Log Cabin Quilt, Barn Raising Variation1861–186574 × 81"Cotton, wool, and silkGift of Mary D. Bromham, grandniece of Mary Jane Smith1987.9.10Applied binding seamed to top, whipstitched to backing. Foundation pieced.152371241Mary Jane SmithMary Morrell SmithTextilesThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain.Clintonville (now Whitestone)Clintonville (now Whitestone)United StatesNew YorkTextileseMuseum - Collection HighlightsClintonville (now Whitestone)log cabinThe Log Cabin quilt tradition dates from Abraham Lincoln's 1860 "log cabin" campaign. Log Cabin quilts introduced a new technique known as foundation piecing, in which individual pieces of fabric—the logs of the cabin—are stitched to an underlying foundation fabric as well as to each other. In the most basic pattern, the logs are laid around a central block that symbolizes the hearth of the fireplace in the cabin. Many Log Cabin variations are possible and rely upon the strategic placement of light and dark fabrics to create different effects.
This quilt is constructed in a Barn Raising pattern in which light and dark fabrics are arranged to form concentric diamonds. It was made by Mary Jane Smith, who was born in Clintonville (now Whitestone), Queens County, New York. Mary Jane was the daughter of John Smith, a prosperous farmer, and Mary Morrell Smith, who helped her daughter make the quilt. It was part of Mary Jane Smith's trousseau, made in anticipation of her marriage to Ephraim Gladfelter, a young man from Philadelphia who had served in the Union Army throughout the Civil War and whom Mary Jane met at Fort Totten, in New York, during the war. The day before the wedding, Mary Jane and her mother met Gladfelter at his Manhattan hotel and then journeyed back to Queens. Shortly after their return home, however, a messenger arrived to inform them that Gladfelter had died of pneumonia. Three years later, Mary Jane also died, unmarried, and the quilt—like the rest of her trousseau—was never used. This is the earliest Log Cabin quilt in the museum's collection. Made mostly of cotton and wool with some silk pieces, it was probably intended as a functional bedcover.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Log Cabin Quilt: Barn Raising Variation," in American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 345.piecedThis log cabin quilt has a very complete family history. The quilt was started by Mary Morrell Smith (b.1798) and completed by her daughter Mary Jane Smith. It thought that the quilt was made as part of her trousseau for a marriage that, tragically, never took place. Ms. Smith's fiancé, Ephraim Gladfelter, was from Philadelphia and served throughout the civil war with the union forces. He survived the war and established a home in Philadelphia. He arrived in New York one day before his wedding and sent for Mary Jane Smith to meet him in a Manhattan hotel where he lay ill. When she and her mother arrived from Whitestone, he asked that the marriage take place as planned, but a messenger following them home arrived with the news that the groom had died just after they left. Mary Jane Smith died, heartbroken, a few years later. 18611865 1987 9 1 log cabinThe Log Cabin quilt tradition dates from Abraham Lincoln's 1860 "log cabin" campaign. Log Cabin quilts introduced a new technique known as foundation piecing, in which individual pieces of fabric—the logs of the cabin—are stitched to an underlying foundation fabric as well as to each other. In the most basic pattern, the logs are laid around a central block that symbolizes the hearth of the fireplace in the cabin. Many Log Cabin variations are possible and rely upon the strategic placement of light and dark fabrics to create different effects.
This quilt is constructed in a Barn Raising pattern in which light and dark fabrics are arranged to form concentric diamonds. It was made by Mary Jane Smith, who was born in Clintonville (now Whitestone), Queens County, New York. Mary Jane was the daughter of John Smith, a prosperous farmer, and Mary Morrell Smith, who helped her daughter make the quilt. It was part of Mary Jane Smith's trousseau, made in anticipation of her marriage to Ephraim Gladfelter, a young man from Philadelphia who had served in the Union Army throughout the Civil War and whom Mary Jane met at Fort Totten, in New York, during the war. The day before the wedding, Mary Jane and her mother met Gladfelter at his Manhattan hotel and then journeyed back to Queens. Shortly after their return home, however, a messenger arrived to inform them that Gladfelter had died of pneumonia. Three years later, Mary Jane also died, unmarried, and the quilt—like the rest of her trousseau—was never used. This is the earliest Log Cabin quilt in the museum's collection. Made mostly of cotton and wool with some silk pieces, it was probably intended as a functional bedcover.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Log Cabin Quilt: Barn Raising Variation," in American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 345.piecedThis log cabin quilt has a very complete family history. The quilt was started by Mary Morrell Smith (b.1798) and completed by her daughter Mary Jane Smith. It thought that the quilt was made as part of her trousseau for a marriage that, tragically, never took place. Ms. Smith's fiancé, Ephraim Gladfelter, was from Philadelphia and served throughout the civil war with the union forces. He survived the war and established a home in Philadelphia. He arrived in New York one day before his wedding and sent for Mary Jane Smith to meet him in a Manhattan hotel where he lay ill. When she and her mother arrived from Whitestone, he asked that the marriage take place as planned, but a messenger following them home arrived with the news that the groom had died just after they left. Mary Jane Smith died, heartbroken, a few years later.