Woven White Coverlet

DateLate 18th century

Artist/Maker Gillie Ellison Edwards

OriginAmerica, Virginia, Pittsylvania County

MediumCotton warp and weft (fiber identification by eye)

DimensionsOverall: (91.5" x 76.5") including fringe along both widths; Panels: (86.5" x 24"); Fringe: W (5")

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1972-88

DescriptionThis is a white woven coverlet composed of three panels. It is woven in a pattern of striped M & O's, rather than blocked, and diamond honeycomb. The hand-knotted fringe with tassels on both widths is original. The hems are rolled. An area was damaged and patched in 1983.
Label TextThis counterpane offers insight into early handwoven Virginia cloth as well as the farm to loom creation process. The inscription on the textile claims, “cotton grown on the farm of the Edwards family, Pittsville County, Virginia, spun, carded and woven by Gillie Ellison Edwards, granddaughter of Jonathan Edwards, about 1786.” The coverlet is woven in standard M’s and O’s but varies the pattern in stripes rather than the more traditional blocks.
ProvenanceFamily tradition claims on label attached: "Cotton grown on the farm of the Edwards family, Pittsville County, Virginia, spun, carded and woven by Gillie Ellison Edwards, granddaughter of Jonathan Edwards, about 1786." The direct provenance is unknown but potentially the textile was passed down through the Edwards lineage rather than the Gilley's family as she is listed by her maiden name and not "Gilla Witcher" from Georgia. The given date on the inscription is also dubious as Gilley was born in 1794.
History of Maker:
“Gillie Ellison Edwards”, or Gilley Ellyson Edwards was born in 1794 to Flemstead Edwards and Elizabeth Ellyson of Cumberland County, Virginia. She married James Witcher of Pittsylvania County, Virginia in 1813, and the couple would later move to Morgan County, Georgia. Gilley would later appear in the 1850 Federal Census as “Gilla” Witcher of Meriwether County with four children. By the 1860 Federal Census, Gilley was living in the Georgia Militia District 1076 in Polk County with six children. A War of 1812 widower’s pension lists both James Witcher’s death in 1878 and Gilley’s death in 1882 in Polk County.