Many years a go I sat in my friend's genealogy class. I was there mostly to support my friend. I really had no interest in genealogy. I was there to fill up an empty chair. As I sat there listening to the class, the thought came to me: Find a Grandma Midgley quilt. I had been a quilter for a number of years and had just seen the census record with Ann Midgley living in Utah, quilter, weaver. What a great idea! I'm not kidding, I don't think this idea came from me...it was as if someone had whispered it to me: Find a Grandma Midgley quilt! 
In the days of Ann Midgley (1826-1911) the women would traditionally pass along their quilts to their daughters. So I began looking for daughters and granddaughters. I wrote lots of leters from information I gathered with http://www.familysearch.org/arch.org/ I made charts and searched and searched. Still no results. But the experience of doing genealogy was wonderful. I felt a real closeness to this great-great grandmother. I studied her life, her experiences, the years she was here on earth. It was an awesome experience for me. I can barely put it into words. I even got to the point where I didn't care if I never found a quilt. Being introduced to the world of genealogy was worth beginning that original search.
Well, one day I received a phone call from a woman in Logan, Utah. She said to me, "I understand you are looking for a Grandma Midgley quilt." I said, "Yes, I am." She said, "Well I have one." I just about dropped the phone. This was her great granddaughter Florence.
Apparently she got my number from a relative of her's that had received one of my letters. She owned a Grandma Midgley quilt that had been stored in a trunk. I told her all I wanted was to take a picture of the quilt and perhaps make a replica of it.
Well, long story short...Florence donated the quilt to an organization called "The Daughters of the Utah Pioneers." The quilt now hangs in one of their small
museums in Nephi, Utah. Florence passed away a few years ago. I am so grateful that she was able to help me fulfill a dream.
In the days of Ann Midgley (1826-1911) the women would traditionally pass along their quilts to their daughters. So I began looking for daughters and granddaughters. I wrote lots of leters from information I gathered with http://www.familysearch.org/arch.org/ I made charts and searched and searched. Still no results. But the experience of doing genealogy was wonderful. I felt a real closeness to this great-great grandmother. I studied her life, her experiences, the years she was here on earth. It was an awesome experience for me. I can barely put it into words. I even got to the point where I didn't care if I never found a quilt. Being introduced to the world of genealogy was worth beginning that original search.
Well, one day I received a phone call from a woman in Logan, Utah. She said to me, "I understand you are looking for a Grandma Midgley quilt." I said, "Yes, I am." She said, "Well I have one." I just about dropped the phone. This was her great granddaughter Florence.
Apparently she got my number from a relative of her's that had received one of my letters. She owned a Grandma Midgley quilt that had been stored in a trunk. I told her all I wanted was to take a picture of the quilt and perhaps make a replica of it.
Well, long story short...Florence donated the quilt to an organization called "The Daughters of the Utah Pioneers." The quilt now hangs in one of their small
museums in Nephi, Utah. Florence passed away a few years ago. I am so grateful that she was able to help me fulfill a dream.Really, to find the Grandma Midgley quilt was the icing-on-the-cake for me. The experience of being introduced to the world of genealogy has been so rewarding. How wonderful it has been to learn about my heritage and to discover such a great family.
For more information on genealogy, please check out these website:
4 comments:
What an amazing story! I enjoy your blog.
What a wonderful find!
What a great story, and a gorgeous quilt. How nice that it was donated to the museum to share with so many people. It gives me hope that Joe and I will still be able to find more info on his elusive Greatgrandfather. We have so much on most other members of his family, but very little on him.
Nephi and see the quilt and photograph it? Is the picture on your blog somewhere?
Post a Comment