Block 20. A Stitch in Time

by Terry Thornton
email: hillcountrymonroecounty@gmail.com

A stitch in time. . . Block 20 of the circa 1931 Friendship Quilt in the Museum of the Itawamba County Historical Society

DYER, A.J., Block 20

Andrew J. Dyer, age 36, was a retail merchant listed on the Lee County 1920 census in household of T.W. Vandiver, his brother-in-law.

By 1930, Andrew J. Dyer, age 46, an automobile salesman, is shown as head-of-household in Baldwyn, Prentiss County. Included are wife Gladys W., 36, daughter Margret F., 8, brother-in-law Charles O. Cooley, 20, a truck driver for a laundry, and a boarder Heard Billingsley, 32.

MURPHY, Alice, Block 20

Alice Murphy, 26, is listed as the wife of Hollis Murphy of Fawn Grove on the 1920 census. Included in the household with their parents were daughters Obira, 5, Eunice, 2 months, and son Vinson, 4 years 2 months.

Alice K. Murphy, 37, is named as the wife of farmer Hollis M. Murphy, 38 on the 1930 census of Mantachie. The household on Tupelo-Guntown Road included daughters Obera I., 18, Eunice G., 10, Minnie L., 5, and sons Vinson E., 14, and Hollis J., 3.

Alice Murphy is listed on the SSI Death Index as born February 26, 1893. She was living in Tupelo, Lee County, Mississippi, when she died in October 1978.

MURPHY, H.M., Block 20

Hollis Murphy, 27 year old farmer of Fawn Grove is named on the 1920 census as the head of a household including wife Alice, 26, daughters Obira, 5, Eunice, 2 months, and son Vinson, 4.

In 1930, Hollis, 38, is shown on the Mantachie census living on Tupelo-Guntown Road. His household included wife Alice K., 37, daughters Obera I., 16, Eunice G., 10, Minnie L., 5, and sons Vinson E. and Hollis J.

Hollis Murphy was born January 29, 1892, and died May 1971. His last residence was Tupelo, Lee County, Mississippi, according to the SSI Death Index.

PATTERSON, J.L., Block 20

John L. Patterson, 53, is listed on the 1920 census as a farmer in the Cardsville community. In his household are wife Alace B., 49, son Ira N., 28, and daughters Rixie B., 16 and Dillie E. Patterson, 11.

In 1930, the census enumerates John L. Patterson, 64, a farmer, living in Beat 3 along Fulton-Barr's Ferry Road. His household included wife Alice R., 59, and daughters Rexie B., 26 and Lula M., 9.

If you have additional information about any of the names on this quilt square, please post a comment below. Your help is needed to "write" the story of this almost eighty-year old quilt.

A stitch in time . . . The 2010 Friendship-Memory Quilt

Fifty-six birds are to be appliqued on the squares of the 2010 Friendship-Memory Quilt. Names may be added to the squares in embroidery --- the cost is $10.00 donation per name. The multi-colored bird squares will then be set together with binding strips of blue and small block of red to form the king-sized quilt.

Contact the Itawamba Historical Society to subscribe to the quilt project --- donations are now being accepted to add names to the quilt. Telephone the Society at 662-282-7664 or email the Society through it web-page contact link at http://www.itawambahistory.org/

SOURCES:

Family information from Memories from Itawamba County: A Friendship Quilt circa 1931 --- A Stitch in Time by Terry Thornton with assistance from Members of the Itawamba Historical Society, Itawamba Settlers, Quarterly Journal of the Itawamba County, Mississippi, History and Genealogy. Winter 2009, Pages 143-61.

Square from 1931 Friendship Quilt photographed by Terry Thornton, September 3, 2009, Bond's House Museum, Itawamba Historical Society, Mantachie, Mississippi.