Lynette Warren explores how quilts can play a key role in the rediscovery of our past
Phyllis Biffle Elmore was little more than a toddler when her life changed dramatically: she moved from her birthplace of Detroit to Alabama to live with her maternal grandparents. Phyllis was a child of the Great Migration. The time period from 1910 to 1970 was one of tremendous change in the United States – between six and seven million African Americans moved from the agriculturally-based southern part of the country to the industrialised north.
Northern cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit and New York became places to make a new beginning and afford the next generation new possibilities. The Biffles were among those migrating north in search of opportunity. Often, children were sent back to the South to spend time with relatives – perhaps for a few weeks in the summer, or they lived with family for years. Young Phyllis was one of the latter and was sent to Alabama to live with her grandparents at the age of four.
Phyllis’ maternal grandmother, Lula Horn, was a prolific quilter and created what she called “quilts of souls” for her family and neighbours. Young Phyllis’ childhood confusion, fear and sadness were assuaged by one special quilt. She recalls her grandmother giving her the unfinished quilt one night, writing: “For the first time in days, I relaxed. It felt as though I was being swaddled like a newborn in a receiving blanket. Snug, immovable, and warm.” The quilt was of instant comfort to young Phyllis, who sorely missed her Detroit family.
This quilt, and the family lore Phyllis heard while her grandmother finished it, have been captured in a memoir she authored entitled Quilt of Souls. While Lula Horn pieced her quilts with Phyllis at her side, she shared family stories. Their family history began in slavery and Phyllis heard these stories throughout her childhood. One particularly poignant tale was that of Phyllis’ grandmother. Before Lula Young Horn was born, her mother, Emma Young, had given birth to three other children, who were all sold from the family in infancy. The tales inspired Phyllis to capture the stories in her memoir and further research her family by having her DNA tested. Along with genealogy websites like FamilySearch and Ancestry, DNA has made it easier for people to locate distant family members. So, Phyllis submitted her results to Ancestry with hopes of finding relatives…
Researching quilts and their makers
Marsha MacDowell, Ph.D. is curator of folk art and quilt studies
