Underground railroad quilt patterns and meanings

Invite children to write essays describing the symbolism present in their quilt squares. Quilts from the underground railroad, part 1 youtube. The underground railroad freedom quilt codes youtube. Exploring the patterns of ozella mcdaniel williamss quilt code explain that small student groups will assigned one of the quilt code patterns to explore and understand in greater detail. These re p resent some of the most common quilt blocks used in coded quilts. I was living in the south and frankly, i never connected those events to the blatant segregation that was all around mein those days, kids did comment, question, etc.

Quilts slung over a fence or windowsill, seemingly to air, passed on the. Old american quilts held a secret code that led thousands. Amongst the patterns which are said to have held meaning for enslaved persons on the underground railroad was the monkey wrench pattern, which supposedly advised slaves to begin to pack the things they would need for their journey. Underground railroad barn quilt mural in fredonia, ks. Quilts with patterns namedwagon wheel,tumbling blocks, and bears paw appear to. Is it any wonder that this nine patch quilt block called underground railroad would be a directional type of block featuring a definite path. However, others, such as tobin and dobard, think otherwise. A viral facebook post described these common lawn ornaments as symbolic aids to escaping slaves on the underground railroad. Apr 01, 2003 the patterns and there history with the underground railroad. I was taught about the underground railroad, etc in several classes in public school in the 50s and 60s. Often times, slaves were prepared for their journey north by using a quilt sampler to instruct about what tools to accompany them on the journey. The underground railroad symbols were secret codes, words, signals and signs used by pass hidden messages to and from slaves who were escaping slavery and those who were helping them in this very dangerous activity. It is disappointing to learn that research on the underground railroad has.

I recently found out that there is no evidence that quilt patterns were used in any way to send messages to those traveling the underground railroad. Old american quilts held a secret code that led thousands to freedom. The symbolism of underground railroad quilts quilt history. The most famous telling of a quilt code says that indeed, quilts were a vital part of the underground railroad, and their history with it was unwritten until very recently.

And a few months ago barbara brackman, a renowned quilt historian, even published her own book called facts and fabrications. One of the blocks in the quilt code is the bears paw, shown here. Some of the quilting patterns assigned to the quilt codes were not invented until after the years of the civil war, most specifically bow ties, which doesnt appear in quilting journals until the. Oct 22, 20 eleanor burns shares a story passed down through families about a link between slavemade quilts and the underground railroad. Williams was an african american, a former school administrator and had a law degree from howard university.

To make squares more sturd y, mount squares on construction paper before cutting apart. According to legend, a safe house along the underground railroad was often indicated by a quilt hanging from a clothesline or windowsill. Known as the freedom quilt patterns, these quilts were displayed as signals to slaves that they should begin to pack for the journey wagon wheel,dress up shoofly and. These classic quilt blocks have a hidden message live play eat.

The quilt code also gave clues and indicated directions for the railroad journey. There is much written about the use of quilts during the underground railroad days. A code of secrecy, part ii the underground railroad was an informal network of people and safe places that enabled fugitive slaves to move in secrecy, from bondage in the south to freedom in the north. Jun 27, 2014 having already read a biography on harriet tubman, my son had a basic foundation of knowledge on the underground railroad. If you want to learn the deeper meaning of symbols, then you need to show worthiness of. Did slaves really use quilt codes on the underground railroad. Myths about the underground railroad african american.

Their patterns and blocks were a code, provi the underground railroad is an amazing story with people coming together to fight for one basic american right. Singing was tradition brought from africa by the first slaves. This video is a member of the group and speaks about the significance of quilts in the underground railroad and how symbols in the quilts helped to lead slaves to. Railroad language was chosen because the railroad was an emerging form of transportation and. Just as todays children know all the slang for video games, so the slave children knew all the names of quilt patterns. Although, i am sure most quilters didnt buy this book for a history lesson, i love the history behind quilt blocks. Major figures of the underground railroad included abolitionist harriet tubman, as well as many churches and clergy. Quilts of the underground railroad describes a controversial belief that quilts were used to. The folklore of certain quilts being used as symbols has been presumed true by many, with books hidden in plain view. Underground railroad quilts contained codes that led to. But even among code proponents, the patterns meanings, how the quilts were used, and who used them is a matter of debate.

