Mystery friendship quilt finds new home

I decided to find out if the Bollinger County Quilt Show would be a good place to look for information that would solve the questions about the people whose names were embroidered on squares of an old friendship quilt.

Several years ago my former brother-in-law, Lonnie Lincoln, brought the friendship quilt along with some other old quilts to me to see if I could clean them up. The quilts had been left in his mother's (Pauline Rhodes Lincoln) unoccupied house for several years after she had passed away. I had kept the friendship quilt safely on a shelf in a closet with the intention of doing research on it, but "out of sight, out of mind" meant I had forgotten about it until I saw the quilt show announcement.

I typed up the 25 names on the quilt and alphabetized them for a poster to place with the quilt and asked viewers to share information if they knew anything about the group or family the quilt was made for. To my surprise and the amazement of Becky Rhodes Wiginton, the quilt show coordinator, the first two names on the list were Becky's grandmother and great-grandmother, Cora and Mary Abernathy.

Becky knew of several people listed on the quilt and recognized the name Mildred Bess, which was Mildred Shell's maiden name. Based on when Mildred got married, the quilt would have been made before 1940. Mildred is 104 years old. And as far as we know, she is the only one listed on the quilt who is still living. The mystery of why the quilt was made is still a mystery because Mildred did not remember.

Wanda Rhodes, Becky Rhodes Wiginton's mother, is the family's genealogy researcher. She had done some research on the names on the quilt and brought her notes to the quilt show on Saturday. All of the people lived in the same general area and attended one of three churches, New Salem Baptist, Plainview Congressional Methodist or Hurricane Fork General Baptist. The younger ones attended either Shrum or Hurricane schools.

She said that Cora Abernathy, Mildred Bess and Dessie Cheek were close childhood friends, according to Mildred. Dessie died when she was 13 years old in November 1935, so that would mean the quilt probably was made in 1935 or before. Pauline Rhodes Lincoln had two brothers, Leo and Lindell Rhodes, and a sister, Lunda Rhodes, on the quilt. But Pauline's own name was not on it, so the mystery as to why she had the quilt remains a mystery.

Mildred Shell and her daughter agreed with me that the quilt's new home should be with Becky as she will treasure it and appreciate its value as a piece of family history, not just an antique quilt. If The Banner Press readers have additional information or ideas about the quilt, Becky would love to hear their stories.

The names on the quilt are: Cora Abernathy, Mary Abernathy, Mildred Bess, Dessie Cheek, Daddy, Delpha Douglas, Beulah Douglas, Grandma, Oletha Hahn, Thelma Kern, Mrs. Kitrell, Mahala Mayfield, Mother, Octa Patton, Leo Rhodes, Charles Rhodes, Della Rhodes, Lunda Rhodes, Milas Rhodes, Lindell Rhodes, Eulah Rhodes, Armiela Ridings, Mary Welker, Bertha Welker and Rebecca Welker.

ALICE CRITES of Patton is active in her community and regularly submits news to The Banner Press.