Quilt
PeriodCirca 1850-1852
Place MadeFreehold, New Jersey, U.S.A.
MediumSilk, red cotton
Dimensions72.5 × 50.5 in. (184.2 × 128.3 cm)
ClassificationsQuilts and Coverlets
Credit LineGift of Esther C. Miller, 1943
Object number1889
DescriptionA quilt in two pieces, originally one large quilt, in the Orange Peel or Love Knot pattern, in a wide variety of silks, both with red cotton damask backing, with a thin cotton batting and fine outline quilting.Curatorial RemarksThis remarkable quilt, with its rich history within the Conover and Miller family, is a testament to one woman's skill and persistence. The Orange Peel (variously also known as Love Knot, Rob Peter to Pay Paul, or Reel) pattern is somewhat challenging, as the curved seams must be accurately cut, sewn, and attached to prevent wrinkling or skewing of the fabric and lay flat. Although we have not counted the individual scraps within the quilt, it may well be that there are 5,000 pieces of silk, each one hand sewn. With three younger sisters and most likely many friends, Hannah may have had help in making this quilt. When possible, 19th century quilters often traded fabric fragments with one another in order to grow their fabric "stash" for future projects or introduce colors not represented. All the silks are dress-weight fabrics and are fine examples of the mid-century fashion colors popular at the time. It was not uncommon for a quilter to divide a beloved quilt between daughters. The Association has two other examples of "divided quilts," including a glazed linen rose pink whole cloth quilt made in around 1770-1780, cut into two, and a silk and velvet crazy quilt cut and finished into two smaller memento quilts.NotesPer the original 1943 accession notes, this "silk quilt was pieced and quilted (5,000 pieces) by Hannah Conover before her marriage. She was the daughter of Aaron and Francynthe Conover and mother of Esther Miller. She was born in 1828, died in 1917. Having 2 daughters, she divided the quilt before her death." Hannah Conover was born in Freehold to Aaron Reid Conover (1805-1884) and Francythe "Sinichy" Covenhoven Conover (1807-1839). Hannah was the oldest of four daughters - her younger sisters were Esther (1830-1905), Sophia (1834-1918), and Mary P. (1838-1858). Hannah was eleven years old when her mother died in 1839, perhaps due to complications from the childbirth of Mary. Aaron did not remarry. Hannah attended the Freehold Young Ladies Seminary from its founding year in 1845, graduating in 1850. Her younger sisters Sophia and Mary also attended, but Esther appears not to have attended the school. Hannah married Ozias Reid Conover (1818-1884), a farmer, on December 15, 1852. It was typical for young girls to make quilts, hem sheets and pillowcases, and make other textiles needed for a hoped-for home of their own. Hannah apparently created the quilt - which family history notes as having 5,000 pieces - out of a wide variety of silk dress scraps, mostly in solids with a few plaids. Blues, pinks, maroons, and oyster whites predominate. Hannah's fabrics may well have come from the leftover fragments from gowns of her sisters and her own silk dresses. The quilt's original size was quite large, and would have measured eight feet long and seven feet wide. Hannah and her husband Ozias had eight children, including Ida Alice (1856-1861), Albert Orrin (1857-1921), Frederic "Frank" H. (1859-1928), Caroline "Carrie" W. (1862-1920), George V. (1866-1869), Tallman A. (1869-1934), Esther "Essie" C. (1872-1955), and Moses H. Moses' tombstone has no birth or death dates, but he may have died as an infant, perhaps in or around 1864 based on Hannah's birth date pattern. Hannah and her husband relocated to the Ocean Grove/Asbury Park area. Ozias Conover's obituary described him as "one of the pioneers of Ocean Grove." Hannah Miller died at the age of 90, her extensive obituary describing her as "another pioneer of the city," noting that "she was always a cheerful person and a constant source of encouragement to her friends and family." Miller family history described how, towards the end of her life, Hannah divided her silk Love Knot quilt between her daughters Carrie and Essie. After Carrie's death in 1920, Essie inherited the other half of the quilt, and later donated both halves to the Historical Association in 1943.
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