I HAVE BECOME A SLAVE TO THE HISTORY OF OLD QUILTS OF ANY KIND

A typical quilting bee, still happening today.

I made the unforgivable mistake this past week of linking controversial underground railroad quilts with the recent introduction of barn quilts that are now showing up in rural countryside settings across the U.S. and Canada. In truth, I was not really comparing apples and apples when I mentioned a *book dealing with UGRR codes, but it seemed that way at least to the administrator of a virtual history group to which I often make contributions.

You have to be cognizant of sensitivities when dealing with history and historians in general.

I will attempt to start at the beginning, as Yogi Berra would say, of a story that on the surface is somewhat convoluted.

Quilts by nature are warm and comfortable.  After all, what is a bed without a soft, billowy quilt to cover us on cold winter nights. There is just something about a colourful hand-made quilt that is inviting, cozy and conducive to rest. But quilts can also tell stories. No need to open a book, we can simply open a quilt to find out what stories these beautiful bed coverings have to share.

Quilts are a narrative part of many cultures.

Historically, traditional quilts were made by hand. In many cases in the not-too-distant past, groups of friends and neighbors would gather to work on one quilt together. This greatly reduced the amount of time it would have taken one person to make a quilt. These social gatherings were known as “quilting bees."

The materials for traditional quilts came from many sources. Often the cloth used to make the blankets came from familiar items, such as clothing. From the choice of material to the design and pattern quilts can tell stories about the time period in which they were made and the people who made them.

One very dear type of quilt is the friendship quilt. Friendship quilts are made as a gift of remembrance. They can be given to a friend or relative, commemorate a wedding or a new baby. Sometimes they are given to a friend who is moving away. Typically, a friendship quilt is made up of different squares. Each of these friendship blocks is signed by one of the friends and quilters. Sometimes the blocks may include the date or a personal message, too. In this way, friendship quilts are a bit like modern-day scrapbooks.

David Gray tells the story of his wartime quilt,
complete with press clippings.

Another popular traditional pattern for quilts is known as the "log cabin" pattern. Quilters have been creating log cabin quilts since the mid-1800s. The pattern became very popular during the Civil War when log cabin quilts were auctioned and sold to raise money for troops, many finding their way into Canada as well as being made here by early settlers.

During WW2 ladies guilds and church organizations made quilts for wounded Canadian soldiers in British hospitals. The quilts would feature countless names of well-wishing family and friends and were distributed by the Red Cross. I recently published another story on Wrights Lane about a personal friend David Gray (seen in the photo to the left) who, along with a brother and sister, worked on one of those wartime quilts as a youngster growing up in Galt, ON. Names to be sewn on the quilt were sold in advance at a neighborhood garden party. After 70 years the quilt quite remarkably found its way back into Grey family possession after numerous stops for periods of time in both England and Canada, thanks in part to the Canadian Red Cross.

Interestingly, the unique history and powerful symbolism of quilt patterns has now moved from cloth to the sides of barns on specially designated rural trails all across the country. The mission of the barn quilt initiative is to protect, preserve, interpret and develop unique natural, historical and cultural resources for the benefit of present and future generations

As I say, the quilt is a symbol of comfort and family. Barns are symbols of our heritage and community. What would be better than combining the two and creating a visual image of who we are and where we come from. This Art Movement began in 2001 and has spread rapidly as symbolic of heritage.

The purpose of the project has been to extend murals into the rural parts of our communities, bringing a diverse group of people together to create works of art that showcase our culture and history in a new and interesting way.

To be precise, barn quilts are large, squares of colorful wooden blocks with a brilliantly painted quilt pattern that is mounted on the front or side of a barn. Most measure 8’ X 8’. There have been some Barn Quilts that are one single sheet and slightly smaller and they are acceptable too as are painted barn quilts placed on another type of building as long as they fit all other requirements for submission.

Colourful barn quilts in downtown Dresden, ON.

I think that my hometown of Dresden was the first in Southern Ontario to actually place barn quilt murals on the side of a downtown brick building -- five in all -- each one commemorating a founding father, including the much heralded former escaped slave Josiah Henson. Dresden and the neighboring Dawn-Euphemia Township are now part of an officially acknowledged Barn Quilt Trail system.

"To be clear the quilt trail idea was something we did not come up with because of the *book. . .and it was not informed by the book (more about that later)," said town historian and Quilt Trail program member Marie Carter. "Two of the patterns were chosen because of the Black population here in Dresden -- or more specifically, two distinct communities of Blacks -- the Pennsylvania and Ohio Freemen and the Freedom Seekers (former slaves) who were involved with the British American Institute. The symbols chosen were selected because they are so universally linked to the story of the UGRR." 

In offering what amounts to a disclaimer, Marie explained "It has long been an aim of mine to ensure that Black pioneers at Dresden are recognized well beyond the UGRR story. And the quilt panels in this section of the trail intend to do that by acknowledging them as early 'founders' who developed over 1/2 of the town's original geography."

NOW ENTER THE SUBJECT OF UNDERGROUND RAILROAD QUILTS:

The idea of quilts being used in the Underground Railroad for purposes other than bedding was not mentioned either in the written documents of the period or in the interviews given years later. That is not to say they could not have been used in a form not discussed. However, I have come to understand that care must be taken not to romanticize this possibility.

To quote quilt historian Xenia Cord, "Quilt research and quilt history often rely heavily on the oral anecdotes and oral memories of quilters, stories that link women with common interests to a body of shared information. This information, strongly buttressed by written memoirs, documented sources, pictures, tangible artifacts, and previously published research allows the historian to contribute to the body of knowledge that is American quilt history."

