWS TOP
DESIGN - CLAMSHELL, OAK LEAVES, DIAGONAL "FILLER"; SET: PARALLEL TO PIECE OAK
LEAVES. EXCELLENT CONDITION; UNWASHED. 86.6" X 87.4".
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
THIS PIECED QUILT WAS MADE IN ANTICIPATION OF THE QUILTER'S WEDDING. HER MOTHER
AND SISTER HELPED HER COMPLETE THE QUILT. THE MAJORITY OF QUILTS FOUND IN NORTH
CAROLINA ARE PIECED. MOST WOMEN WERE PROFICIENT IN THE SEWING SKILLS REQUIRED
TO MAKE A PIECED QUILT BECAUSE THEY WERE THE SAME SKILLS USED TO MAKE CLOTHING.
PIECED QUILTS ALSO SAVE FABRIC AND WERE USUALLY CREATED FOR UTILITARIAN
PURPOSES. PIECED QUILT PATTERNS RANGE FROM THE SIMPLE TO THE COMPLEX.