Signal by quilt marked trail to safety and freedom

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[October 09, 2015]  LINCOLN - On Sunday, October 4, 2015, the Emden Historical Society hosted a "Quilt Tea" at the Emden Community House. A quilt display included many community member's quilts, and an 'Underground Railroad Quilt' presentation by Nancy Rollings Saul. There was also a Bed Turning, plus tea and refreshments.

Historical Society member Betty Gail Wagner welcomed everyone and introduced Rollings Saul, who has done extensive research on quilts and how they may have been used in the Underground Railroad as a way to transmit messages to slaves trying to escape slavery. She reminded the audience that many slaves moved north through the 'Underground Railroad,' possibly trying to find ways to communicate during their escape.

Rollings Saul explained that one major source about the topic is Jacqueline Tobin and Raymond Dobard's Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad, based largely on quilter Ozella McDaniel William's stories of an Underground Railroad Quilt Code, something Tobin had not read or heard about previously.

Rollings Saul shared that when Tobin contacted Williams for more about the story, Williams seemed reluctant to talk to her. As Tobin continued her research, she talked to art historians and African American quilters, but could not verify the stories. Finally in May 1996, Tobin was able to get Williams to tell her about the quilt code.

Rollings Saul then explained the quilt code that Williams shared with Tobin: "There are five square knots on the quilt every two inches apart. They escaped on the fifth knot on the tenth pattern and went to Ontario, Canada." Based on quilt patterns, one part of the code reportedly said, "The monkey wrench turns the wagon wheel toward Canada on a bear paw's trail to the crossroads."

Rollings Saul said that this book set the quilting world abuzz and was celebrated as a major breakthrough in Underground Railroad research until historians stepped in and accused Tobin and Dobard of doing poor research, with some even saying it was a myth.

She mentioned that Gladys-Marie Frye wrote about African American quilters in 'Stitched from the Soul,' but it was based on oral history and has several wrong dates.

Rollings Saul explained that Deborah Hopkinson researched the use of quilts as a signaling device, but could not find evidence to back up the stories, though she wrote a children's story called 'Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt' with the quilts being used for messages.

Rollings Saul said that when she began her research years ago, she found more debate over whether these codes were real; though schools, clubs, and historical organizations shared stories about the quilt codes. She said that some have suggested the quilts Williams discussed with Tobin were just used in one area, though some believed they were in various parts of the United States.

Rollings Saul said that Clarice Boswell shared her grandma's stories of quilts displayed along the underground railroad route and a quilt code with different interpretations, such as various codes signaling danger, secret passages, moving by boat, going to Canada or availability of food. Rollings Saul says that Barbara Brackman, an expert on quilts from the era, reports that many of the block patterns supposedly used were not from that era, and in her book Fact and Fabrications, calls the secret quilt code a myth. Rollings Saul has found various articles, however, that show some of the patterns reportedly used were very old.

Rollings Saul said that in 2005, Teresa Kemp, great niece to the now deceased Ozella McDaniel Williams, continued sharing the stories of the underground railroad by opening a secret code museum, but the codes were a bit different than the ones Williams had shared. The museum soon came under criticism because historians claimed the patterns were too new to have been from the underground railroad.



Rollings Saul noted that after a bout with cancer, Kemp had memory loss causing her to forget much of her 25 years of research and the codes, so she had to redo much of it. Kemp cites textile maps as part of the codes, but critics say these codes had different meanings in Africa.

Rollings Saul said that Lee Fellner, author of Betsy Ross: The Underground Railroad Quilt Code found that versions of the code were contradictory and concluded the code was a myth.

When an audience member asked where the quilts were supposed to have been placed, Rollings Saul explained that some say quilts were hung on clotheslines, while others say on church belfries, so their placement is uncertain. She also reported that even the meaning of codes and the colors have been debated. After sharing the intriguing history of quilts and the Underground Railroad, Rollings Saul ended her presentation by declaring, "Decide for yourselves whether it is fact or fiction."

After the presentation, Historical Society member Julia Cross provided information about the "Bed Turning" that was going to be done, saying that the quilts placed on the bed each had a special story and pattern.

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As Ladonna Gass and Marilyn Marten held up each quilt for the audience, Phyllis Hitchcock described the quilt's pattern and story. These quilts included one with a double wedding ring pattern, a memory quilt with squares made from a wedding tablecloth, a century old star quilt, a quilt from someone's trousseau in 1927, a quilt with a zig zag pattern that won first place at the Illinois State Fair, a sunbonnet pattern baby's quilt, an embroidered quilt, a few heirloom quilts, a quilt made in Japan and used to teach Japanese women new cutting patterns, two signature quilts from 1924 with many Hartsburg and Emden names on them, a 1930s postage stamp pattern quilt, and a Bethlehem star pattern quilt. Most of the quilts were either made or owned by people from the community.



Those attending the tea were fascinated to learn more about the debates surrounding the use of secret codes on Underground Railroad quilts, appreciated hearing the stories of quilts from around the community, and enjoyed viewing many beautiful quilts.

[Angela Reiners]

Other items on display at the Quilt Tea


A quilting table


A 1924 Signature Quilt from the Hartsburg-Emden area


 

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