Quilts of The Underground Railroad - Historians and Writers

Historians and Writers

Barbara Brackman, author of Clues in the Calico, considered to be the "Bible of dating antique quilts", has written a book, Facts and Fabrications. The book uses "poetic license" to offer other quilt blocks that were not used in association with the Underground Railroad but whose names suggest historical connections. Some of the quilt blocks are newly-designed by the author.

After reading Hidden in Plain View, by Raymond Dobard, Ph.D. and Jacqueline Tobin, when it was first published, quilt historian Patricia Cummings thought that the story "did not add up." After hearing a talk by L'Merchie Frazier of Boston, Massachusetts, in January 2004, at the New Hampshire Historical Society, Cummings went home and within four days wrote a more than 4,000 word essay, "Symbolism in Quilts ... Part of the Underground Railroad?" and illustrated an ensuing newspaper article with photos of antique quilt blocks or new examples that she made for the occasion. That piece of writing first appeared in February 6–March 11, 2004 issue of Unravel the Gavel, a newspaper that is circulated to antique dealers and customers in New Hampshire and elsewhere. The article was later reprinted as a 10-page feature in the June 2004 issue of Needlearts magazine, published by the Embroiderers' Guild of America. She wrote a new updated article for The Quilter magazine, in September 2004. Cummings included a voice file component to an online article "The Underground Railroad and the Question of Quilt Blocks: The Roots and Impact of a New American Myth", published on the website Quilter's Muse Publications.

Kris Driessen — quilt historian, owner of the QuiltBug Quilt Shop, and owner of the Quilt History list — wrote an article titled "Putting it in Perspective; the Symbolism of Underground Railroad Quilts", that explores the possibility of quilts being used as communication devices in the context of the time.

A discussion of this topic vis a vis the viewpoint of folklore is a talk by Laurel Horton at the International Quilt Study Center.

Leigh Fellner is a quilt historian and independent researcher whose website includes the article: The Underground Railroad Quilt "Code": Betsy Ross Redux. Fellner sought to verify the genealogy of Ozella McDaniel Williams' family through letters with Ozella's relative, Teresa Kemp. Kemp founded the Underground Railroad Museum in Atlanta, Georgia and she travels with her family to provide talks to many groups.

Giles Wright, an historian and authority on the Underground Railroad in New Jersey (who wrote a book on the subject that is now out of print), was one of the first to actively debunk the notion of the secret quilt code. Wright has critiqued the thoughts presented in Hidden in Plain View.

Kimberly Wulfert, Ph.D., was instrumental in bringing the ideas of Mr. Wright to the public's eye via her website.

Xenia Cord, a prominent quilt historian and antiques dealer, published an article about the Underground Railroad and quilts, in the United Kingdom. She has actively taken issue with the "code." She holds a master's degree in English and in History.