On This Day in History Quilt for March 1:
On this day in 1692 the Salem Witch Hunt began in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The first women put on trial were Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba, an Indian slave from Barbados. All three were charged with illegal witchcraft, spurred by the testimonies of two girls in the colony who had experienced “fits” and other mysterious episodes that a doctor attributed to the effects of witchcraft.
Mary Margaret Berkley Watson of Point Pleasant, West Virginia hand pieced the blocks for this Water Witch quilt in 1889 (no obvious witchcraft involved). She was assisted by E.F. Berkley Thomas who helped “set up” the top in 1939 and L.B. Hogg and Mildred Hargraves who hand quilted the piece in 1948-49. The quilt was documented by the great niece of one of the makers during the West Virginia Heritage Quilt Search in 1992.
View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view.
Sources:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/salem-witch-hunt-begins
Posted by Amy E. Milne
Executive Director, Quilt Alliance
amy.milne@quiltalliance.org