In her album quilt, Mary V. M. Yeadon incorporated blocks signed by her sisters, sister-in-law, and nieces, containing the dates 1848 and 1849. In an inked inscription on the reverse, she wrote: “To Mary V. Kirk, from her mama M. V. M. Yeadon, 1885.” Research reveals, however, that Mary Yeadon was actually Mary Kirk’s aunt. Young Mary’s mother died within a year of her birth in 1842, and Yeadon evidently raised her. In fact, both Mary Kirk and Yeadon’s niece Eliza Palmer, whose name is also inscribed on the quilt, lived with their aunt and uncle well into their adult years. Nearly forty years after the quilt was made, Yeadon gave it to young Mary, whom she considered her daughter.

Pattern: 
Album
Maker: 
Mary V. Yeadon
Dated
1848
1849
Probably made in
Greenville
South Carolina
United States
107.5
108
Ardis and Robert James Collection
2006.003.0005