We have put together 15 different quilt blocks each with its own meaning to show how this plan worked. Underground railroad was and how african slaves, known as fugitives, rode it to freedom. May 18, 2014 the most famous telling of a quilt code says that indeed, quilts were a vital part of the underground railroad, and their history with it was unwritten until very recently. The quilt top was finished into a lightweight quilt, raffled off for the benefit of the edwards historical association and won by an appreciative teacher at edwardsknox central school, chris backus, who plans to use it in her classroom. Underground railroad symbols andrew jackson was the 7th american president who served in office from march 4, 1829 to march 4, 1837. The language of quilts since the beginning of time, people have always needed to reach out to others. These epitaphs are on the gravestones of two former fugitive slaves buried in the oberlin cemetery. Quilts with patterns named wagon wheel, tumbling blocks, and bears paw appear to. Some of the most common were monkey wrench, star, crossroads, and wagon wheel. Underground railroad quilt block meanings hubpages. Naturally, this secret network of paths, routes, and safe houses needed to be kept very, very secret. The quilts were hung outside of homes along the underground railroad to let the slaves know what.

One of the important events during his presidency was the emergence of the underground railroad and the use of secret signs and codes to help help people escape from slavery. This photograph meaning of quilt patterns freedom quilt templates the. The quilts were hung outside of homes along the underground railroad to let the slaves know what was safe or unsafe, and to communicate further instructions or directions. They need to express their thoughts, dreams, and needs. Underground railroad quilt block meanings tumbling blocks. This doesnt mean we cannot make quilts with meaning to us about historical issues. Tobin and dobard found some quilts that had unusual knot patterns. Quilt patterns harriet tubman and the underground railroad. The north star is the last block in the underground railroad sampler quilt. Underground railroad quilt pattern meanings it is a great example of how all over edge to edge patterns can give a. Legend has it that escaping slaves and their allies would use quilts to communicate with one another along the underground railroad. Since much of this information was transmitted orally and not written down, we may speculate on the meaning of underground railroad symbols and how they were interpreted by runaway slaves.

Next sample quilt layouts for underground railroad quilt block. Sep 23, 2016 explore sageigers board underground railroad quilt blocks. In this lesson students will be exposed to the freedom songs of slavery as they relate to the struggle for freedom and the underground railroad in order to have them make a personal connection to the environment that inspired the songs. Underground railroad mural project barn quilts of wilson. Underground railroad quilt patterns and meanings quilt pattern. Just a few are jacobs ladder, underground railroad, road to california, off to san francisco, gone to chicago, stepping stones and trail of the covered wagon. Hidden in plain view, based on interviews with elderly african american quilter ozella williams, seems to tell the story of how symbols were. Exploring underground railroad quilt patterns art of the. The unvarnished truth contains more beauty than a romantic fable. Make your own secret quilt message the underground railroad was actually a carefully organized movement against the people who owned slaves and the governments that said they could do this. The quilt features what kemp calls the red door code, which was an especially good sign for slaves traveling along the underground railroad. After all, they say, the underground railroad was built on secrecy. This is very much in dispute as there does not seem to be any evidence that is pre1865. The patchwork quilt is a great book to go along with the study of underground railroad quilts patterns.

Some people question whether quilts were actually used as a form of secret communication. We imagine women secretly sewing fabric pieces together to be used as signals. Free black sailors and ship owners helped many slaves escape directly. Old american quilts held a secret code that led thousands to freedom life. Quilt historians and underground railroad experts have questioned the. No matter what it was called, in the underground railroad, it meant that the escapees should travel in a staggering fashion to confuse any slave hunters who might be following them. As the lecture is given on african american quilt history, please do not says as historically confirmed that underground railroad quilts are a fact. The underground railroad symbols american historama. See more ideas about quilt block patterns, underground railroad and quilts. This video is a member of the group and speaks about the significance of quilts in the underground railroad and. These quilts were embedded with a kind of code, so that by reading the shapes and motifs sewn into the design, an enslaved person on the run could know the areas immediate dangers or even where to head next. During the time of the underground railroad, safehouses had to be made so slaves can have a place to stay and get information to know when the railroad would come.

