Browse Items (128 total)
-
Ladies Fair, December 2, 1847
Advertisement for a fundraiser by the Black women of the Baptist Church in Frankfort, Kentucky, on December 2, 1847 at 7:00 PM. The advertisement notes that "A Good Supper, Oysters, Jellies, Salads, Ice Creams, Cakes, &c. &c., will be offered for sale on reasonable terms." The advertisement delineates that white attendees "will be waited on from 5 to 6 o'clock," before the main fair. -
Julia M. Jackson Woods scrapbook, 1942-1947
This scrapbook was created by Julia M. Jackson Woods (1911-2000), an African American woman from Louisville, Kentucky, who enlisted in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) in November 1942. The scrapbook contains greeting cards, newspaper clippings, and ephemera from Woods' service, as well as more than 20 insignia and patches collected from various units, including her own sergeant stripes. The scrapbook documents the social side of military base life - cards from USO groups and friends, marriages, dances, and other interracial interactions between otherwise segregated regiments stationed at the same bases. A few items at the end of the volume relate to Woods' postwar life in Louisville.
Woods served in the all-Black 32nd Post Headquarters Company of the WAAC. She did much of her training at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, near the Mexican border; she also served stints in Des Moines, Iowa and Midland, Texas. A clipping on one of the initial pages of the scrapbook notes that Jackson was one of Louisville's first volunteers to join the WAAC. She was discharged on August 14, 1943. After the United States Congress authorized the creation of the Women's Army Corps (WAC), she enlisted in the WAC on May 1, 1944. She ultimately reached the rank of sergeant and served in the military police force. The Army discharged her on December 24, 1945. After her service, she married Thomas Harry Woods (1914-1961) and was hired as the head of the all-Black Western Kentucky Vocational Training School Department of Cosmetology in Paducah, Kentucky, by 1946.
Want to help transcribe this scrapbook? Check out our volunteer transcription webpage: https://fromthepage.com/filson/african-american-history/jacksonjulia -
-
Strippy quilt
Strippy quilt credited to Elizabeth Tyler Sturgeon of Jefferson County, Kentucky. Elizabeth married Thomas Sturgeon in 1816. After he died in 1823, she managed their farm and raised three young sons. Her father, Edward Tyler II, enslaved up to fourteen people. Elizabeth herself enslaved seven people whose labor sustained both the household and the farm. This forced labor enabled the production of textiles like this quilt. Homespun fabric alone could not fulfill the amount of cloth needed by a single household. Fancy imported cloth was preferred for special textiles and dressier clothing. Fabric like the indigo printed calico used in this quilt was imported from Britain and sold by Kentucky merchants. The fabric was expensive as it was imported into Philadelphia, carried overland by wagon, and then floated down the Ohio River via flatboat to Louisville. Or it was transported up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers against the current, via man-powered keelboats or barges from the Port of New Orleans. Eliza supplemented this expensive fabric with a hand-woven overshot fabric that was frugally pieced together and perhaps upcycled from a previous textile, such as bed curtains, window curtains, or a dress. -
Empire Wedding Dress
Early silk empire style wedding dress. Empire dresses emerged in the early 19th century and rapidly became fashionable across Europe, particularly England. -
Multicolored Silk Dress, circa 1800
Silk dresses of the early 19th century embodies the period between the whiteness of dresses of the early Regency gowns and the decorative frills and flounces of the 1810s. This dress belonged to a woman of the McNair -Anderson family. -
Brown and White Cotton Dress, circa 1800
This cotton dress is a great example of the changes (simplified, 'natural' dresses) occurring in women's fashion in the late 18th century to early 19th century. 'Naturalness' in this context refers to the use of lightweight , easily washable materials (like muslin, cotton, linen, poplin, and batiste) for dresses. -
Blue Empire Dress, circa 1800
Empire dresses emerged in the early 19th century and rapidly became fashionable across Europe (particularly England). -
Ann Clark Shawl
This shawl is said to have belonged to Ann Rogers Clark Gwathmey (1755-1822). See also 1943.5.1 (miniature portrait). Paisley Shawls were a luxury item worn by affluent women. Paisley, as a style, didn't get its name until the 1830s-40s, named after the Scottish town that began to reproduce designs copied from textiles that were originally imported from India. The pin and cone design motifs had their origins from Indo-Iranian people in Persia. Luxurious textiles from India were in high demand among the upper class and often can be seen in portraits of affluent women. By the mid 18th century, England's East India Company was importing shawls to London. In the early 1800s, Scottish mills began producing their own version of the highly sought after shawls, which made them more accessible to the rising middle class. -
Abigail Prather Churchill, needlework sampler, 1828-1830
Samplers were a staple in the education of girls, designed to teach needlework skills needed for household duties. Samples could be symbolic of the girl's culture, religion, social class, or personal accomplishments. Sampler making was seen as the ground work for civic, social, and familial responsibility. This was made by Abigail Prather Churchill the daughter of Abigail Pope Oldham Churchill (1789-1854), around age 11-13 at Nazareth Academy (which is near Bardstown, KY). -
Mary Ann Logan needlework sampler, circa 1813
This sampler was made by Mary Ann Logan in Shakertown, Kentucky. Samplers were a staple in the education of girls. The samplers were designed to teach needlework skills needed for household duties and could be a symbol of the girl's culture, religion, social class, and personal accomplishments. Sampler making was seen as the ground work for civic, social, and familial responsibility. -
Darning sampler, 1809
This darning sampler is a great example of the various embroidery techniques that young girls were expected to learn and be proficient in. Samplers were a staple in the education of girls. The samplers were designed to teach needlework skills needed for household duties and could be a symbol of the girl's culture, religion, social class, and personal accomplishments. Sampler making was seen as the ground work for civic, social, and familial responsibility. -
