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QUILT
[Bedding]


missing
View at Kansas Memory

Accession Number: 1956.21.0

Physical Description: Pieced quilt of red, green, and yellow fabrics on white ground. Pattern blocks are a variation of the Economy Patch or Thrift Block design. Hand-stitched and hand-quilted overall in grid, floral, and feather designs. Made by Mary Elizabeth Maxwell in Indiana during the early 1840s. Maxwell married Mahlon Newlin in 1846, and they moved to Kansas in 1867, settling first in Council Grove where Mahlon was a trader and Indian agent to the Kansa tribe. Eventually they moved to Lawrence. The couple was active in the Friends (Quaker) church.

History of Object: According to accession ledger, this quilt was pieced by Mary Elizabeth Maxwell in 1842 or 1843 in Indiana. The donor (her granddaughter) claimed the backing was homespun cotton. Maxwell married Mahlon Newlin in 1846, and they moved to Kansas in 1867. Census records confirm the donor?s story (see accession file). Mary E. Maxwell was born in Indiana in 1828. She and Newlin had eight children, all born in Indiana. The family moved to Kansas around 1867, first in Council Grove where Mahlon was a trader and Indian agent to the Kaw or Kansa tribe. By 1875 they had moved to Lawrence, when Mahlon died in 1897 and Mary in 1904. The couple was active in the Friends (Quaker) church.

Date: Between 1840 and 1846

Dimensions (in cm): 201.00 (H) 195.00 (W) L: 79"; W: 77"

Index Terms

Associations and Subjects

    Use, Place of: Lawrence (Kan.)
    Use, Place of: Kansas
    Use, Place of: Council Grove (Kan.)
    Origin, Place of: Indiana
    Use, Place of: Douglas County (Kan.)
    Use, Place of: Morris County (Kan.)
    Individual: Newlin, Mahlon Hockett, 1823-1897
    Individual: Newlin, Mary Elizabeth Maxwell, 1828-1904

Creators and Contributors

    Newlin, Mary Elizabeth Maxwell

Status: Cataloged

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