A PIECED AND APPLIQUED COTTON ALBUM QUILT

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A PIECED AND APPLIQUED COTTON ALBUM QUILT
FLEMINGTON, NEW JERSEY, DATED 1845

Worked in sixty-nine blocks of variously alternating appliqued chintz and calico squares including such motifs as compass star, bird-in-heart, stars-and-moon, tulip, flower garlands, bird-and-flower, flower-in-urn, all surrounding a larger central square of chintz appliqued in a blue floral wreath and centering the inscription:
"Presented/to the/Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Bartolette/by/the Members/of the/
Amwell Baptist Church/and Congregation/April 8, 1845./This gift which bears our Name do we/Present Dear Pastor unto thee,/In token of our Love;/And hoping that upon the hand/Of our Chief Shephard graved they Stand,/And that We'll meet above." The names inscribed in pen, cross-stitch or stamp are: "Rebecca P. Rice/Raritan NJ/February 17th 1845," "Lettia. Ann. Price.," "Sara. A. Higgins," "Mahlon Fisher," "Joseph Case/Flemington, N.J.," "Susan J. Blackwell," "Elizabeth Barrass," "Rachel Higgins/Aged 78," "Mary Higgins," "John R. Swallow," "ST. & SA. Hill," "1845/Sarah Ann Blackwell," "Hannah H. Ewing," "Margaret Hill," "Martha Ewing," "Hannah M. Hill," "Margaret Woodward," "Rebecca Forker," "Samuel Dunham/Newark NJ," "Henry C. Higgins," "Eleanor Higgins," "Leonard K. Higgins," "Jane Fulper (?)," "Elizabeth March," "Elizabeth Chamberlin," "Susan Ewing," "D.E.J. Dunham," Jesse Higgins/Elizabeth Higgins," "Euphemia Higgins," "Margaret Thomas," "Margaretta Aitkins," "Ann Bishop," "Wm. A.B. Jones," "William B. Swallow," "Sarah Forker," "John Van-Dorsy," "Margaret Bellis," "W.G. & R.A. Hill," "Mary B. Jones," "Rebecca Higgins," "John Carr Quick," "J-- Ewing," "Hetty Ann Case/Flemington/N.J.," "Mary H. Menshons (?)," "Samuel M. Higgins," "E.R.B. Higgins," "Hetty Imlay," "Charles A. Deacon/Burlington N.J," "Eliza C. Hoff," "Elizabeth Johnson," "Martha B. Hill," "Amy Higgins," "Judiah & Charity Higgins," "Amy Swallow," "Sarah R. Hill," "Maria G. Blackwell," "Catherine S. Higgins," "Ann Taylor," "Uree (?) Higgins," "Benjamin Stinenmire," "Eleanor ---?," "Corinda Taylor," "Jane McAnn," "J.S. & Ann Hill/Michagan," "Mary A. Fisher," "Sarah A. Higgins," "John P. Blackwell"; all quilted according to design of individual squares; together with a history of the congregation--103 x 92 1/2in.

Lot Essay

According to a publication documenting the Centennial of the Amwell Baptist Church, (1798-1898, Memorials of a Hundred Years: Centennial of Baptist Church, Flemington, N.J., (Flemington, 1898), Charles Bartolette was the pastor of that congregation for 34 years, beginning in 1812. During his tenure, Bartolette witnessed the growth of his parish from 90 to 245 individuals, this due in part to Bartolette's apparent popularity and charisma, though also possibly a continued reaction to the religious revivals that swept the United States during the first quarter of the 19th century. The Amwell Baptist Church served a number of nearby communities and produced several subsequently independent congregations. Bartolette died shortly after this resignation took effect in January 1846, the inscription on the quilt thus suggesting that the pastor may have been sick for some time, culminating in his resignation and thereby allowing the congregation the time to produce this intricate memorial of their relationship. In 1853, the town of Amwell, New Jersey became Flemington, New Jersey. (For further documentation and research information on this quilt, please contact the department).