http://www.geocities.com/fcruble/velmasfamilygenealogy.html Lora's Photography at http://www.lorasphotography.nitemyste.com I wanted to share this information with you that was shared on another list. I wasn't aware of this, but its very interesting to read. Alli Did you know there is a secret language of quilts ? I did not, and found it to be fascinating. Quilts were used in the slave days as a means of communicating for the underground railroad. Different quilts told slaves different things necessary to their traveling the underground railroad. These secret message quilts were hung over porch railings, or on clothes lines and were 'read' just like a message or roadmap. The Monkey Wrench quilt told them to start preparing for their flight north. It said, gather up your tools, the things you will need to make the trip to freedom in the north. The Wagon Wheel quilt told them to start the trip. The symbolism is obvious here, wagons travel, so do you. The Bear's Paw quilt told them to follow this path or route, just as the bear did, to find water, food, a well traveled path. It was a sign to the slaves that they were on the right path. The Crossroads quilt announced that they had arrived at the crossroads and needed help in deciding which direction they would take next. The crossroads of the underground railroad was usually Cleveland, Ohio. From that point on slaves decided if they went to Ohio, Canada, New Your, etc. So, once on free land, Ohio, how did the slaves find 'conductors' who could lead to in the right decision and direction ? The Log Cabin quilt told them where to find lodging that was sympathetic to their cause. They knew there was a kindred soul at the house displaying a Log Cabin quilt, someone who would provide lodging, food and safety. >From that point they looked for Shoofly quilts. A Shoofly quilt indicated a conductor, someone who could help them make decisions, lead them along a path, show them the route to whatever dream they cherished. There is a book mentioned on the program called "Hidden In Plain View" that I am sure will explain it in much more intelligent means than I have done, but I thought it was a very interesting bit of information. I had no idea that quilts had been use for communicating secret messages. So, if you have old quilts that your ancestors made, get a book of quilt patterns and see if you have one of these signal quilts. Since most of the quilts I have collected come from my southern ancestors I do not have any underground railroad quilts in my collection. However, my mother's side of the family were Northerners, and many from Ohio. Next time I am up north I am going to look at all their quilts. ==== ADAMS Mailing List ==== To UNSUBSCRIBE in MAIL mode use: Adams-l-request@rootsweb.com To UNSUBSCRIBE in DIGEST mode use: Adams-D-request@rootsweb.com ANY Problems or questions contact ME (ALLI) at iamcherokee@qwest.net Archives: http://resources.rootsweb.com/surnames/a/d/ADAMS For help getting rid of a virus/worm visit www.angelfire.com/or/matney/page1.html