Quilts of the Underground Railroad
Encyclopedia
In 1999 a theory surfaced indicating a possibility slaves used quilt
blocks to alert other slaves about escape plans during the time of the Underground Railroad
(approximately 1780-1860). Some historians support this theory while other historians dispute this as myth.
. Certain quilt blocks were said to be created for communicating how to get ready to escape, what to do on the trip, and where to go on the path to freedom.
This theory, as presented in the Dobard/Tobin book, is based on one source, Williams, who stated that this information, shared with Tobin, is her family's secret quilt code. The secret quilt code assigns meaning to each quilt block. Knotting is also mentioned as a signal device or map on the surface of a quilt. The code is as follows:
One quilt block named in the secret quilt code is Drunkard's Path
, with its curvilinear structure. According to the theory, those lines reminded slaves to move in a staggered path to keep the slave hunters confused.
Another block, the Carpenter's Wheel, is attached to a popular spiritual song “Steal Away". Like the song, it was a block to remind slaves to go with faith. The block supposedly reminded slaves, in a very stressful time, that God was with them.
The Bear's Paw
block has different stories as to what it indicated. Bears are known to leave large tracks and spend a large amount of time near water, and lead slaves to such water which was very important on such a long journey. Another version suggests that spring was the best time to leave so they could live in the bear's den.
With the harsh realities and challenges of slave escapes and the consequences of being caught, the theory may be a romanticized perspective of quilts and/or quilt blocks assisting slave escapes. Talks have been presented that state the quilt code is fact, while other historians (both versed in textile, quilt, and the Underground Railroad history) present the view why the theory may be myth. To date, more evidence to support the theory beyond Williams own account has not been found.
The theory has become a growing part of American culture
. The quilt code has been discussed in books, articles, and television for both adults and children. The presented theory is believed by many of the general public of the United States culture. As suggested by folklorist Laurel Horton in a talk she gave at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln (UNL), people are, in part, rooting for the underdog
and want to see slaves as empowered individuals, not as helpless victims.
In a 2007 Time Magazine article, Tobin (co-author of Hidden in Plain View) stated:
While the quilt code and other similar theories may reflect a pride in the brave people who were active in the Underground Railroad, both as runaway slaves and those who helped them, it is a popular interest which may be either myth or fact.
, such as slave memoirs, Works Progress Administration
oral history
interviews of escaped slaves, or abolitionist accounts of the Underground Railroad
. It is based solely on one person's oral history as related in the book, Hidden in Plain View. With the absence of supporting evidence for the secret quilt code, as described in the book, the theory is not accepted by all quilt historians as accurate.
To date, there have been a number of quilt historians who have posted information to their websites, written to newspapers, given talks to guilds, and or attended public meetings. They have challenged the plausibility of the quilt code.
, author of Clues in the Calico, considered to be the bible of dating antique quilts, has prepared a new book, Facts and Fabrications. The book uses "poetic license
" to offer other quilt blocks that were not used in association with the Underground Railroad but whose names suggest that the names of the blocks could have described a connection. Some of the blocks are newly designed by the author.
After reading Hidden in Plain View, by Raymond Dobard, Ph.D. and Jacqueline Tobin, when it was first published, quilt historian Patricia Cummings thought that the story "did not add up." After hearing a talk by L'Merchie Frazier of Boston
, Massachusetts, in January 2004, at the New Hampshire
Historical Society
, Cummings went home and within four days wrote a more than 4,000 word essay, "Symbolism in Quilts ... Part of the Underground Railroad?" and added photo examples of quilt blocks, antique and new (that she made for the occasion) to illustrate her points. That article was published in the February 6–March 11, 2004 issue of Unravel the Gavel, a newspaper that is circulated to antique dealers and customers in New Hampshire and elsewhere. The article was reprinted as a 10-page feature in the June 2004 issue of Needlearts magazine, published by the Embroiderers' Guild of America. She wrote an entirely different article, with updates, for The Quilter magazine, in September 2004, and yet other articles and added a voice file to her website, Quilter's Muse Publications, including "The Underground Railroad and the Question of Quilt Blocks: The Roots and Impact of a New American Myth."
Kris Driessen — quilt historian, owner of the QuiltBug Quilt Shop, and the person who owns the Quilt History list — has written an article titled "Putting it in Perspective; the Symbolism of Underground Railroad Quilts", which explores the possibility of quilts being used as communication devices in the context of the time.
Another online resource is professional folklorist Laurel Horton's talk at the International Quilt Study Center.
A link of particular note is that to Leigh Fellner's site with its many-faceted article: The Underground Railroad Quilt "Code": Betsy Ross Redux. She is an independent researcher seeking to verify the genealogy of Ozella McDaniel Williams' family, through letters with Ozella's relative, Teresa Kemp. Kemp has started the Underground Railroad Museum in Atlanta, Georgia
and she travels with her family to provide talks to many groups.
Giles Wright, an historian and authority on the Underground Railroad in New Jersey
(who wrote a book on the subject that is now out of print
), was one of the first to actively debunk the notion of the secret quilt code. Wright has critiqued the flawed research of Hidden in Plain View.