Quilt codes of the underground railroad by debra bays tpt. Mar 30, 2020 this difficulttomaster and stunning quilt block resembles the intricate designs of a cathedral window. Legend has it that runaway slaves sought clues in the patterns of handmade quilts. These quilts, you could hang them outside as if they. Underground railroad sampler quilt in a day series. But, in doing so, they and the people who helped them broke many laws of the time. Unravelling the myth of quilts and the underground railroad. The fabric on these patterns is sewn and folded into place, making it challenging to master. I knew some of them, but i didnt realize how many there were, she said. Supporters of the underground railroad used words railroad conductors employed everyday to create their own code as secret language in order to help slaves escape. This idea has been stuck in my head for awhile, ever since i heard about how quilts were used to communicate to runaway slaves on the underground railroad. In stitched from the soul 1990, gladysmarie fry asserted that quilts were used to communicate safe houses and other information about the underground railroad, which was a network through the united states and into canada of conductors, meeting places, and safe houses for the passage of african americans out of slavery.

Quilts with patterns named wagon wheel, tumbling blocks, and bears. Yet some of the quilts the two researchers found had knots that were tied as many as five times much more than would be needed to keep the quilt together. Underground railroad quilt code putting it in perspective. Some people believe that certain classic quilt blocks were used to send messages to slaves escaping to freedom on the underground railroad. The underground railroad a road to freedom the underground railroad was a secret network of roads and people who aided escaped slaves in reaching freedom from the late 1700s to the 1860s. I have 12 new block patterns with directions from eleanor which will make a nice sampler quilt. I had no idea these blocks had such significant meanings. Some historians float the issue that many of the quilt patterns cited as directives for enslaved peoples. When jacqueline tobin and raymond dobard explored in their book hidden in plain view. Home underground railroad quilt patterns and meanings.

One way that they can do this is by using pictures or symbols. Tobin that specific block patterns in quilts had coded meanings for the underground railroad, codes which had been handed down orally in her family for generations. But there are many other ways people can communicate as well. Quilt in a day tv series, quilts from the underground railroad. Many people who had lived in slavery saw no other way out. Did slaves use quilts to help escape through the underground. Slaves couldnt write or read, and that gave them a problem. Slaves reportedly made coded quilts and then used them to navigate. This meant the slaves were to gather all the tools they might need on the journey to freedom. Besides offering wonderful results as you place your blocks in your quilt, directional blocks are good choices to use as connector blocks, used side by side with a different block which results in a. This quilt poster and guide is packed with ideas for helping children study the underground railroad by learning about the quiltsand the secret escape codes quilters stitched into. History and tagged abolition, history, quilt history, slavery, textile history, underground railroad, underground railroad quilt code on may 18, 2014 by melanie mcneil.

Civil war reproduction quilts are incredibly popular and offer history lessons wrapped around sewing and piecing. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, many log cabin quilts were made by the foundation method with a. Two historians say african american slaves may have used a quilt code to navigate the underground railroad. Here are a few of the most popular blocks that youll probably recognize, and their hidden meanings. Strouds book filled in the rest explaining how quilt blocks held messages for hannah and her father on their journey from a georgia plantation to freedom in canada. People have long believed that the symbols used in quilts of the south during slavery were actually used as secret messages for slaves escaping on the underground railroad.

A secret story of quilts and the underground railroad in 2000 from authors jacqueline l. Did slaves use quilts to help escape through the underground railroad. Underground railroad quilts, a variation of jacobs ladder, were said to give cues as to the safe path to freedom. Many of the quilt blocks named in the book were not given their names until the early 1900s. Explain that in this lesson, we will study an underground railroad quilt code that has been preserved through the oral tradition in one familys history. Summary and definition of the underground railroad symbols definition and summary. Come and learn the meaning of the blocks said to have lent the slaves a helping hand to freedom. Sampler quilt for the underground railroad edwards history. Known as the freedom quilt patterns, these quilts were displayed as signals to slaves that they should begin to pack for the journey wagon wheel,dress up shoofly and get ready to escape tumbling blocks. Mar 27, 2020 while the story of the quilt codes appears to fit with the known historical facts of the underground railroad, there are some inherent problems. Just because people would like it to be true, doesnt mean its so. Craft and empowerment the underground railroad quilts. Quilts of the underground railroad describes a controversial belief that quilts were used to communicate information to african slaves about how to escape to freedom via the underground railroad. Underground railroad quilt code catbird quilt studio.

