Welcome!

Welcome! This blog is about the Christian County, Missouri friendship quilt that was passed down to me from family members. It was created circa 1937 for Julia Delima Marcy Boatwright by friends and relatives. Julia passed the quilt down to her daughter, Lucille, then Lucille's daughter passed it down to me. I am researching the quilt and those who contributed to the quilt and will post my findings on the blog. I have taken photos of each square of the quilt, which I will be posting in the blog. Also, I have a second Christian County friendship quilt that was passed down to me. The second quilt was made circa 1944. I will also write about it, after I finish the first quilt's blog!


Saturday, August 11, 2012

                     Mamie Emma Rhoda Boatwright Burnett
 Mamie Emma Rhoda Boatwright Burnett was the sister-in-law of Julia Marcy Boatwright. She lived in Cloud County, Kansas, so she probably made the quilt square and mailed it, or else she made the square while visiting Jim and Julia Boatwright in Christian County, Missouri.

Mamie was born on 7 April, 1884 to Alexander Christopher and Mary Etta Jane (Beamon) Boatwright in Marysville, Marshall County, Kansas. She married Ralph Burnett, and they had the following children: Louise Mamie, Ralph Lewis, Melvin Charles, Raymond Pearl, Leslie Lorean, and Christopher Henry Burnett. Mamie's husband, Ralph, passed away in 1918, so Mamie was a single mother of her five children.

She was  a member of First Christian Church and the Order of the Eastern Star.

Mamie passed away in November 1977 and is buried in the Glasco Cemetery in Glasco, Cloud County, Kansas. Her husband and 4 children preceded her in death. She was survived by Louise Mamie, who passed away in 2003.
  
Mamie Boatwright Burnett's Grave



Ruth Irene (Baker) Moreland

Ruth Irene Baker was born on 6 April, 1902 in Mattoon, Illinois. She was the daughter of John W. and Cora (Lyons) Baker. Her family moved to Creston, Iowa, where she met and married Gayl Moreland. The family moved to McCracken, Christian County, Missouri, in 1936. The Morelands had three children, Harold, Robert, and Donald. Irene was the president of the Ozark PTA and was active in the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Springfield, Missouri.

In May 1945, there was a kerosene explosion at the Moreland home and the house caught on fire. Irene passed away on 27 May, 1945, from burns she received in the fire.

Below is a photo of the quilt square she made for the 1937 friendship quilt. Also, I have a link to a website that contains her obituary.



Ruth Irene Moreland's Obituary on Christian County, Missouri Genealogy Website

Find-A-Grave Entry



Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Orpha "Orphie" VanDusen Waite

                 Orpha "Orphie" Lucretia VanDusen Wait



  Orpha Lucretia Wait was born in 1864. Some sources say she was born in Iowa and other sources claim she was born in New York. She was the daughter of Martin B. and Harriet M. (Treanor) VanDusen.

In 1888, Orphie married James Pinkerton. They were divorced by 1903 and James was remarried. Orphie later married Harry E. Wait, after 1910, probably in Nebraska.

Orphie and Harry moved to Christian County, Missouri sometime after the 1930 Federal Census, which shows them living in Big Grove, Benton, Iowa. Since Orphie was my mother's neighbor, I asked Mom when the Waits moved to Christian County. She estimates that they arrived there about 1935. She said she remembers them moving out of Christian County around 1939 or 1940.

I found an Orpah L. Wait, on Ancestry.com, that was buried at Fairlawn Cemetery in Elk City, Beckham County, Oklahoma, in 1942. I believe this is Orpha "Orphie," because the birth year is the same and my mom remembers Harry Wait coming back with a new wife during the 1944 election. He came for a visit, and my mom remembers them talking to her parents about the election between Dewey and Roosevelt.

While Orphie was living in Christian County, she made a square for my great  grandma Julia's friendship quilt. The square is below. Note that she embroidered the date "1937" on the square. That is one reason I document the quilt was made in 1937.




Lena M. Garrison Farthing

(Photo courtesy Melodee (Caves) Slaney)

Lena was one of the best friends of my grandma, Urma Shipman Boatwright. I remember when I came to visit Grandma, sometimes she would spend time talking to Lena on the phone.

Lena M. Garrison was born on 2 April, 1907 in Christian County, Missouri. She was the daughter of Lee Ledford and Martha Jane "Mattie" (Dobbs) Garrison. Lena married Theodore "Ted" Garrison on 6 February, 1926, in Christian County. They lived in the McCracken Community of Christian County. Lena and Ted had a daughter named Melodean and a son named Billy Lee. Lena passed away on 6 October, 1983. She is buried in the Linden Cemetery in Linden, Christian County, Missouri. The quilt square she contributed to the friendship quilt is in the photo, below.

Lena M. Farthing's Grave

(Photo courtesy of Melodee (Caves) Slaney)
Lena and Melodean

Julia Delima Marcy Boatwright

Julia Delima Marcy Boatwright
Great Grandma Julia with  her son, Leonard, ca. 1915
My great grandmother, Julia Delima Marcy Boatwright, ca. 1910
Julia Delima Marcy was born on 14 April, 1891, in Cloud County, KS, to Edward and Mary (Bray) Marcy. She married James William Boatwright on 5 January, 1910. They had three children: Leonard James, Lucille Marcy, and Richard Jean Boatwright.   

James and Julia lived in Cloud County, Kansas, and by 1920 they moved to Christian County, Missouri.  They lived in the McCracken Community. When she wasn't doing farm chores, Julia enjoyed crocheting and quilting. She spent time with friends in quilting bees and worked on friendship quilts. She also made other quilts and crocheted items that she passed down to family members.

Julia divorced Jim in about 1959. She lived the rest of her life in Springfield, Greene County, Missouri. Julia passed away on 4 February, 1993 at the age of 101 years old.


This square was made by either Julia Delima Marcy Boatwright
or her mother, Mary Ellen Bray Marcy


This square was made by either Julia Delima Marcy Boatwright
or her sister-in-law, Julia Boatwright Bray



Pearl Clevenger Cannon Boatwright

Pearl Clevenger with her first husband, Clyde Cannon. After Clyde's death in 1912, she later married Alonzo Boatwright


Pearl Clevenger Cannon Boatwright

Pearl Boatwright made this square for the friendship quilt. Pearl was born in October 1886, in Tennessee, to James R. and Laura Clevenger. On 18 March, 1906, she married Clyde Cannon, son of William Newton and Mary Margaret (Everett) Cannon, in Christian County, Missouri. There they had a daughter, Dorothy J. Cannon. Clyde died from pneumonia on 20 February, 1912.

By the 1920 Federal Census, Pearl was remarried to Alonzo Christopher Boatwright, son of Alexander Christopher and Mary (Beamon) Boatwright. They lived in Christian County, Missouri, until Pearl's death on 31 December, 1963.