URR Quilts, will the myth ever die?

[Linda Trent]

Recently I overheard a partial conversation between a friend  (director of a historical society) and a person on the other end of the phone. My friend said that it is indeed a myth that there were Underground Railroad Quilts, and I was glad to hear that she had been persuaded that that was a myth. Apparently there was a myth going around that a quilt with several blocks told the story of how to escape, but this isn't true. Each quilt had a block that gave instructions to the escaped slave as to where to go. It's like, the Drunkard's Path, was supposedly warning slaves to zig zag due to slave hunters in the area. This just seems totally absurd to me.

When I inquired about the conversation she told me about particular squares having messages. More particularly she mentioned the Bear's Claw, the North Star, and the Drunkard's Path, Log Cabin, though she may have mentioned others (another friend was trying to talk to me while I was trying to eavesdrop) -- the meaning of these blocks can be found at http://www.osblackhistory.com/quiltcodes.php Her source was a conference of the American Quilter's Society in Paducah.

What I'm curious about is, did anyone else attend that conference (show, or whatever it's called)? Or does anyone know of any other source about these quilts other than the book Hidden in Plain View?

UGRR myth buster Giles Wright's excellent article is at http://historiccamdencounty.com/ccnews11_doc_01a.shtml

This is another excellent site on debunking the myth http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/UNDERGROUND-RR/2002-03/1017087442

Anyway, I'm just curious if the AQS is basing their claims off of any other research, or if anyone knows of any other documentation other than that presented in Hidden in Plain View.

[Ms. Jean]

No this is not dead, we will have to keep personally & repeatedly debunking that myth forever and all eternity.

Anyone for a rib removal???

I heard that a Sasquatch family found the only real, true, accurate, workable Underground Railroad quilt and that's why no one today can find the Sasquatch.... because they are hidden in plain view.  Crossed the Ohio east of Cincinnati, probably, due to the river currents, you know, and my cousin heard....

ETA: and as long as publishers put children's books on the store shelves (Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt) repeating the myth, we are in for lots of debunking.


Your mileage may vary,

Jean
Route 66

[Elizabeth]

We were given that particular children's book... it was a good avenue to talk about the logical fallacies behind the idea, and how people will sometimes believe a "romantic" history story rather than facts.

[mmescher]

It will be difficult to ever stomp the myth dead because it is full of things we want to believe.  It turns the slaves into resisters rather than passive submitters and, even better, they are cleverly pulling off their plans right under the nose of their owners.  What better story of the underdog fighting the system could you ask for!?!  So why let historical fact ruin a good story.

Michael Mescher

[anne foster]

Could it have been the American Quilt Study Group's annual conference?  They publish a proceedings called _Uncoverings_ each year with all of the very well researched and cited articles and, in 2007 (vol. 28), Laurel Horton presented a paper entitled "The Underground Railroad Quilt Code: The Experience of Belief"  Horton is one of the best known and respected of the quilt historians (she has an MA in folklore and and an MS in library science).  From the title, it sounds like she was actually talking about the myth and why it's held on rather than proving the tale . . .  The website for the group is www.americanquiltstudygroup.org and they sell copies of the journal online.  Although they now call it a journal, the original publication must have been issued as a monograph as the library records (Worldcat/OCLC) are very messy.  Nonetheless, you could try to get the article on interlibrary loan before buying the full volume.

I actually used several articles from the AQSG for a graduate school paper on material culture back in the day, which is why the mention of a conference rang a bell.

 Another very well respected quilt historian also recently debunked the myth: Brackman, Barbara.  "Unraveling the story (The myths of quilts and their use as coded messages in the underground railroad)," Kansas heritage. Vol. 14, no. 3 (fall 2006)

Anne Foster
Archivist/Librarian-by-day

[Donna Rowan]

Have you seen this site Linda?  http://ugrrquilt.hartcottagequilts.com/

[Linda Trent]

Thanks for the replies so far. One thing I was interested in is how common some of the various designs were. For example, many scholarly people suggest that the Log Cabin quilt didn't come in until around 1860 when Lincoln ran for president. I've also seen it suggested on a site I was looking at yesterday (and can't find today), that the term Bear Claw wasn't used until either war time or just post war, and some stuff like that. It would be interesting to know if the original story came down with the modern names of the quilts or if someone just used the modern names to make it easier to understand.

In looking through Google books, I've seen fair results where there are patchwork quilts, star quilts and fancy quilts, but the fancy quilts don't go by name. I'm curious how common some of the designs that were supposedly used on the UGRR were during that time.  Suppose for a moment that the whole idea is true, and stations of the UGRR did have coded quilts for the escapees, would Mr. Smith (an average Joe in the Confederacy) have possibly had a Bear Claw pattern? And what would happen if he hung out his quilt on the day some runaways went by?  

