Harber’s History: Coverlets were a heralded art form
Editor’s note: This column is the second and last part of a series. Read the previous column at http://on.dnj.com/2lzGdXH.
In our second installment of 19th century Rutherford County handwoven coverlets, we will further burrow into this design form of domestic weavers, who included both men and women.
Primal coverlets are treasures and rare to find in superior condition. In the 1800s, weaving was more indispensable than a decorative asset in the home. Yet, in the decades before the Civil War, the jacquard coverlet progressed from a limited functional item to one of aesthetic beauty.
During the Civil War, cotton was hard to obtain for weavers. After the war, the demand for these textiles faded. An age of industrialization was the order of the day, and handmade weaving was coming to an end.
Some pioneer weavers raised sheep and then mastered carding, spinning wool and weaving cloth. These early families manifest tradition and preservation of patterns through a generation.
Summer and winter coverlets were reversible and normally an Overshot weave structure. They were dark on one side and light on the other with one layer of cloth making the textile lighter.
The two main types of coverlets were “geometric” and “figured and fancy.” The Intricate Graphic Motif Classification could transform a handwoven pattern draft to a large variety of design motifs.
The fibers of cotton, flax or wool twisted together in an ordered direction with the twist adding strength to the fibers. The Spindle turned clockwise and then counter-clockwise. Weavers used a series of punch cards to create a pattern of the colored wool weft in the natural cotton warp.
Many confuse the term “coverlet” and “quilt,” which is often constructed by cutting and assembling pattern pieces and then sewing them to a backing with a filler material between the two layers.
Weaver Rebecca Jackson Read (1826-1904) lived in Rutherford County and crafted the pattern “Queen’s Delight.” Her coverlet was created with the Overshot weave and was 101 inches in length. The textile was comprised of cotton binder and red and brown wool with three-loom widths joined.
Rebecca was wed to Clemon Read. Her great-granddaughter Joyce Lassiter inherited the coverlet.
A second weaver Rebecca Pearson Fugett (1828-1908) resided in Fosterville and stitched the pattern “Original Governor’s Garden.” The coverlet was 88 inches long and had a weft of cotton binder and red and green-brown wool with three-loom widths joined.
Rebecca was wed to Dr. M.S. Fugitt of Rutherford County. She was the daughter of Hiram (1797-1886) and Matilda Wilson Pearson (1802-77). The family is buried together at the Pearson-Todd Cemetery on Bell Buckle Road.
Rebecca’s coverlet was inherited by her sister Sophia Pearson Todd (1838-1923). Then the coverlet was bequeathed to Sophia’s son William Calloway Todd and then to William’s daughter Louise Todd Howard.
Our final weaver Mary Elizabeth Clark Woodfin assembled the pattern “Rings and Chain” in 1869. The textile was woven in Overshot and was 82 inches long. The weft was cotton and natural wool and three-loom widths joined. The center of the pattern block is the Pine Bloom family.
Mary Clark (1851-1932) was the daughter of William and Emily Kelton Clark and lived in Christiana throughout her life. In 1866, she wed Hugh Lawson White Woodfin (1840-1909), who was 11 years her senior; they had six children. Hugh was the son of Samuel Woodfin and Mariah Barnhill, and he had 14 siblings. His father, Samuel, witnessed four sons leave home to fight in the Civil War.
Hugh was named after Hugh Lawson White, a Knoxville judge and senator. Hugh enlisted in the Confederate army in May 1861 and guarded Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River, where he battled Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. While serving in the 18th Regiment, he was sent to prison in Camp Butler in Illinois for 18 months. In 1862, Hugh was deployed to Vicksburg, Miss., and fought amid heavy action. His later return to Rutherford County was a welcome repose; he spent the rest of his life with Mary in Christiana until his death in 1909. Both Hugh and Mary are buried in the Miller Cemetery in Christiana.
The “Rings and Chain” coverlet was given to Mary’s son John Thomas Woodfin. Then the textile was bequeathed to grandson John Thomas Woodfin Jr. John Jr.’s daughter Virginia Love Beasley, an accomplished weaver, was an owner of this gem. Virginia’s great-great-great-great-grandfather was Thomas Black, who was born in Ireland in 1724. Thomas was an early skilled weaver and immigrated to North Carolina.
The history of coverlets in Rutherford County is personal and significant. These weavers were avant-garde in their skill with loom and pattern. They created heirlooms that are cherished today. Coverlets have graced homes and silently witnessed untold history during the past 200 years.
Contact Susan Harber at email@example.com.