Did different quilt blocks have specific meanings to slaves, perhaps based on their african past. Were lawn jockeys used as underground railroad symbols. Seldom do we find a quilt pattern with just one name. These were used to convey messages in connection with the underground railroad. History of quilts as signals for the underground railroad to help slaves escape north. Really good stuff activity guide underground railroad quilt guide. Many folks have thought of these lawn jockey statues as racist icons of the the segregated south but they were used by the underground railroad as a guide to slaves north and freedom. Singing served many purposes such as providing repetitive rhythm for repetitive manual work, inspiration and motivation. Really good stuff activity guide underground railroad. While every quilt made holds a special meaning to the quilter, there are some quilts and quilt blocks that have a much greater significance in the grand scheme of history.

Anecdotal evidence, based on oral folklore, suggests that during the civil war, a log cabin quilt with a black center hanging on a clothesline was meant to signal a stop for the underground railroad. Quilts like the one to the right were common during the civil war era. Once heard, these names could tell a story or communicate a vital piece of information simply by looking at the patterns or stitches. May 03, 2019 according to legend, a safe house along the underground railroad was often indicated by a quilt hanging from a clothesline or windowsill. Make your own secret quilt message pathways to freedom. The underground railroad was an informal network of people and safe places that enabled fugitive slaves to move in secrecy from bondage in the south to freedom in the north. A secret story of quilts and the underground railroad. Underground railroad quilt patterns and meanings quilt. The quilt patterns relayed messages to slaves preparing to escape. A secret story of quilts and the underground railroad random house a family legend that said messages encoded in quilts helped slaves escape to freedom on the underground railroad, they had no idea that their hypothesis would inspire rancor from scholars who declared it false. Of course, the slaves had to learn the meanings ahead. Lawn jockeys and the underground railroad by shannon hollon. She learned more about how symbols were used for the underground railroad. Other patterns that have been included in the quilt code are the wagon wheel, drunkards path, and tumbling blocks.

November, 2019 post a comment riding the underground railroad panel discussion grinnell the edwards history and genealogy center sampler quilt secret codes of quiltsome of these were in our. Songs were used in everyday life by african slaves. Im a weaver and textile artist, so i was more interested in learning more about the quilts and their project, she said. Slave quilts and their meanings underground railroad quilts and their meanings label underground railroad quilt it is my own design but you can use it. Using an assortment of unique patterns, these quilts detailed. The problem with using symbolism and underground railroad quilts is that there is no evidence anyone ever made a quilt as a map or guide for escaping slaves. Cool underground railroad quilt code patterns underground railroad quilt code patterns this cool underground railroad quilt code patterns ideas was upload on december, 6 2019 by admin.

Jul 21, 2019 the underground railroad was a secret network that developed in the u. The trail consists of many barn quilts that are mapped together and visited. Slaves reportedly made coded quilts and then used them to navigate their escape. Quilt codes helped slaves navigate the underground railroad. If a slave family had the wherewithal to make a quilt, they used it to protect themselves against the cold, and not to send messages about supposed routes on the underground railroad in the north. The underground railroad block is a perfect candidate for use as a connector block too. The pattern used was one of four patches set on point in strips giving the sense of paths. Their patterns and blocks were a code, providing direction, signifying safety, and issuing warnings according to some historians. Riding the underground railroad panel discussion grinnell the edwards history and genealogy center sampler quilt secret codes of quiltsome of these were in our. This power point presentation by debra bays tells the story of the role of quilt blocks in the journey north along the underground railroad. Side note i have created an ebook of designs of sixteen two block quilts that you might be interested in purchasing.