Ira Hadsell wove this fancy-weave coverlet for Thankful Boyce in 1853. The Boyce family first appears in Wayne County, New York, in the 1830 census. Manchester Boyce was a prosperous farmer in the area of Marion, five miles north of Palmyra. He and Thankful Congdon were married about 1827 and had at least six children. Fancy-weave coverlets were expensive items that often were purchased for special occasions, and it is possible that this coverlet marked Manchester and Thankful's twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. It features the dark blue and white color scheme that was particularly popular in New York State through the middle of the nineteenth century.

Before he took up professional weaving, Hadsell had spent years on the Erie Canal towpath, eventually running his own boat, the Eclipse, which hauled wheat to Rochester. He left life on the canal to spend several more years traveling by foot throughout Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana before returning to Palmyra and forming a partnership with a friend, weaver James Van Ness. In 1848 Hadsell introduced a full-width loom to produce seamless coverlets, and by 1851 he had bought out Van Ness to continue weaving on his own. Hadsell is best known for this central-medallion pattern with eagles, four liberty profiles, and the naturalistic leaves and vines woven into the fields. His diaries retain flowers that he pressed into its pages for later reference. Hadsell continued to weave until 1875, and according to extant account books, he produced about 1,600 coverlets.

Stacy C. Hollander, "Fancy-Weave Doublecloth Coverlet: Liberty Design for Thankful Boyce," in American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 340-41.