Archivist to Share a Genealogical Quilt Story on Jan. 29

“Tracing a Stitch through Time” with Lisa Rickey, Jan. 29, at 1:25 (click to enlarge)

Do you have an heirloom or antique item and wish you knew more about its creator or owner?  If the item is signed and dated, or if you at least know the name of the person rumored to be associated with it, you may be able to find out more—and an archives can help you!

One of our archivists, Lisa Rickey, will be sharing the story of one such research adventure this coming Friday, January 29, at the Wright State University Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies’ 3rd Annual Quilt Show Celebrating Quilt Stories.

In her presentation “Ida Grady’s Sunburst Quilt: Tracing a Stitch through Time,” Lisa will describe how she researched the creator of an heirloom quilt. Given just a few original clues at the beginning — a name and date on the quilt itself, along with a vague sense that the quilter may have been a relative — she used local history and genealogy research to discover how the mysterious Ida Grady was connected to her family.

Lisa will talk about some of the different types of historical records that were helpful and how the information contained in each one was applied to solving different pieces of the puzzle. Although Lisa’s research centered in another part of Ohio, the same kinds of local history and genealogy resources are also available to researchers here in Special Collections & Archives.

The antique quilt that started it all – “Sunburst” (1934) by Ida Grady – will be on display throughout the quilt show, as well as on hand during the presentation.

The presentation takes place on Friday, January 29, from 1:25 to 2:20 p.m. in 156C Student Union, Wright State University. The event is free, and the public is welcome. Visitor parking is available just outside the Student Union. To view the full schedule of speakers and activities for the multi-day quilt show & for more information, please visit the quilt show’s event page.

We hope to see you there!

(Although this is not officially part of our Archives Fridays presentation series, think of it as a “bonus” Archives Friday!)