The Nyack Historical Society has recently come into possession of a pieced quilt with the words "Nyack" and "1862" appearing on it. The identical blocks are signed in their centers mostly by young women - a few older ones - 44 in all. There were among them seven Haring signatures and six Blauvelts and many other familiar Rockland and Bergen county names. We're wondering if perhaps the quilt was made in some way to support the Civil War effort? The pastor of the Greenbush Presbyterian Church did go to Virginia as a chaplain for a time, and some of the signers were members of that church, but not all. It doesn't have the romantic look of a bridal quilt. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I can send a picture privately to anyone who wishes to see what it looks like. Regina Haring Nanuet, NY http://www.dutchdoorgenealogy.com

This sounds like a Friendship, or Album quilt. They were made for vaious social purposes, and are still made today. There's a small history of Album quilts here, by a quilt historian: http://www.fabrics.net/laurettealbumquilts.asp If you're lucky, one of the quilt's makers may have kept a journal in which she recorded the purpose of the quilt. The Nyack HS might like to check through its holdings for such an item. Or perhaps the social column of the local newspaper ran a small piece concerning this quilt. HTH, Liz J On 4 April 2011 18:13, Regina Haring <[email protected]> wrote: > The Nyack Historical Society has recently come into possession of a pieced > quilt with the words "Nyack" and "1862" appearing on it. > > The identical blocks are signed in their centers mostly by young women - a > few older ones - 44 in all.  There were among them seven Haring signatures > and six Blauvelts and many other familiar Rockland and Bergen county names. > > We're wondering if perhaps the quilt was made in some way to support the > Civil War effort? The pastor of the Greenbush Presbyterian Church did go to > Virginia as a chaplain for a time, and some of the signers were members of > that church, but not all. It doesn't have the romantic look of a bridal > quilt. > > Any thoughts would be appreciated. I can send a picture privately to anyone > who wishes to see what it looks like. > > Regina Haring > Nanuet, NY > http://www.dutchdoorgenealogy.com

Regina, Friendship quilts were usually made as mementos - for instance, for a friend moving away - or commemorations of an anniversary or event. It's not out of the question that this could have been a wedding gift. The preponderance of young women's signatures makes sense. And a group of friends or a church guild were more likely to make a friendship quilt as a keepsake rather than a bed covering. An individual, if she were to make a quilt as a wedding gift, would be likely to create something showcasing great skill and using better fabrics and a more intricate pattern. The patterns of friendship quilts are usually extremely simple both in order to accommodate signatures and to be easy enough for unaccomplished sewers to make. A pastor going off to war would certainly occasion such a quilt. You mention the pastor of Greenbush Presbyterian, who did go to serve as a chaplain in the Civil War. Perfect sense, but - as you say - not all of the quilt signers were members of his congregation. Plus, the signers were 30% Blauvelts and Harings, whose families were likely to still be members of the Reformed Church. First Reformed Church of Hackensack [New Jersey] - "Church on the Green" - has two friendship quilts on display. One was definitely made by the women of the congregation and has not only their signatures - central in the blocks - but the names of their family members as spokes radiating outward. I can't recall whether it's dated, but I know that it was made in the 1930s or 1940s. If it were made in 1936, it would have been for the occasion of the congregation's 250th anniversary. If in 1946, for the 250th anniversary of the dedication of the first church. I would very much like a photo of the quilt. Best, Nancy ----- Original Message ----- From: Regina Haring <[email protected]> Date: Monday, April 4, 2011 6:14 pm Subject: [DUTCH-COLONIES] a Nyack Quilt To: [email protected] > The Nyack Historical Society has recently come into possession of a > pieced > quilt with the words "Nyack" and "1862" appearing on it. > > The identical blocks are signed in their centers mostly by young > women - a > few older ones - 44 in all. There were among them seven Haring > signatures > and six Blauvelts and many other familiar Rockland and Bergen > county names. > > We're wondering if perhaps the quilt was made in some way to > support the > Civil War effort? The pastor of the Greenbush Presbyterian Church > did go to > Virginia as a chaplain for a time, and some of the signers were > members of > that church, but not all. It doesn't have the romantic look of a > bridal > quilt. > > Any thoughts would be appreciated. I can send a picture privately > to anyone > who wishes to see what it looks like. > > Regina Haring > Nanuet, NY > http://www.dutchdoorgenealogy.com > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to DUTCH- > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Regina -- I would love to see a photo of this quilt -- thanks. Also, I'd be interested in any comments you receive about it. Do you have any idea of the value of these old quilts? I'm interested because I wonder if I should insure mine, and if so, how much to insure them for. I have a quilt made by my ancestor, Maria Haring, in 1776 (the date is in the center of the quilt. Years ago, because the edges were fraying, my mother sewed a brown border on this quilt -- unfortunately she sewed it on using a sewing machine!!! I can't see well enough to pick those tiny machine stitches out, and I'm not sure that I wouldn't end up damaging it, even if I could manage to see well enough to get those tiny machine stitches out. She meant well, but..... I have another quilt -- a "friendship quilt, in red and white. This one is just the pieced top; it was never made into a quilt. This is part of what got me interested in local history and genealogy all those many years ago -- I wanted to find out how all those names fit into the family history. Here are the names embroidered on the quilt -- Names on Haring-Sneden friendship quilt owned by Patricia A. Wardell (Note: Jessie Blacklidge, whose name appears on the quilt, lived only from 1873-1875, so the quilt would seem to date from those years as only living persons' names seem to appear on it): Evalyn Smith Martha Haring Mercer S. Smith John Riker Dellie Smith Jennie Sneden Sadie Sneden Edith Riker Lizzie Quackenbush Smith Sneden James B. Quackenbush Frank Sneden John C. Holdrum Isaac Quackenbush Hattie Haring Mamie Sneden Lois Haring Ira Haring Kate E. Sneden Jessie Holdrum Maud Sneden John J. Blacklidge Cornelia A. Sneden Warren N. Haring Maggie Blacklidge Leonard B. Sneden John A. Haring Jessie Blacklidge Evva Sneden Wilbur Haring Minnie Holland Kittie A. Sneden Grettie Haring John Holland J. Wesley Sneden Lizzie Sneden Rudd Sneden Elizabeth Riker Emily Holdrum Mary Sneden John Riker Jr. Jacob Sneden J. Arthur Blacklidge Charlie Sneden Kate D. Holdrum Edward Riker Please, when you get a chance, send me a picture of the Nyack quilt -- I'd really love to see it. Also -- how did you photograph it? I'd like to photography my two famiily quilts, but I don't quite know how to do it. Pat On Apr 4, 2011, at 6:13 PM, Regina Haring wrote: > The Nyack Historical Society has recently come into possession of a > pieced > quilt with the words "Nyack" and "1862" appearing on it. > > The identical blocks are signed in their centers mostly by young > women - a > few older ones - 44 in all. There were among them seven Haring > signatures > and six Blauvelts and many other familiar Rockland and Bergen county > names. > > We're wondering if perhaps the quilt was made in some way to support > the > Civil War effort? The pastor of the Greenbush Presbyterian Church > did go to > Virginia as a chaplain for a time, and some of the signers were > members of > that church, but not all. It doesn't have the romantic look of a > bridal > quilt. > > Any thoughts would be appreciated. I can send a picture privately to > anyone > who wishes to see what it looks like. > > Regina Haring > Nanuet, NY > http://www.dutchdoorgenealogy.com > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] > with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and > the body of the message