MOTHERS OF MATERIAL IN GREENBRIER COUNTY

Textiles are woven into every aspect of our lives, from the clothes we wear to our bedding, carpets, and towels. Humans depend on their warmth and comfort as well as their use in decorative self-expression. Women were an important part of textile manufacturing, both at home and commercially in the Greenbrier Valley of West Virginia. These women’s stories and processes are revealed through their creations.
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Each innovation in textile production made things easier for women by changing their access to materials and tools while allowing for growing creativity. Today we still value the art of historic textile production and can appreciate the hardships faced by women who raised their families, tended the home, and helped with the farm while still producing these beautiful textiles.

​This project is presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Humanities Council, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations do not necessarily represent those of the West Virginia Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

HANDMADE

The idea of women creating textiles in their homes from scratch has been idealized without an understanding of the time-consuming process. As early as the 1740s, farmers in the Greenbrier Valley would raise sheep for wool and sow flax for linens.  People were much more dependent on spinning and weaving their own cloth, and women were taught these skills from an early age.
Handmade and store-bought textiles were valuable commodities and were included in wills and women’s dowries. Their worth made mending as important as making new pieces. Manufactured materials made textile production in the home easier. It allowed women more freedom to embellish their textiles as a form of personal expression and visual enhancement. As seen in the American Revolution and the Civil War, women were able to express their patriotism through textile production to support the war effort.

JANE TRAVERS GATEWOOD

C. 1750-C. 1795

While there was little historic documentation of women in this period, Jane Travers, William Gatewood’s first wife, is remembered through this quilt. The quilt is one of the oldest in America and reflects the early Chesapeake Bay style. Jane and William married in 1767 and lived in Essex County, Virginia. A quilt of this quality indicates wealth and the presence of household help, likely slaves. After the death of his first wife, William married Jane Warwick in 1799. Later, they moved to Mountain Grove in Pocahontas County, in the Greenbrier Valley, taking the quilt with them.

Quilt Dated 1795

BARBARA ANN DICKSON

1838-1907

Barbara Dickson of Spring Valley Farm on Second Creek in Monroe County made this quilt for her eldest son, Clarence. Barbara was an unusual woman for her time. She raised five children and was involved with her family’s business dealings. Her father valued her opinion and they often corresponded. She owned property with her husband, Newton Dickson, in Missouri and managed many family accounts and home improvement projects.
The earliest crazy quilts were created from silks and satins. Odd shapes were pieced together in unique patterns with beautiful embroidery stitches to create show pieces sometimes displayed in the parlor.

THE PAXTON ENSLAVED WOMEN

Unknown Dates

Textile production by enslaved people emerged in the mid-1700s to make plantations self-sufficient and save on costs. Enslaved women made textiles for their owners to sell at market or for household use. They also made coarse clothing for themselves and other enslaved people. While these artisan skills were exploited by owners, they were vital for newly freed African Americans to support themselves after the Civil War.

The Paxtons were wealthy Virginia plantation owners in the early 1700s. Little is known about their enslaved people because of inadequate recordkeeping. This finely spun and woven tablecloth was created by their enslaved women. It was passed through the Houston descendants who settled in Monroe County. 

​ELIZABETH COFFMAN ROGERS

1815 –1894

Elizabeth was the granddaughter of Isaac Coffman, a Mennonite minister who helped settle Greenbrier County. She grew up among spinners and weavers and spun flax, wool, and cotton. Elizabeth lived on her family’s farm until she married at 27 and contributed to the family income with her weaving business. Professional weaving was a male occupation, but she was a successful professional weaver and her work was likely commissioned in her community. She kept two looms threaded to make two different products continually. Though Elizabeth was working at home, she took advantage of mill produced materials to accelerate production.