Quilt Top

PeriodCirca 1880-1900

MediumCotton

Dimensions94 × 78 in. (238.8 × 198.1 cm)

ClassificationsQuilts and Coverlets

Credit LineGift of Leroy Golden, 1992

Object number1992.5.30

DescriptionAn unfinished quilt top in the Album Patch pattern of spotted white on red and white cotton fabrics. with a red border.
Curatorial RemarksThe Album Patch pattern, while simple in construction, offers a quilter the opportunity to use a wide variety of fabrics for the center blocks. Emma Pike Morford opted to use a single white spotted red fabric and a solid white fabric to create a bold and powerful visual image, almost three dimensional in quality. The quilt top, like the other two quilt tops donated by her grandson, remained unfinished, perhaps due to Emma's failing eyesight in later life.NotesThis quilt is attributed to the donor's grandmother, Emma L. Pike Morford. Born in New York in 1846, Emma married Middletown farmer and former Civil War officer William E. Morford (1839-1914). Morford served as a captain in the F&S Troop New Jersey Volunteer Cavalry Regiment from 1861 to 1864. The couple had three children, including Charles (born 1876), Fanny (1877-1956), and Alfreda (1884-1968). Towards the end of their lives, both Emma and William suffered from serious health issues. William's arthritis was acute, and he was unable to continue farming. Emma gradually lost her sight, a newspaper article noting that she began suffering from bad headaches, cloudy vision, and a total loss of sight within a year. Emma may have been suffering from acute glaucoma. William died in 1914, Emma the following year. Both were interred in the Fair View Cemetery in Middletown, Monmouth County, NJ. The Historical Association has two other quilts attributed to Emma Pike Morford which were donated by Leroy Golden, Emma's grandson.

Collections