Kimberly Wulfert, Ph.D., was instrumental in bringing the ideas of Mr. Wright to the public on her website.
Xenia Cord, a prominent quilt historian and antiques dealer, published an article about the Underground Railroad and quilts, in the United Kingdom
. She has actively taken issue with the "code." She holds a master's degree in English and in History.
Quilt
A quilt is a type of bed cover, traditionally composed of three layers of fiber: a woven cloth top, a layer of batting or wadding and a woven back, combined using the technique of quilting. “Quilting” refers to the technique of joining at least two fabric layers by stitches or ties...
blocks to alert other slaves about escape plans during the time of the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
(approximately 1780-1860). Some historians support this theory while other historians dispute this as myth.
Presentation of the quilt code
This theory was introduced in the 1999 book Hidden in Plain View, written by Raymond Dobard, Jr., Ph.D., and Jacqueline Tobin. The book is based on the oral testimony of former educator/quilt vendor, Ozella McDaniel Williams of South CarolinaSouth Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Certain quilt blocks were said to be created for communicating how to get ready to escape, what to do on the trip, and where to go on the path to freedom.
This theory, as presented in the Dobard/Tobin book, is based on one source, Williams, who stated that this information, shared with Tobin, is her family's secret quilt code. The secret quilt code assigns meaning to each quilt block. Knotting is also mentioned as a signal device or map on the surface of a quilt. The code is as follows:
"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, CanadaOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
."
"The monkey wrenchMonkey wrenchThe monkey wrench is an adjustable wrench, a later American development of eighteenth century English coach wrenches. It was popular in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries but is now used only for heavier tasks, having been mostly replaced by the lighter and sleeker shifting adjustable or...
(shifting spanner) turns the wagon wheelWagon WheelThe Blue and Gold Wagon Wheel, now known simply as the Wagon Wheel, is awarded to the winner of the annual college football game between the University of Akron and Kent State University....
toward CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on a bear's paw trail to the crossroadsCrossroads (culture)In folk magic and mythology, crossroads may represent a location "between the worlds" and, as such, a site where supernatural spirits can be contacted and paranormal events can take place...
."
"Once they got to the crossroads they dug a log cabinLog cabinA log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
on the ground. (bypass) told them to dress up in cotton and satin bow ties and go to the cathedral church, get married, and exchange double wedding rings."
"Flying geese stay on the drunkard's path and follow the starStar (symbol)A star is an ideograph whose outer edge forms a symmetrical polygon whose vertices alternate between joining outward- and inward-pointing pairs of edges. The figure may be the border or interior of the polygon, or one or more closed polygonal paths that include all of the border and also have some...
s."
One quilt block named in the secret quilt code is Drunkard's Path
Patchwork
Patchwork or "pieced work" is a form of needlework that involves sewing together pieces of fabric into a larger design. The larger design is usually based on repeat patterns built up with different colored shapes. These shapes are carefully measured and cut, straight-sided, basic geometric shapes...
, with its curvilinear structure. According to the theory, those lines reminded slaves to move in a staggered path to keep the slave hunters confused.
Another block, the Carpenter's Wheel, is attached to a popular spiritual song “Steal Away". Like the song, it was a block to remind slaves to go with faith. The block supposedly reminded slaves, in a very stressful time, that God was with them.
The Bear's Paw
Patchwork
Patchwork or "pieced work" is a form of needlework that involves sewing together pieces of fabric into a larger design. The larger design is usually based on repeat patterns built up with different colored shapes. These shapes are carefully measured and cut, straight-sided, basic geometric shapes...
block has different stories as to what it indicated. Bears are known to leave large tracks and spend a large amount of time near water, and lead slaves to such water which was very important on such a long journey. Another version suggests that spring was the best time to leave so they could live in the bear's den.
With the harsh realities and challenges of slave escapes and the consequences of being caught, the theory may be a romanticized perspective of quilts and/or quilt blocks assisting slave escapes. Talks have been presented that state the quilt code is fact, while other historians (both versed in textile, quilt, and the Underground Railroad history) present the view why the theory may be myth. To date, more evidence to support the theory beyond Williams own account has not been found.
The theory has become a growing part of American culture
Society of the United States
The society or culture of the United States is a Western culture, and has been developing since long before the United States became a country with its own unique social and cultural characteristics such as dialect, music, arts, social habits, cuisine, folklore, etc...
. The quilt code has been discussed in books, articles, and television for both adults and children. The presented theory is believed by many of the general public of the United States culture. As suggested by folklorist Laurel Horton in a talk she gave at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln (UNL), people are, in part, rooting for the underdog
Underdog (competition)
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, frequently in electoral politics, sports and creative works, who is popularly expected to lose. The party, team or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the rare case where an underdog wins, the outcome is an upset. These...
and want to see slaves as empowered individuals, not as helpless victims.
In a 2007 Time Magazine article, Tobin (co-author of Hidden in Plain View) stated:
"Whether or not it's completely valid, I have no idea, but it makes sense with the amount of research we did."
