Whig Rose Quilt

The eight Whig Rose (also called Democrat Rose) appliqued blocks alternate with blocks containing appliqued hearts on five stars. The color palette of red, green and bright yellow on a white background is typical of quilts from this period. The quilting designs continue the 'love' theme with hearts covering the quilt surface. Yellow stars are surrounded by a wreath of hearts and the background and borders are filled with quilted hearts.

Family history suggests that the quilt was made either by Catherine Amanda Plymire or her daughter-in-law Mary Jane Sligar. Catherine was widowed while living in Ohio and in 1858 married Samuel Plymire. Shortly after their marriage, they made their way to California and settled in Gridley, California. While it is possible that Catherine made the quilt about the time of her second marriage, it is more likely that she made it to celebrate her son's marriage to Mary Jane Sligar or that she and Mary Jane worked on it together.

The Whig Rose pattern has its roots in several different political movements. In England, the political term Whig probably came from the Whiggamores, a militant group of Scottish Presbyterians who were violently opposed to King James on the basis of his Catholicism. The Whigs eventually came to stand for those who wished to emphasize parliament over the Crown.

In North America, the colonists who rejected the whole notion of the New World as a British colony called themselves Whigs. They stood in opposition to the Crown at every opportunity and eventually took up arms to fight the Revolutionary War from 1775-1783. In 1834, the name was adopted by a new political party, once again to make a political statement. The Whig Party rose up to oppose the Democratic Party and what they viewed as the imperial ways of “King” Andrew Jackson. They stood for greater governmental intervention in and oversight of economic matters. The Whig Party collapsed in 1854 when its leaders greatly underestimated the volatile nature of the slavery issue. The Whig Party was replaced by the Republican party, the progressive party of the era. It is interesting to note that the first time Abraham Lincoln ran for public office, he ran as a Whig. He later joined the Republican party.

Techniques: Hand appliqued, hand quilted
Culture: American
Geographic Location: North and Central America, United States, California
Credit Line: Gift of Toby Johnson in memory of his wife Audrey W. Johnson.