Linen Sheet, circa 1835
According to family narrative, this bed sheet was made by an enslaved weaver using flax that was grown on Dabney Carr Overton's farm in Fayette County, Kentucky. In 1830, Overton enslaved thirty-two persons, including twenty female children and adults. Enslaved women were skilled spinners, weavers, and seamstresses, whose skills provided comfort for the families that enslaved them. -
Linen and cotton sheet, circa 1820-1830
An 'M's & O's' patterned sheet made of linen and cotton. The family narratives for this linen sheet states that it was made in 1816 by Betsy Breckinridge Meredith, sister of John Breckinridge. Family narrative also states the flax was grown, spun, and woven by enslaved people on the Winton Plantation. Enslaved women and men were skilled spinners, weavers, and seamstress on the frontier. Their skilled labor made life easier and more comfortable for their enslavers. -
Piece of tow linen, circa 1813
A piece of tow linen (has a coarse texture) used for a bedtick, a bag shaped mattress stuffed with feathers and straw. Likely the fiber for this coverlet was cultivated on the family farm. Another textile from this family came with a note stating that according to family narrative that the flax was grown, spun, and woven by enslaved persons on the Winton Plantation. Elizabeth and/or an enslaved person may have spun the fiber at home, then it was likely turned over to an enslaved weaver. -
Linen sheet, 1800-1825
Hand-woven linen sheet credited to Elizabeth Tyler Sturgeon. Elizabeth married Thomas Sturgeon in 1816. After he died in 1823, she managed their farm and raised three young sons. Her father, Edward Tyler II, enslaved up to fourteen people. Elizabeth herself enslaved seven people whose labor sustained both the household and the farm. This forced labor enabled the production of textiles like this sheet. It is made from two thirty-eight-inch-wide panels that were hand-sewn together. The edges are unfinished. Eliza and/or enslaved laborers cultivated and processed flax into yarn for weaving. Historical records suggest that an unidentified enslaved woman played a key role in managing the household and supervising other enslaved laborers after Thomas’s death. In 1833, Eliza died from cholera, leaving behind three children under the age of eighteen. -
Woven coverlet, 1800-1825
Hand-woven cotton coverlet credited to Elizabeth Tyler Sturgeon. Elizabeth married Thomas Sturgeon in 1816. After he died in 1823, she managed their farm and raised three young sons. Her father, Edward Tyler II, enslaved up to fourteen people. Elizabeth herself enslaved seven people whose labor sustained both the household and the farm. This forced labor enabled the production of textiles like this coverlet. As cotton wasn’t generally grown in Jefferson County, Kentucky, Eliza likely acquired cotton yarn or raw cotton from a local merchant. She and/or enslaved laborers would have processed raw cotton and spun it into yarn for weaving. Two 36-inch-wide woven panels were sewn together by hand to make a textile large enough for a bed. Historical records suggest that an unidentified enslaved woman played a key role in managing the household and supervising other enslaved laborers after Thomas’s death. In 1833, Eliza died from cholera, leaving behind three children under the age of eighteen. -
Unfinished counterpane, 1800-1825
Unfinished cotton counterpane credited to Elizabeth Tyler Sturgeon. Elizabeth married Thomas Sturgeon in 1816. After he died in 1823, she managed their farm and raised three young sons. Her father, Edward Tyler II, enslaved up to fourteen people. Elizabeth herself enslaved seven people whose labor sustained both the household and the farm. This forced labor enabled the production of textiles like this counterpane. As cotton wasn’t generally grown in Jefferson County, Kentucky, Eliza likely acquired already-made cotton fabric, cotton yarn, or raw unspun cotton from a local merchant. Eliza drew a floral design onto the cloth using a pencil, and she attached a very coarse, loosely woven fiber onto the back. She then hand-stitched around the penciled design. This work was never finished as the stems would have been stuffed with yarn to give them dimension, and all the flowers would have been stuffed with cotton or wool batting in a style known as trapunto. Either she or someone else cut a rectangular piece out of the unfinished work. Historical records suggest that an unidentified enslaved woman played a key role in managing the household and supervising other enslaved laborers after Thomas’s death. In 1833, Eliza died from cholera, leaving behind three children under the age of eighteen. -
Household linen, 1800-1825
Household linen, hand-woven in a huckaback pattern, credited to Elizabeth Tyler Sturgeon. Elizabeth married Thomas Sturgeon in 1816. After he died in 1823, she managed their farm and raised three young sons. Her father, Edward Tyler II, enslaved up to fourteen people. Elizabeth herself enslaved seven people whose labor sustained both the household and the farm. This forced labor enabled the production of textiles like this household linen. Eliza and/or enslaved laborers cultivated and processed flax into yarn for weaving. Historical records suggest that an unidentified enslaved woman played a key role in managing the household and supervising other enslaved laborers after Thomas’s death. In 1833, Eliza died from cholera, leaving behind three children under the age of eighteen. -
Household linen, 1800-1825
Replace Description with text below:
Household linen, hand-woven in a huckaback pattern, credited to Elizabeth Tyler Sturgeon. Elizabeth married Thomas Sturgeon in 1816. After he died in 1823, she managed their farm and raised three young sons. Her father, Edward Tyler II, enslaved up to fourteen people. Elizabeth herself enslaved seven people whose labor sustained both the household and the farm. This forced labor enabled the production of textiles like this household linen. Eliza and/or enslaved laborers cultivated and processed flax into yarn for weaving. Historical records suggest that an unidentified enslaved woman played a key role in managing the household and supervising other enslaved laborers after Thomas’s death. In 1833, Eliza died from cholera, leaving behind three children under the age of eighteen.