Quilting

Over at “Suture for a Living,” you will often find a quilt, because the author is both a plastic surgeon and a quilter. Today, I have a quilt on my blog, as well.

This is a quilt that includes all of the names of members of White Oak Presbyterian Church, the country church in southwestern Missouri to which my great-grandparents, and later my grandparents, belonged. The quilt is dated November 6, 1897.


Missouri was a border state during the Civil War and a major battle was fought in Carthage, Missouri, about twenty miles from the site of my great-grandfather’s homestead. The memories of the war were still fresh, as evidenced by the flag of the Confederacy in the center of the quilt.

The quilt contains the stitched names of the church members, including my great-grandfather, George, my grandfather, Harold, and his twin brother, Warren. My grandfather would have been nine years old at the time. My grandmother’s family, the Briggles, are also represented since theywere also members of the church.

The church membership dropped after World War II as farming and rural life changed. The congregation is no longer active and the building was recently sold. Running my hand over the carefully-placed hand-stitching reminds me, however, that the quilt remains intact and is as vibrant as the day it was completed.