Current Day Generations Appreciate Quilt

Cousins, Shirley Jean and Beatrice, on July 6, 2010

  On July 6, 2010, my mom and I visited our cousin Shirley Jean. My mom, Beatrice, and Shirley Jean are both descendents of Julia Delima Marcy Boatwright, the creator and first owner of this friendship quilt. During that visit, Shirley Jean passed the friendship quilt down to me. She gave it to me because I am a keeper of the family history.

  On the day of that visit, I had no plans to create this website yet. I think those plans began to develop in my mind as I looked at the women's signatures and handiwork on the quilt. Some of these women were relatives of ours, but not all of them. Others were neighbors and fellow church members of Mount Zion Missionary Baptist, part of the McCracken Community of Christian County, Missouri. Looking at the names on this quilt filled my mind with questions. Who were these women? What were their lives like? How were they connected to one another? What were those days like? My heart, too, was filled. It was filled with the overpowering sense of responsibility that came to me as the current keeper of the quilt. I got the feeling that my life had been joined with those of these women from 1937 Christian County.

 I have a part. In my imagination, my hands have  joined with theirs in a circle around the quilt. I can be one of the co-storytellers, along with my mom, Shirley Jean, my other living relatives, and others whose ancestors helped in creating this wonderful piece of art and history!

    Three generations: Beatrice (mother), Judy (my sister), and Jamie (my niece)

Reviving This Blog

Hurrah! I am reviving this blog and have a good reason to commit time to it. Currently, I am in a masters of education in literacy program. One of this summer's courses is on technology. We've been given an assignment to create a blog during this course and to make regular posts on it. I've received permission from my professors to use this blog for my assignment instead of creating a new blog. They want us to blog on something we are passionate about, and this blog fits in that category perfectly!

One of my plans for this page includes interviewing my mom and posting some videos of those interviews. She was five years old when the quilt was created and she remembers many of the women who contributed to the quilt. Another step I would like to make is to post about this blog on some genealogy related sites, so I can let more  Christian County, Missouri researchers know about this blog. I would appreciate contributions from other researchers, such as photographs, Christian County related stories about the women who contributed to the quilt, facts about their families, etc.

I would love to hear your comments and get input on this blog to make it better! Keep coming back!

Mary