Dr. Mason Crary name is inscribed Dr. M. Crary with an image of bloodletting tools. (It’s hard to unsee, once you see it and think of what it shows.) He was born in 1779 in Connecticut, from there the family moved to Albany, NY where he studied medicine. In 1804 he moved to Luzerne Co where he met the Nathan Beach family, the first white settlers in the area and married the daughter Desire. Nathan Beach, an attorney, was very influential in Pennsylvania serving in the legislature and various offices for the Susquehanna and Lehigh Canal as well as the turnpike. In 1814 Dr. Crary moved to Philad ..read more

The Hyers are a reminder that the Machette coverlet (the earliest of this group) is less about fundraising and businesses, but more about family and neighbors. There are 10 Hyer family inscriptions, including William Jacob Hyer, who was the patriarch of the inscribers on the coverlet. William Hyer was born on December 11, 1765, in New Jersey and was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1789. He married Sarah Chambers in 1796. (Note there are six Chambers family inscriptions on this coverlet and one on the DAR Fish Album Quilt. In addition, Emma Fish did marry into the Chambers family.) In 1807 Wi ..read more

Dr. Carolyn Ducy at the International Quilt Museum started the connections between some NSCA quilts by connecting the Emma Fish Album Quilt (Daughters of the American Revolution Museum), Emmeline Fish Album Quilt (International Quilt Museum), and the Fish/Perrine Album Quilt (Denver Art Museum). Through the Taylors and Machette/Vallettes we are showing connections to the Machette & Taylor Coverlet (Poos Collection), and the Machette/Vallette Album Coverlet (auction quilt.) Potentially the Sarah Flickwir Album Quilt (Philadelphia Museum of Art) is also connected through the Taylors, but we ..read more

As we continue our research into the Northern Style Cut-out Applique Quilts (NSCA), we will examine the influence of the Machette/Vallettes family. Besides Hetty Coe Taylor, the other prominent inscription was Edwin Vallette Machette, possibly the groom in our working theory of an engagement coverlet and he married Hetty two years later. Mr. Edwin Vallette Machette was a hardware merchant in Philadelphia from 1847-1859 at Machette & Raiguel store which sold hardware and cutlery both foreign imported and domestic. In 1859, he and his partner sold all the goods of the store and E.V. Machette ..read more

As we continue our research into the Northern Style Cut-out Applique Quilts (NSCA), we will examine the influence of the Taylor family. Since we have a working theory of an engagement quilt for the Machette/Taylor Coverlet 1840 in the Poos Collection, one of the primary inscriptions is of Hetty Coe Taylor. She also has potentially a second block on the quilt with a cute dog and the inscription “Hetty.” It seems likely to be another block for her, unless someone named their dog Hetty and she was included. (Ha!) Not counting the Hetty block as a separate Taylor, there are 12 different Taylors th ..read more

In 1805, The Select Society published rules for the Philadelphia girl’s society as follows: “We are to meet at half-past two, to sew till eight…and that boys shall not be admitted until eight o’clock.” Sewing Societies in Philadelphia were extremely active and productive. The sewing groups went by many different names and served multiple different functions. Sewing Societies were so popular in Philadelphia that merchants ran newspaper ads to attract the societies as customers offering special prices on goods and fabrics such as flannels, woolens, calicoes [sic], muslins, and calico quilts. The ..read more

Now that 35 plus quilts have been located in the style dubbed Northern Cut-out Applique, it is time to really focus on each quilt/coverlet/quilt top to see if we can figure out that quilt’s particular story as well as how that quilt ties together with other coverlets from the grouping. This is especially true since these coverlets have inscriptions on the blocks which provide additional information. It makes sense to start with the coverlet in the Poos Collection. The Machette/Taylor Coverlet is so named because of the two inscriptions located prominently on the quilt with matching dates of Ap ..read more

When we were researching quilters who made BAQ’s we were searching for evidence of who might have made a living creating those quilts or at least supplemented their income. Evidence of women who advertised as quilters or sold quilt blocks was limited, and therefore researchers tended to explore dressmakers or milliners as possibilities. In Philadelphia, the first reference to a quilter in a Philadelphia Business Directory occurs in 1820. Beulah Wilson was listed as a quilter on Poplar Lane near Front. She made a living as a quilter for more than 10 years. In the 1830 edition of the Business Di ..read more

Happy New Year! I’m having a hard time believing it is almost 2024. However, when I think of the quilting fun to come this year…I’m ready. I hope you are ready to join us too! Don’t forget that our 2023 Triplett Sisters Block of the Month Album Quilt with Half-Blocks was complex enough to continue into the new year. So, that means there is still plenty of time to join us! Everyone works at their own pace so you won’t be behind. If that quilt isn’t your style, The Triplett Sisters BOM for 2024 is just getting started and is very different in size and style. Prussian Blue Star Center Medallion i ..read more

When I hunted for quilting supplies in Baltimore Maryland, the earliest references in the newspaper ads were 1849 for quilting scissors or Album blocks. (Here is a link to the article.) However, in Philadelphia, we see ads for “quiltings” and “double back quiltings” as early as 1832-33. A hunt for a 19th century dictionary or reference book to define the phrase didn’t magically appear, even after digging. I did find an ad that noted it was quilted fabric with 2 backings for extra warmth. By 1840s Dry Goods stores advertised, quilts and counterpanes for sale, as well as quilting frames. Startin ..read more