"Occasionally a theory is presented that offers an engaging view of the past; the theory may not have substance and may not be documentable in any scholarly way, but it provides a vehicle through which we believe we can understand our past. This is the case with studies that supposedly reveal hidden codes or messages in quilts. A number of popularly disseminated misunderstandings about the role of quilts prior to the Civil War in the preparation and escape of fugitive slaves, and in the Underground Railroad are at present being taught to children."

In 1989, Stitched from the Soul by Gladys-Marie Fry was published. In it, she offered a glimpse into the lives and creativity of African American quilters during the era of slavery. It was the first book to examine the history of quilting in the enslaved community and to place slave-made quilts into historical and cultural context. Unfortunately, the author did not confirm any of the family stories given with the quilts, so the book is riddled with inaccuracies and misplaced dates.

Also in 1989, children's book author Deborah Hopkinson heard a story on National Public Radio about an art quilt exhibit by African-American quilters. The interview was discussing the symbolism in the quilts, which inspired her to write a story indicating that a quilt may have been used as a signaling device in the Underground Railroad. Deborah Hopkinson was unable to find any documentation for this theory and so wrote her book Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt with a fictional quilt. Her book was published in 1993. This book was later listed as a reference for Hidden in Plain View as was Stitched from the Soul.

Ten years later, the book *Hidden in Plain View further explored the theory of quilts being used in the Underground Railroad. Hidden in Plain View was written by Jacqueline Tobin, a Women's Studies professor at the University of Denver, assisted by Raymond Dobard, an Art History teacher at Howard University. The book documented her discussions with Ozella McDaniel Williams between 1993 and 1997. 

Ozella Wiliams was an African-American quilt store owner in a Charleston SC tourist market. Her professed goal was to ensure that her families' oral history of a quilt code, which had been passed down to her through the generations, was "written down." This code was evidentially a mnemonic device, used to help illiterate slaves memorize directions and activities they may have needed for escape. Ironically, Ms Williams family never used this code to effect their escape. In fact, in later interviews with some family members, they denied knowing anything at all about this "family story."

• It was this *publication, recently introduced to me by a friend, that I recommended to the aforementioned virtual history group in the form of an ill-advised post with a passing mention of the barn quilts on display in downtown Dresden. Plain and simply, I thought the book was a fascinating read and was totally unaware of the controversy surrounding it. Certainly, I did not intend to suggest that "Hidden in Plain View" in any way inspired the Dresden initiative.

The code related in the book associated quilt block names with their shape, style and color as hidden messages for slaves escaping the Charleston SC area. The origin of the code and how the meaning of the code was communicated between slaves was not explored. Each block, when made into a quilt, would pass on part of the message. These messages were contained in a series of 17 quilts. Where the slaves found the time to make these quilts, or what fabric they used, was never explained.

Many of the quilt blocks named in the book were not given their names until the early 1900's. Another block referenced was the "bear paw" block, meant to warn slaves of the bears in the Appalachian Mountains through which they must escape. Come to find out that this is problematic because slaves escaping Charleston would not normally take the longer and more dangerous route through the mountains when a shorter, easier route was available. In addition, bears east of the Mississippi had been nearly killed off from over hunting. In 1872, Underground Railroad conductor William Still published a book detailing his activities which indicated that slaves escaping Charleston typically took the coastal route.

So is the story related in Hidden in Plain View completely untrue? It's impossible to say but it is worth noting that the authors have cautioned against believing the story as fact, indicating on page 33 that their findings are "informed conjecture" and cautioning that the quilt code story was meant to be a mnemonic device, not an actual code placed in a quilt. They admit that the blocks shown in their book were only illustrative devices and not meant to be taken literally.

Jacqueline Tobin

According to an article in the July 2, 2007 US News and World Report, "Tobin believes her book has been misinterpreted. Numerous details ascribed to the story—like hanging quilts along the way to indicate safe houses—"simply aren't in the book," she says. Moreover, "We make it clear that this was Ozella's story only," she says, and that such codes "could have" been used in this way and only on one particular plantation. "We're not talking about hundreds or thousands of folks using this code," says Tobin. "The story has grown in ways that we had not intended."

Much to my surprise, Jacqueline Tobin who visited the Dresden area numerous times while researching her book, is a member of the same Dresden Virtual History Group that I belong to, so I'm looking forward to getting to know her better in coming weeks. To date she has not responded to my Facebook "friend" request, however, but she did thank me for my interest in Hidden in Plain View.

Again, were quilts used as a signaling device in the Underground Railroad? Certainly a quilt could have been used to signal a safe house, as could any other common household object. Keeping in mind that most escaping slaves traveled at night, however, it is unlikely that they were told to look for something as suspicious as a quilt hanging on a line overnight or a quilt with a specific pattern of blocks.

In conclusion, take my word for it friend, never -- and I repeat NEVER -- in the same breath confuse a Jacqueline Tobin underground railroad quilt (if there ever was such a thing) with the barn quilt creations you see when travelling through Southern Ontario this summer. One certainly did not inspire the other, at least not in Dresden's case, I've been assured. They are two different things, even though they represent the traditional quilt we all know and love and may even commemorate an Underground Railroad fugitive or two.

Interestingly, Tobin and my virtual history friend Marie Carter have met on several occassions, taking trips together through Kent County and Dawn-Euphemia Township when Hidden in Plain View was being researched. Tobin has since produced a follow-up book From Midnight to Dawn: the Last Tracks of the Underground Railroad, which I have yet to get my hands on...but when I do I don't think I'll talk about it on the Dresden Virtual History site.


Several of the barn quilt panels on the side of a building in downtown Dresden. Click on the image to enlarge the view.