A note pinned to this quilt by Emma Mabel King highlights the role of quilts as preservers of personal histories, and also how threads of memory are lost or tangled over time. The rich fabrics used in this Log Cabin made by "Mother" are described as having been salvaged from "pieces of our dresses, among others her own wedding dress, and our first silk dresses. It is in a way a sort of history of our early days." Based upon the information contained in this note, the maker of the quilt, once identified as Sara Olmstead King, is more likely Sarah Lamb Dwight of New Hampshire, who married Joseph Olmstead King of Connecticut. Their daughter Emma Mabel was born in Jacksonville, Illinois, in 1845 (where her parents are buried). In 1869 Emma married John Elihu Dwight, whose father's company produced Arm and Hammer Baking Soda. As the quilt incorporates fabrics with sentimental associations, it may have been made for Emma's wedding or perhaps the birth of her first son a year later.

Stacy C. Hollander, "Log Cabin Quilt, Barn Raising Variation," exhibition label for alt_quilts: Sabrina Gschwandtner, Luke Haynes, Stephen Sollins. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2013.
 
 Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.　

To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org