Block 41. A Stitch in Time

by Terry Thornton
email: hillcountrymonroecounty@gmail.com

A stitch in time. . . Block 41 of the circa 1931 Friendship Quilt in the Museum of the Itawamba County Historical Society

ARMSTRONG, Graves, Block 41

Graves Armstrong was the son of James Madison Armstrong 1824 - 1900 and Rachel Paulina Riley Armstrong 1841 - 1930.

The 1880 census of Lee County shows that Graves Armstrong's parents were in District 1: the farming family consisted of James, 56, wife Rachel, 38, sons James, 29, Willie, 18, Charley, 16, Albert, 13, and Paul, 8, and daughters Mary, 23 and Sallie, 5.

The 1900 census of Richmond in Lee County lists the family as James, 76, Rachel, 48, Paul, 28, Sarah 24, and Graves Armstrong, 17.

Graves Armstrong 1882 - 1909 married Katie Inez Armstrong 1885 - 1931.

BOURLAND, Reba, Block 31

Reba Mary Dilworth Bourland 1896 - 1973, was the daughter of Benjamin W. Dilworth and Alice Kirkpatrick Dilworth. Reba Mary Dilworth Bourland had daughters Mary and Martha.

SHEFFIELD, J.E., Block 41

John E. Sheffield, husband of Willie, is listed on the 1910 census of Fawn Grove. Then he was 25 years old, a farmer; his wife Willie was 25 and they had a daughter Onida, age 4. The census image indicates that they lived on Tupelo-Mantachie Road.

The 1920 census shows the John Sheffield family within the Mantachie Precinct. John was then 37, Willie 34, daughters Onida 13 and Evelyn 5, and son Carlton Sheffield made up the family.

By 1930, John Sheffield was a merchant on Main Street, Fulton. The 1930 census included the following: John Sheffield, 46, wife Willie, 37, son Carlton, 19, and daughter Evelyne, 16.

SHEFFIELD, Willie, Block 41

According to IHS member Joe Sheffield, this is Mrs. John Sheffield.

Willie Sheffield was the wife of John E. Sheffield. On the 1910 census they were enumerated as farmers in the Fawn Grove community on Tupelo-Mantachie Road. Then John Sheffield was 25 years old, Willie was listed as 25, and daughter Onida was 4 years.

In the 1920 Mantachie census, Willie Sheffield, 34, is listed as the wife of John Sheffield, 37, along with daughters Onida, 13, Evelyn, 5, and son Carlton, 8.

On the 1930 Fulton census, the family is shown on Main Street where John Sheffield, 46, was a merchant. Willie, 37, son Carlton, 19, and daughter Evelyne, 16, were included in the household.

Her husband, John E. Sheffield, is also named on Block 41.

WADDLE, Yancy, Block 41

Yancy Waddle is listed on the 1910 census of Mantachie as a 1 year old. He was enumerated with his parents T.A. Waddle, 54, farmer, and Dora 43, sisters Ethel, 20, Mannie, 18, L.L., 17, and Benny, 12, and brothers Leton, 6 and Claron, 4.

Yansie Waddle was on the 1920 census of Oak Grove. His father's household then consisted of Lonnie Waddle, 65, Sarah Waddle, 53, Leaton, 16, Clarion, 13, and Yansie, 10.

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

Have your names and the names of your family recorded on the 2010 Friendship-Memory Quilt of the Itawamba Historical Society. For a donation of $10 per name you can embroider names on the quilt (or have the names embroidered on the quilt by volunteers). Before the quilt will be raffled to some lucky winner this Spring, all of the names will be transcribed from the quilt and recorded in the archives of the Historical Society.

Be a part of history in the making --- subscribe to the 2010 Friendship-Memory Quilt by contacting the Itawamba Historical Society, PO Box 7, Mantachie, MS 38855, telephone 662-282-7664, or by visiting the Society's office at the corner of Church Street and Museum Drive in Mantachie.

The Itawamba Historical Society receives no governmental assistance and operates Bonds House Museum and the Gaither Spradling Library entirely from membership dues and donations. Your generosity and assistance in the 2010 Friendship-Memory Quilt project is most appreciated.

Membership in the Society is not required to participate in the quilt project --- but visitors and new members are always welcomed.

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.