Quilt
Period1852
Place MadeNew Jersey, U.S.A.
MediumCotton
Dimensions108 × 106 in. (274.3 × 269.2 cm)
ClassificationsQuilts and Coverlets
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Joseph Marshall, 1933
Object number426
DescriptionA red and white hand pieced and appliqued "Sawtooth" friendship quilt, with names inked and stamped on borders and all blocks. One red printed fabric is predominate, the plain pieced sashing and appliqued "Sawtooth" border inclusive, but other "turkey red" prints appear in the central block and those in the four corners. The backing is of white cotton as is the binding. A thin cotton batting is used and quilted in diagonal lines and diamond patterns.Curatorial RemarksAccession records for this particular quilt became somewhat garbled throught the years. Although included in the Holmes records as one of three presentation quilts as number 426, it was incorrectly numbered as 526. Eventually, it received an additional accession number, 1988.640. The original - and correct - accession number, 426, has been restored.NotesThe original accession records note that this is "one of three bedspreads presented to the mother of [the donor] Mrs. Marshall (Arietta Hitchens daughter of Rev. George Hitchens." George Hitchens was born in England in 1815 and emigtrated to the United States in around 1831. In 1837, Hitchens was ordained and was admitted tot he New Jersey Conference. In 1840, Hitchens married Huldah Ann Obert (1816-1899). The couple had at least four children: Harriet, born in 1842; William, born in 1844; Mary E., born in 1848; and Arietta, born in 1854. In some genealogical records, it appears that eldest daughter Harriet and youngest girl Arietta were sometimes confused. The family seems to have moved somewhat often. George and Huldah married in Burlington County, New Jersey. By 1850, the couple and their first children were living in Lower Penns Neck in Salem County, New Jersey. Hitchens served both as pastor and as traveling preacher, covering at various times Methodist churches in Gloucester County, Cumberland County, Monmouth County, and other areas. He did not serve as pastor very long in any one location. Between 1850 and 1860, the Hitchens family stayed longest in the Penns Neck area. After that, Hitchens moved from Glassboro in Gloucester County (1855-1857), Red Bank, Monmouth County (1859), Adelphia, Monmouth County 1879), Howell, Monmouth County (1880), Keyport/Mechanicsville area, particularly St. John's Methodist Church (1887), and others. Hitchens preached at summer Methodist camps at Ocean Grove. In 1888, Rev. Hitchens was appointed as a preacher for Clarksboro in Gloucester County, but put in an application to be relieved of the position due to age and poor health. By 1889, Hitchens and his wife settled in Passaic, Passaic County, New Jersey. In 1890, George and Huldah Hitchens celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary, which was published in several newspapers, noting that Hitchens "is well known in Monmouth, where he was for several years engaged in ministerial work." HIs obituary published in the Camden Courier-Post on August 29, 1895, noted that he was called "Father" Hitchens, and had been a member of the Methodist New Jersey Conference for 58 years. The only surviving family members mentioned other than his son-in-law Dr. J. W. Marshall, also a Methodist minister, was his wife Huldah and daughter Arietta Hitchens Marshall. This "Mariner's Compass" appliqued quilt is one of three given to the Hitchens family by grateful congregants. The two other quilts are accession numbers 424 (a sampler album style) and 425 (a Mariner's Compass variation pattern). Recent research has identified the names on the quilts as originating from the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church in New Springville, Richmond County, New York. Most of the residents were buried in the Asbury Methodist churchyard. Begun in 1802-1803, the congregation lived in and around Staten Island. The small church was part of the "Northfield circuit," and it is highly likely that in the early years of his career, Hitchens visited the Asbury church to preach regularly. The date of 1843 may commemorate a time when Hitchens was moving to another location, the quilts a hand-sewn reminder of a grateful congregation.
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