Mothers of Material

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.

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.