Images(3)

Quilt

Period1879

Place MadeFreehold, New Jersey, U.S.A.

MediumCotton, cotton batting

Dimensions78.75 × 74.75 in. (200 × 189.9 cm)

InscribedAlong with over 700 inked names, the quilt includes an inked inscription at the lower left corner of the quilt, located between the two bottom left sunflower panels, and reads "Presented to Mrs. A. P. Cobb. Jan. 1879. / by the ladies of the Old Tennent Church."

ClassificationsQuilts and Coverlets

Credit LineGift of Adelia Cobb Hallock, 1950

Object numberT1974.4

DescriptionA quilt with thirty six blocks all hand pieced in the "sunflower" pattern of solid red and white cotton fabrics. Each sunflower includes twenty diamond-shaped "petals" all with inked signatures. The backing fabric is plain white cotton with a narrow red cotton binding sewn along the straight grain. The quilting is all hand-sewn, using both outline along with a "Double Pumpkin Seed" stencil pattern between the circular panels. The quilt's batting appears to be a thin cotton batting material.
Curatorial RemarksSignature quilts came into popularity by the mid 1800s. As the name indicates, a signature quilt included names embroidered, inked, or stamped onto the fabric and incorporated within the overall design. Signature quilts were often a way to raise funds for churches or other groups, or to serve as fond remembrances or parting gifts to friends or family who were relocating. Marianna Brown Cobb's signature quilt was signed and dated 1879, and the reason for the quilt's presentation is currently unknown. Often these quilts corresponded with an anniversary or other special date. Each person whose name was included within the quilt most likely contributed a sum of money for the privilege.NotesMarianna Brown was born in New York in 1828. She married Reverend Archibald Parritt Cobb (1821-1881) in 1857. Cobb was plagued by ill health, ultimately dying of "rheumatism of the heart." In 1863, Cobb accepted the position of pastor at the Old Tennent Church in Freehold, Monmouth County, New Jersey. Cobb was described as "a man of plain habits, active mind, and earnest heart." He was known for his "powerful pulpit utterances." Archibald and Marianna purchased a small farmhouse from the Old Tennent Church congregation for their family home. After renovating it the couple had two daughters, Anna (Annie) born in 1858 and Sarah Jane born in 1864. The Cobb sisters would later grow up and marry brothers, Annie marrying the Reverend Gerard Benjamin Fleet Hallock (1856-1953) and Sarah Jane marrying Doctor Silas Farnsworth Hallock (1862-1949). In 1867, the Cobbs purchased the "Roy Parsonage" from the Old Tennent Church congregation. They renovated the structure, "finished and finely furnished" by midsummer of 1869, but the entire house burned to the ground on July 25 of that year. After Cobb's death in 1881, Marianna and her daughters remained in the Freehold area for a time. She later relocated to New York City with her married daughter Sarah Jane and lived with her and her family until her death in 1925 at the age of 97.

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