Chester County History Center

 

Eagle quilt top donated by Msry P Way (Satterthwaite?) with

dates 1868 and 1933

Here is a sale with the possessions of Mary P Way in 1951 when this quilt was donated. One wishes one could time travel to the sale and see if this is among the "linens of all kinds." There are a couple of possibilities for a Mary P. Way but how she obtained this top is unknown.  Did she make it? Inherit it? Buy it at another "vendue" as they called sales in Pennsylvania.

Almost as much fun as shopping at Mary's sale 70 years ago is checking out the catalog of quilts at the Chester County History Center. They have an exemplary catalog. Chester was an important county in the development of the American quilts. Check out the catalog here:

https://mycchc.catalogaccess.com/search?search=quilt&includedFields=Objects%2CPhotos%2CLibrary%2CArchives%2CPeople&page=1&size=10&withImages=false

The museum has an equally exemplary exhibit up until through March 2, 2025 in West Chester.

Album made for Daniel & Mary A. Ubil, mid 19th c.

Curator Ellen Endslow is going to do an online lecture on their collection on December 3.

Here's her book of their quilts too.

Layers Unfolding: The Stories of Chester County Quilts (ed. E. Endslow)West Chester, PA: Chester County Historical Society.