Quilts, quilts and more quilts. The Hingham Historical Society has an endless collection of quilts. The are very fortunate to own several abolitionist movement quilts. Marches were held in Hingham to protest the use of slaves and Hingham was very active. Abolitionists would also meet in Hingham in secret at a place called “Tranquility Grove” to discuss the movement and steps that the members wanted to take to protest.

The quilts I viewed had muslin backing and very little batting if any between its front and back layers. It did have a tremendous amount of hand stitching!

One quilt made by Mary Hersey Lincoln of Hingham was made specifically for and anti-slavery fair held in Boston in 1840. The quilt was constructed of blue and white cotton squares approximately four by four inches. The white blocks have statements inked onto the cloth. One statement is, “Sleep, baby, sleep, and angels watch thy rest. No dream of ill molest thee.” Nothing like our protest banners made from paper today.

Thank goodness these people had the courage to march and call attention to the changes that needed to be made. It seems to be a continuing need for acceptance here in the US. May we use their strength to teach and behave with tolerance.

Label recording the quilt history and donation to the Hingham Historical Society