Quilt
PeriodCirca 1880-1900
Place MadeProbably Atlantic Highlands area, New Jersey, U.S.A.
MediumSilk
Dimensions57 × 50 in. (144.8 × 127 cm)
ClassificationsQuilts and Coverlets
Credit LineGift of Janet Gemmell Jainschiegg, 1990
Object number1990.20.7
DescriptionA rectangular quilt in the Tumbling Blocks pattern, constructed of a variety of plain, woven, and patterned silks pieced and arranged by darks and lights to create a three-dimensional optical illusion. Silks include jewel tones of tan, pale yellow, several shades of blue, maroon, pink, lilac, white, and gray with black taffeta block "sides." Examination of the quilt reveals that the silk pieces were folded over cut paper pieces, many of which still remain within the quilt. Top and bottom edges of the quilt include folded black taffeta points as a decorative border. The quilt is backed with red silk.NotesThis elegant silk Tumbling Blocks quilt came into the collection with two other quilts, accession 1990.20.5 and accession 1990.20.6. All three quilts were owned by Atlantic Highlands resident Mary Parcells Vail Nobles (1829-1916). Research has uncovered a complex and at times heartbreaking story behind Mary Nobles. Born in 1829 in Essex County, New Jersey, Mary married Moses Vail in 1846. The couple had one child, a daughter they named Mary, before Moses died in around 1848. Mary married a second time to John Chatfield Nobles in 1868. The couple most likely met in the Newark area when Nobles, then a widower, located there with his children to take up a position as a preacher in a local Methodist church. It is uncertain whether Mary understood Nobles' past history and certainly did not know what was in store for her in the years to come. Nobles, born in 1827 in upstate New York, was the son of Reverend Lemuel Nobles. John followed his father into the ministry, and at the young age of 17 moved to Michigan to take up his first post, returning to New York after a relatively short period of time. Nobles had also been married before. He and his wife Laura Gordon married in 1849. Records of the births of their six children reveal that Nobles moved from county to county, town to town. Daughter Louise was born in 1850 in Franklinville, Cattarangus County, NY; Wilbor, 1851, Centerville, Allegany County, NY; Helen, 1853, Covington, Wyoming County, NY; Milton, 1857, Elmira, Chemung County, NY; and youngest child George, 1859, Milo, Yates County, NY. George died at the age of four in 1864. Reverend Nobles had serious issues, including bouts of alcoholism and loss of position. Laura Nobles died on 21 June 1867, after which time John Nobles relocated to Newark, Essex County, New Jersey. Less than a year later, Nobles remarried, this time to widow Mary Parcells Vail. The couple married on 18 March 1868. Nobles continued to move from place to place. By around 1878 the couple had finally settled in Atlantic Highlands, Monmouth County, New Jersey, where Nobles left the ministry and took up land speculation, working as an independent sales agent and promoter. Nobles threw himself into developing the Atlantic Highlands area, once farmland, into a seasonal community to rival Asbury Park, Long Branch, and Ocean Grove. Mary Parcells Nobles was active in the Atlantic Highlands Methodist Church. She was also active in the area's Women's Christian Temperance Union, serving as its president for several years. By 1883, Nobles' business efforts resulted in serious debts. He left home, going to New York City where he mailed a suicide note to the newspapers. He was found several days later, His wife and family friends brought Nobles back to New Jersey where it seems he spent time in an asylum under the care of a doctor. Less than a month later, Nobles was reported as developing new business in the Chicago area. He then attempted to develop a factory in the HIghlands area to manufacture blueing, a coloring and bleaching agent for laundry, but patent infringements and financial overextension caused this to fail. Nobles died in 1887 of a massive stroke. Mary Vail Nobles, left in financial straits, turned her home into a seasonal boarding house. Mrs. Nobles was a success, with numerous local papers describing her welcoming establishment. Nobles continued her work in the WCTU and the Methodist Church. Mary Parcells Vail Nobles died on 12 September 1916 in Atlantic Highlands. Her daughter, Mary E. Vail Mills (1847-1939) inherited several quilts from her mother.
Collections
ProvenanceMary Parcells Vail Nobles (1829-1916) to her daughter Mary E. Vail Mills (1847-1939) to her daughter Mary C. Gemmell (1882-1963) to her daughter Janet Gemmell Jainschiegg (1908-2002)
