Friendship Quilts
In instances when women’s lifestyles required them to leave their communities, it was not uncommon for a Friendship quilt to be constructed as a token and keepsake to remember friends, loved ones, and important community members. Generally all of the blocks will follow the same design, unlike Album quilts, which may have different blocks.
Gift of Evelyn DuBois Gueho, 1990. Click the image for more details and to view more images of this quilt.
This quilt is an example of a mid-19th century Friendship Quilt. According to family history, this quilt was passed down from Charles and Mary DuBois to their great-granddaughter, Evelyn DuBois Gueho. In 1859, Charles and Mary moved from Duboisville, a small town in Redford, Michigan to Utica, Michigan, a distance of 33 miles. Most likely, the quilt was made as a farewell remembrance for the family.
Click the image for more details and to view other images of this quilt.
This unique quilt has the signatures of 63 different individuals. Family names inscribed in the quilt are as follows: Snyder, Shaw, Readon, Thomson, Russell, Fuller, Suderly, and Schoonmaker. An interesting aspect of the quilt is Abraham Lincoln’s name inscribed on a block (spelled Lincon) along with the year that he was elected. Mrs. Abraham Lincoln and General Ulysses S. Grant names are also inscribed, giving the notion that this was made during or after the Lincoln presidency.