Alabama Quilts: Wilderness through World War II, 1682–1950 by Mary Elizabeth Johnson Huff and Carole Ann King

Author:Mary Elizabeth Johnson Huff and Carole Ann King
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Published: 2020-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

The quilt was discovered in the Rose-Morris House as it was being readied for its move from near Wetumpka to Old Alabama Town in Montgomery. It is puzzling that the family should have left behind a quilt of such fine quality, but it is always a boon to scholars to find a quilt in its original location. It is intriguing to imagine a quilt of this sophistication being contained in this house, which looks rather unassuming to our eyes, but the house was quite an architectural statement for its time in early Alabama.

We saw evidence of the early existence of fraternal organizations in figure 5.12, with its representation of the Eastern Star logo. The Masons, to which one must have an affiliation in order to be a member of the Eastern Star, is a much, much older organization. The origins of “freemasonry” go back to as early as late fourteenth-century England, when a group of stonemasons came together to establish a standard of ethics for their workmanship and for the conditions under which they labored. At some point in its history, freemasonry became a fraternal organization with a hierarchy, rites, and rules for membership. It was in America by the 1730s, with George Washington as a member.41 There is no doubt that quite a number of the quilts documented in the AQBP come from families that proudly claim a Mason as a current member or ancestor.

The Masonic symbol consists of a T-square and compass, an acknowledgment of Euclid as the father of geometry. The quilt in figure 5.28 incorporates four of these symbols arranged around a center square, surely an original design. Mrs. Lamon made the quilt for the lodge to which her husband, Mikeuel A. Lamon, belonged. Other quilters have incorporated the Masonic emblem in their quilts. Notable is a Honeycomb quilt (not shown) of different-colored hexagons, centered by a bright yellow background square onto which a large navy T-square and compass have been appliquéd. It was made by Lelia McGlaughn in Walnut Grove (Etowah County) around 1900.42

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