Cushman Quilt
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Description
The quilt tops were begun in 1833 by newlywed Susan Williams Crouch. Her husband, Hasell Crouch, a doctor, is said to have assisted with the design and piecing. The quilts were intended for use in the couple’s Charleston, South Carolina home.
After the unexpected deaths of the Crouch’s toddler son and then Hasell in 1836, Susan returned to her parents’ home in Providence, RI with her baby daughter Emily. The unfinished quilts and remaining fabrics were packed away in trunks.
A multigenerational story is told in the papers on the back side of this unfinished quilt. The older portions, pieced by Susan and Hasell Crouch, contain bits of correspondence and shipping records beautifully handwritten. Pieces added in the 1930s, most likely by Franklin, contain pages from magazines, flyers, printed meeting records, sheet music, and twentieth-century stationery.
Source
The Cushman Collection