I don't know, the whole story is just so off the wall, plantation seamstresses making samplers and 10 quilts to teach slaves when and how to escape right under the planter's nose. That seems like something the former slaves would have boasted about to the WPA when it was safe to do such. With all the hoopla over this book, and the supposed story, you'd think that if others were told the story from their ancestors they would have come forth to confirm the story.

I know I'm preaching to the choir, I'm just trying to figure out the quickest and easiest way to nip it in the bud the next time it comes up without having to carry all my documentation.  

Oh, btw, does anyone know if Laurel Horton (who gave the talk in Anne's post) supports the myth or does she attempt to debunk it? That's all I really need to know about her. I hate to subscribe to something I'll only use once.

Thanks,

Linda.

[Carolann Schmitt]

Linda -

Susan Hughes gave a presentation on debunking this myth at the Conference two years ago. It was an excellent example of critical thinking and refuted virtually every argument made for its existence. You may wish to contact her off-list and discuss it with her.

Regards,
Carolann

[NanciG]

Linda,

I think that this book may be useful for your question.  Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns.  If it is the book that I am thinking of, it gives the quilt pattern with the first publication of that pattern.  Some blocks have more than one name, which always makes things interesting.  It is my understanding that most of the patterns associated with URR quilts are post-Civil War.  As far as I am aware, Drunkard's Path has no relation to the URR, but instead it was a temperance pattern.

Nanci Gasiel

[Anna Worden Bauersmith]

Since this topic has come back up and sufficient time has past, I feel I can finally mention my irritation with this myth. This myth is quite the money maker on several levels in terms of the quilt market. But is also a Huge money and time waster. It costs museums, historical societies and even some villages time and money when they develop misguided programs. A certain relative of mine, who was a historic quilter, was asked to develop an educational program based on this myth and the book when it first came out. In the process of developing the class and program she started discovering some of the discrepancies we now know debunk the myth. The stressful thing for her is she started discovering this information after she completed most of the instructional materials, including samples. A complete waste of time. On the good side, those who asked her did not go forward with the program as it would have been incorrect to do so.
I would say 3 to 5 years later, I came across an extensive program put together by a smaller county's historical society centered around the quilt myth and the folk lore that the underground railroad went through the area. They had obviously spent a good deal of time planning and developing their rather pricey looking brochure, but not much time researching before diving in.
It is this latter situation that propagates the myth along with the marketing aspects it represents for the quilting industry.
Just my thoughts.

[Linda Trent]

Lots of great responses, thanks!

Linda.

[Marta Vincent]

My dh came home from a local event tonight with yet another resurrection of the Slave quilt myth.  He asked for the Snopes.com address (without telling me what he was looking for) and didn't find anything there, so I offered the resources posted here.  He plans to send them to the woman who was telling the tale.  Not sure how much good that will do, since she still talks to the public about removing ribs, and girls being old maids at 15.  Her clothing research centers on a book about the making of Gone With the Wind.  Sigh....   I keep trying....

[NoahBriggs]

  Oy!  My condolences to the DH.  He must have untapped sources of patience to deal with that.  And here my biggest myth busting this weekend was explaining that yes, they had anesthetics for twenty to thirty years by the time the War was around, much to the Church's disgust.

I have not been hit with the myth yet, but I want to be ready for when I am.

 (Notice I said "when", not "if".)

[Mary Gutzke]

My dh came home from a local event tonight with yet another resurrection of the Slave quilt myth.  He asked for the Snopes.com address (without telling me what he was looking for) and didn't find anything there, so I offered the resources posted here.  He plans to send them to the woman who was telling the tale.  Not sure how much good that will do, since she still talks to the public about removing ribs, and girls being old maids at 15.  Her clothing research centers on a book about the making of Gone With the Wind.  Sigh....   I keep trying....

Oh Marta! Nothing will EVER change her.

[Linda Trent]

I have been in touch with Susan Hughes, and she's all enthusiastic about talking with me. She did send me a copy of her talk's outline and it's simply wonderful. She gave me permission to print it out for a UGRR Quilt binder I'm going to make for the society. She even offered to come speak, but alas our historical society doesn't have money for that kind of thing.

I'm volunteering again tomorrow and I may try to bring up the topic again and see what evidence they have that a code existed, but I have to be careful because it's a very hot topic -- they know there's opposition to the story, and they even said to me, "You're one of those people," meaning one of the unbelievers.  

Don't get me wrong, the historical society is a great place, and there are a lot of great people associated with it. It's just sometimes I get frustrated because people who should be interested in history are sometimes more interested in continuing a myth than listening to logical, well thought out opposition based upon historic evidence.

Thanks again,

Linda.

[NoahBriggs]

I get frustrated because people who should be interested in [insert just about any topic here] are sometimes more interested in continuing a myth than listening to logical, well thought out opposition based upon  . . .  evidence.

There's a lot of that going around.

