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

                     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

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