While the quilt code and other similar theories may reflect a pride in the brave people who were active in the Underground Railroad, both as runaway slaves and those who helped them, it is a popular interest which may be either myth or fact.
Lack of support for the theory
This theory is not supported by documentary evidenceDocumentary evidence
Documentary evidence is any evidence introduced at a trial in the form of documents. Although this term is most widely understood to mean writings on paper , the term actually include any media by which information can be preserved...
, such as slave memoirs, Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
oral history
Oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
interviews of escaped slaves, or abolitionist accounts of the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
. It is based solely on one person's oral history as related in the book, Hidden in Plain View. With the absence of supporting evidence for the secret quilt code, as described in the book, the theory is not accepted by all quilt historians as accurate.
To date, there have been a number of quilt historians who have posted information to their websites, written to newspapers, given talks to guilds, and or attended public meetings. They have challenged the plausibility of the quilt code.
Historians and writers
Barbara BrackmanBarbara Brackman
Barbara Brackman is a quilt historian and author, currently residing in Lawrence, Kansas. Well known for her authority on quilts of the Underground Railroad, Barbara has written numerous books on quilting during the Civil War including Facts and Fabrications: Unraveling the History of Quilts and...
, author of Clues in the Calico, considered to be the bible of dating antique quilts, has prepared a new book, Facts and Fabrications. The book uses "poetic license
Artistic licence
Artistic licence is a colloquial term, sometimes euphemism, used to denote the distortion of fact, alteration of the conventions of grammar or language, or rewording of pre-existing text made by an artist to improve a piece of...
" to offer other quilt blocks that were not used in association with the Underground Railroad but whose names suggest that the names of the blocks could have described a connection. Some of the blocks are newly designed by the author.
After reading Hidden in Plain View, by Raymond Dobard, Ph.D. and Jacqueline Tobin, when it was first published, quilt historian Patricia Cummings thought that the story "did not add up." After hearing a talk by L'Merchie Frazier of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts, in January 2004, at the New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
Historical Society
Historical society
A historical society is an organization that collects, researches, interprets and preserves information or items of historical interest. Generally, a historical society focuses on a specific geographical area, such as a county or town or subject, such as aviation or rail. Many historical...
, Cummings went home and within four days wrote a more than 4,000 word essay, "Symbolism in Quilts ... Part of the Underground Railroad?" and added photo examples of quilt blocks, antique and new (that she made for the occasion) to illustrate her points. That article was published in the February 6–March 11, 2004 issue of Unravel the Gavel, a newspaper that is circulated to antique dealers and customers in New Hampshire and elsewhere. The article was reprinted as a 10-page feature in the June 2004 issue of Needlearts magazine, published by the Embroiderers' Guild of America. She wrote an entirely different article, with updates, for The Quilter magazine, in September 2004, and yet other articles and added a voice file to her website, Quilter's Muse Publications, including "The Underground Railroad and the Question of Quilt Blocks: The Roots and Impact of a New American Myth."
Kris Driessen — quilt historian, owner of the QuiltBug Quilt Shop, and the person who owns the Quilt History list — has written an article titled "Putting it in Perspective; the Symbolism of Underground Railroad Quilts", which explores the possibility of quilts being used as communication devices in the context of the time.
Another online resource is professional folklorist Laurel Horton's talk at the International Quilt Study Center.
A link of particular note is that to Leigh Fellner's site with its many-faceted article: The Underground Railroad Quilt "Code": Betsy Ross Redux. She is an independent researcher seeking to verify the genealogy of Ozella McDaniel Williams' family, through letters with Ozella's relative, Teresa Kemp. Kemp has started the Underground Railroad Museum in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
and she travels with her family to provide talks to many groups.
Giles Wright, an historian and authority on the Underground Railroad in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
(who wrote a book on the subject that is now out of print
Out of print
Out of print refers to an item, typically a book , but can include any print or visual media or sound recording, that is in the state of no longer being published....
), was one of the first to actively debunk the notion of the secret quilt code. Wright has critiqued the flawed research of Hidden in Plain View.
Kimberly Wulfert, Ph.D., was instrumental in bringing the ideas of Mr. Wright to the public on her website.
Xenia Cord, a prominent quilt historian and antiques dealer, published an article about the Underground Railroad and quilts, in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. She has actively taken issue with the "code." She holds a master's degree in English and in History.
Resources
- 1997: Barbara Brackman, Quilts from the Civil War: Nine Projects, Historic Notes, Diary Entries, ISBN 1-57120-033-9
- 2006: Barbara Brackman, Facts & Fabrications: Unraveling the History of Quilts And Slavery: 9 Projects, 20 Blocks, First-person Accounts, ISBN 1-57120-364-8
- 2006: Leigh Fellner, "Betsy Ross Redux: The Underground Railroad 'Quilt Code'".
- 2008: Shelley Zegart, Myth and methodology: Shelley Zegart unpicks African American Quilt Scholarship Selvedge, (ISSN 1742-254X) Issue 21 (Jan/February 2008) pp. 48–56.