The Darling Offspring of Her Brain
The Bible Quilt
Harriett Angeline Powers were born on October 29, 1837 in
Athens, Georgia. She grew up as slave
property on the farm of John Lester in Madison County Georgia, just northeast
of Athens. She ‘jumped the broom” and
had an “away marriage” with Armsted Powers, several years
her senior and the sole slave of James Nunn, who owned a farm roughly ten miles
from the Lester’s farm. The date she
married Amsted Powers is unknown. In
1865 when all African Americans became free citizen of the United States, they
were able to successfully live together and prospered.
In 1871, Amsted and Harriett rented land in Sandy Creek, Georgia where
they grew cotton, potatoes, and corn and raised cows, pigs and goats. By 1874 the couple had assets worth more than
$350, and by 1880 they owned a four-acre farm in Sandy
Creek. By the standards of all blacks at the time, the Powers were quite
successful.
1881 Harriett bought a Singer sewing machine that she would use to
make her quilts. She made the Bible
Quilt, the first of her two quilts known to exist after purchasing the sewing
machine. The quilt was made of eleven appliquéd blocks of irregular shape and
size, each block depicting a scene from the bible.
In November 1886 she exhibited the Bible Quilt at the County fair in
Athens, Georgia. This is where Jennie
Smith, a young white artist, teacher and collector first saw the quilt. Though
Powers had not used hand quilting techniques typically prized at the time-hers
was sewn mostly by machine, her quilting stitches were not particularly fine,
and she did not design her quilt according to a known pattern. However, Smith was captivated by the quilt
and offered to buy it for ten dollars.
Harriett turned down her offer; but Smith asked to be notified if she
ever changed her mind.
By 1891, the Powers had fallen on hard times, and Harriett contacted
Jennie Smith about selling her quilt.
“She arrived one afternoon in front
of my door in an ox-cart with the precious burden in her lap encased in a
crocus sack. She offered to sell it for
ten dollars but I told her I only had five to give. After going out consulted with her husband
she returned and said “owin to de hardness of the times, my old man lows I’d
better tech hit.”
She obeyed, not being a new woman.
Harriett gave Smith a “full description of each scene with great earnestness.” After the sale of the quilt Harriett returned
several times to visit the “darling offspring of her brain.” Had Smith not recorded Power’s explanations
of each block, there is little chance that the quilt would have been documented
or preserved.
The Bible Quilt is currently stored at The
Smithsonian National Museum of American History. The only other known surviving
quilt; the Pictorial Quilt is stored
the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA.
References:
Gladys-Marie
Fry, Ph.d, Stitched From the Soul
Regenia
Perry, Harriett Power’s Bible Quilts
Roland
L. Freeman, A communion of the Spirits
Lucine
Finch, A Sermon in Patchwork
