March 18, 2022 - The Meeting Room of the Timpson Public Library was flooded with color last Wednesday as members and guests displayed and viewed a variety of brightly colored quilts they had brought. Draped over tables and chairs, the quilts, some newly created and some well over 100 years old, glowed in the afternoon sun. Guest speaker Feleshia Thompson, Shelby County Family and Community Health Extension Agent, shared some of the history of quilting and traditional quilting patterns.
Accompanied by 4H volunteer Martha Smith, Thompson outlined the basic techniques used in creating a quilt and they brought a display of several of the more common quilting styles. She shared that the stitching on more elaborate quilts sometimes included embroidery and recorded family history and relationships. Thompson revealed that prior to the Civil War, quilts used along the Underground Railroad contained secret symbols to guide slaves escaping to the north. She said that modern quilts frequently have motifs which honor or commemorate people and significant events. As an example, Smith displayed a Quilt of Valor created by Shelby County 4H volunteers for presentation to military veterans. Similarly, Rev. and Mrs. Mario Osby displayed two picture quilts created for them by Smith Chapel Church honoring important church events and members. Also, displayed was an embroidered quilt which belongs to Judy Jones Stoddard that belonged to her grandmother, Mrs. Rack, containing the names of many past Timpson citizens. The origin of the quilt is not known and none of the persons whose names appear on the quilt are still alive.
Among the quilts displayed were several antique quilts brought by BJ Pitts which are Pitts family heirlooms. Created by Pitts ancestors and passed down to the present generation, the collection includes a quilt sewn by Laney Elizabeth Odom Pitts, who was born in 1844. Mickey Weatherly and Janie Ramsey displayed a quilt made by their grandmother decorated with all the Official State Birds as well as a square of an antique quilt found in the closet of an old family home that was about to be demolished. TAGHS appreciates all those who contributed to the program by bringing quilts to display.
The Timpson Area Genealogical Society meets at 2PM on the third Wednesday of each month in the meeting room of the Timpson Public Library on the corner of Austin and Bremond Streets in downtown Timpson. The TAGHS library is located within the Timpson Public Library and is open and staffed from 9AM until 5PM weekdays. Telephone 936-254-2966 and ask for the Genealogical Library.
