Family Heirloom: A Child's quilt

Recently, I attended a workshop in Augusta which included a presentation by Deb Nowers, who had inherited some family heirlooms and sharing how these items were passed down through family members with short bios.  It was a great way to pass on information about these items and I realized I also have inherited several family heirlooms, some old and some not so old.  I’ll probably write about these items in future blogs to inspire others to think about writing down what they know about various items they received by inheritance or given by relatives.

I going to begin with a child’s quilt that's just over 100 years old.

I was surprised to learn from one of my father’s cousins, that you can trace the “ancestry” as she called it, of family quilts.  This was due to the fact that often a style or pattern of family quilts was passed generation to generation.  She was disappointed to learn that many of the quilts made by great-grandmother had not survived due to improper storage in plastic bags which caused the quilts to disintegrate.  This cousin had been trying to prove a style of quilting she called the “Sunburst pattern” in quilts passed down by her grandmother, Sarah (Mower) Mosher, sister to my great-grandmother Emily (Mower) Smith, also existed with other descendants.  This would prove that Sarah and Emily’s mother had taught them this same style of quilting, take her back another generation of using this style of quilting. Sadly this existing quilt did not match the style of the “Sunburst” quilts her family received.  This quilt was probably an easy pattern that was used either by the family or used by others.

Emily (Mower) Smith, my great-grandmother was the maker of this quilt.  She was born on May 9, 1871 in Corinna, Maine.  She was one of three girls born to her parents.  All the girls were taught to sew and quilt mostly from their mother and aunts.  

Emily "Emmie" Mower as a child

 Emily attended Corinna Union Academy for her schooling and met her husband, J. Clifford Smith.  Their courtship was a long one as it was three years before he asked her to marry him.  They were married in Corinna, Maine on November 24, 1894 at her parent’s home.  The birth of her first child, Leona followed a year later on October 28, 1895.  This quilt was made for Leona.  I am told it was made from leftover cloth from other sewing or quilting projects. Emily would have two more children my grandfather, Donald in 1897, and his sister, Alta in 1899.  Emily may have made quilts for each child, but only this child’s quilt is known to exist today.  

Emmie (Mower) Smith at the time of her marriage

When Emily was 33 years old she became very ill.  It was decided that the best course of treatment would be at a sanatorium in Greenville, Maine.  Her daughter said Emily developed T.B. and that it was thought could mountain air was best for the lungs at that time.  Emily died on April 30, 1905, just 9 days before her 34^th birthday. 

Leona Golda Smith, was the first person to have this quilt made by her mother. 

Donald and Leona Smith, taken in 1898
The age that Leona would have used the quilt

Leona became a teacher after graduating from Corinna Union Academy in 1913.  She took a teaching job at Belgrade, Maine and boarded with a family named Judkins while there.  The family had a son, Wilbur Judkins who eventually became Leona’s husband.  They married on October 29, 1919 in Corinna, Maine at her father’s house and continued to live there for the rest of their lives.  

Leona about 1920

Leona had one daughter, Alta Lorene Judkins.  Leona was the family historian as noted in the family story about my lost uncle Ezra Smith.  Leona died February 24, 1986 in Corinna, Maine.

Alta Lorene Judkins or Lorene as she is called was born December 27, 1921 in Corinna, Maine. The quilt was used by her as child and she was the second person to inherit the quilt. 

Lorene as a child

Lorene also attended Corinna Union Academy and her best friend and neighbor was Faye Perkins.  Faye’s older brother, George Perkins would escort Lorene home in the evenings after visiting Faye and eventually George and Lorene would marry in 1944.  They had one daughter, Loralee in 1946 whom they called “Poppy”.  I assume Lorene used the quilt with her daughter, but she did say that did. After Lorene’s mother passed in 1986 and her own daughter was grown and married with two boys.  Lorene took the quilt and had it professional stretched and framed and hung it on the wall in the stairwell of her home in Newport, Maine where it remained. 

Lorene and George 1990

In 2010, when Lorene sold her house, to move to Massachusetts and live with her daughter, she gave the quilt to her first cousin once removed, Peter Smith along with a portrait of Emily (Mower) Smith.

Portrait of Emmie done in 1900
I got the quilt and portrait together

The frame was delivered to my brother, Michael who had an ideal location to hang this framed quilt in the stairwell of his home, out of direct sunlight.  Although neither my brother or I ever used this quilt, we are the third generation descendants of our great-grandmother to inherit this.  Eventually, it’s hoped the quilt will be passed on to his children and grandchildren.  For now, it is proudly on display in his home.