Women made and signed a friendship quilt before Mary Jane Bickford's 1856 marriage, in Cabot, to Charles M. Howe.
After they were wed, the couple took the quilt to Wisconsin and then Dakota Territory.
The Perrins saw the quilt in a museum in Pierre, SD, in 2004. Marilyn, who grew up in Cabot, recognized many Cabot names. The woman who donated the quilt was Janet Howe Townsley, a great granddaughter of Mary J. Bickford.
Ms. Townsley
told the Perrins about her great grandmother and the quilt. The Perrins researched Cabot and other sources to learn about the girls and women who made and signed the quilt.
They describe where they lived, their family connections and historical information about the Town of Cabot.
Family names in the book include:
Grow, Smith, Dole, Clark, Rogers, Bruce, Perry, Hooker, Fisher, Porter, McLean, Kinerson, Dean, Howe, Lee, Haines, Wallace, Swan, McDuffee, Hoyt, Stone, Damon, Cooper, Beedle, Whittier, Porter, and Atkins.
This documents that era in Cabot, with graphs, maps and photos. It is well indexed and referenced.
70 pages.
Available at Cabot Historical Society, $35, plus $5 s&h.