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Quilt, Flannel Nine Patch

Date1880-1920

Possibly by Elizabeth "Lizzie" Wheeless Shaifer American, 1866 - 1953

OriginAmerica, Mississippi, Claiborne County (possibly)

MediumCotton, wool

Dimensions79 X 82 inches

Credit LineGift of The Children of Elizabeth Shaifer Hollingsworth - Allison Shaifer Hollingsworth Moxey, Ann Davidson Hollingsworth Weeden and Christopher Alton Hollingsworth, and The Children of Sanfrid Davidson Shaifer - Mary Laura Shaifer Bell, Jodie Stovall Shaifer Huddleston and Sanfrid Davidson Shaifer, Jr.

Object number2025.609.39

DescriptionRectangular quilt of napped cotton flannels and thin woolens hand pieced in a "Nine Patch" pattern. The quilt consists of twenty blocks of squares in nine patch arrangement using cotton flannel checks and solids in browns, blues, pink, and off white. The blocks are separated by wide brown and cream checked sashings, with extra matching strips at top and bottom to extend the quilt's length. Quilted with 3 to 4 running stitches per inch in an angled fans pattern through thick cotton batting and blue and off-white check flannel backing. The backing is brought to the front and stitched to form the edge binding.
Condition: The quilt is soiled, stained and some colors have run.Label TextThis quilt is part of a large donation of quilts by the Shaifer family of Claiborne County, MS. These 46 quilts were made by women from four successive generations of the family, dating from the mid-1800s to the 1980s.

This quilt is attributed to Elizabeth "Lizzie" Wheeless (1866-1953), who married Percy Leon Shaifer (1866-1952) in 1888. Wheeless was a lifelong quilter, from childhood quilting alongside the Shaifer, Forbes, and Andrews families to stitching with her daughter and granddaughter at the Shaifer family home on Church Street in Port Gibson, MS. Her granddaughter later commented, "Mamma's hands were never still". Aside from quilting, Lizzie embroidered, tatted, crocheted, and stitched household linens.ProvenanceDates unknown, member of Shaifer family (Claiborne County, MS); dates unknown, descended in the family; dates unknown, Mr. and Mrs. Al Hollingsworth (Elizabeth Shaifer (1933-2016); 2025, gift of the Shaifer family through Al Hollingsworth (Port Gibson, MS); 2025, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)