Edited thirty seconds later to add:

Why should you do all the work?  The main motto of a skeptic is: extraordinary claims require extra ordinary evidence.  Instead of doing all this work trying to present evidence, how about asking the believers to present their documentation that it's true?  Slowly explain/show them they need to go much further than they have in their documentation, and use any replies to explain potential logical fallacies.

[Linda Trent]

Why should you do all the work?

Because they won't, and because school kids come to do reports and/or are curious about the UGRR quilts because of what they have read in the novels or heard in school. It's like the caller on the phone had heard that the quilts were a myth and wanted to verify that info. I would hope that even though the lady talking with the caller might have her own opinion, if they had a notebook on it she might suggest the caller come in and read some of the information. I want the work to be present for those who don't have a strong stance one way or the other, and perhaps give them a lead as to where to go for more information. The society does not have internet access (we're too poor).

I'm convinced that there are those who will never change. The idea  of a plantation seamstress cleverly sewing all these quilts under Simon Legree's watch, and the UGRR having some sort of systematic organization so that everyone along the route from SC to Cleveland was familiar with these different codes and all that sort of stuff does sound somewhat intriging at first glance. However, I personally like documentation.   There are a lot of people who simply believe something because a museum curator said it, or a quilting society gave a talk on the subject... Unfortunately, that's what I deal with occasionally. And I must admit that "occasionally" is better than a lot of places I've been.

From my experience with the lady, I think if they had a binder, that she might tell her version and then mention the binder with conflicting views. Like I said, for the most part they're a good group of people, it's just occasionally we bump heads and I'm the only one who can fully document my thoughts. But I think that over the last few weeks they've been seeing that I won't just believe something because that's what I'm told, and my motto is, "I don't care if I'm right or wrong, I just want history to prevail."

Linda.

[MrsPeebles]

A large part of the problem with this stupid myth is that it works as a marketing scheme. Textile companies and quilt shops buy into this scheme because it sells well to little old quilters who don't know one wit of history. And no doubt, with the sesquicentennial coming up, there will be a whole host of bogus books promoting this BS.
I'm happy that I never bought into it, nor carried any quilting books, but you still see the same things often enough. Often people will not listen to their family, but will easily trust a stranger, consequently, the only thing to do is provide proof that it's a myth. As I recall, Fons & Porter did an article in one of their quilting magazines pointing out the errors, and how the myth got started.
Lots of people will try to sell you soap, just be careful out there America.

[MrsBennett]

Then there's also the plain and simple fact that piecing patchwork takes time!  One would think the Underground Railroad system was constantly changing by necessity.  How could one seamstress (or even a group) whip out a quilt quickly enough to be an accurate guide? 

Shelli

[Elaine Kessinger]

I'm gonna get off on a quick tangent for a moment and then let y'all return to your regularly scheduled thread. Y'all have hit a pet peeve of mine.

Are these "seamstresses" on the plantation being paid for their sewing? Do they have a need to advertise to the general public their engagement of a trade? NO THEY DON'T.

 The correct term for a person sewing a quilt, either to furnish the home or as part of a garment, is a quilter. The correct term for a person sewing at home is Wife or Mother or Daughter or Sister or Friend or Slave. The correct term for a person engaged in the trade of general sewing, as in they are paid for their efforts and have a need to advertise to the public of their status in trade, is a seamstress if female and seamster or sempter if male. The correct term for a person engaged in the trade of draping bodices and making dresses and outerwear for women and children is a dress-maker, mantua-maker, or modiste. The correct term for a man engaged in the trade of drafting patterns and making up suits of clothing for men and breeched boys is tailor. The term tailoress might refer to a woman engaged in the trade of drafting patterns for suits of clothing for men and breeched boys or a woman employed by a tailor to do basic sewing on suits of clothing for men and breeched boys, depends on the context in which the term is used.

Persons of the period would know the type of tradesperson they are referring to. If we are truly trying to accurately portray a person of the period, who would have had the knowledge of a person of the period, we need to train ourselves to consistently use the correct term to refer to tradespeople the original cast would have been familiar with.

If you care to go further: A shoe-maker or cordwainer is engaged in the trade of making shoes, a cobbler is in the trade of fixing them. A woman buys her bonnets and hats from a milliner, a man buys his from a haberdasher or a clothing emporium. In a tailoring shop you might find a cutter cutting out the pieces of a garment, a finisher doing trims, buttons, and buttonholes (sometimes also called a buttonholer if they only do buttonholes), or a table monkey (somewhat affectionate term for an apprentice, comes from the fact they do basic sewing sitting cross-legged on the cutting table). Dress goods can be bought at the general store, dry goods store, fancy dress store, or the dress-maker or tailor shop itself. A person in the trade of making clothing dyes, and often handling the dying of garments, is a dyer. A spinster or spinstress is a person engaged in the trade of spinning thread. Again.. this term applies to someone in trade, not a person at home performing the same task. (The term spinster is also used as a derogatory term for an older single woman).