Antique Genealogy
item #3658

Vintage Victorian 1849 Handwoven Blue Wool Tapestry:

This is a large and beautiful old American handspun wool blue coverlet tapestry. It has the provenance attached to it and paperwork to document that it was handmade and woven by Lucy Woolworth in 1849. She was the daughter of Thaddeus Woolworth from Pinckney or Pinkney, New York in Lewis County NY.

The documents found with it are as follows:

1. An early Victorian era calling card which was pinned to the coverlet at one time. It has handwritten in early dip pen ink the folllowing message:

“Yarn spun at Pinckney N.Y. by Lucy Woolworth at her Father’s home (Thadius Woolworth) at the age of 26 years. Woven at Pinckney, N.Y. in 1849.’

The reverse of this card has printed name of Mrs. Orlando S. Richards.

2. 2 Calling cards with the printed name Robert Whipple Richards. They have a note ’Given to Robert Whipple Richards by Aunt Ruth Woolworth Richards. On the reverse, they have handwritten the same copy of the text above in number 1.

4. Another old paper with the same text above about Lucy, this is handwritten in old fountain pen at a later date, and was also once pinned to the coverlet.

Happily, we found Lucy in the 1850 census, born 1823. She is 27 years old and living with her father Thaddeus Woolworth age 68, born 1782 in New York; her mother Hannah Woolworth, age 65 born 1785 in New York, and a 12 year old boy named Charles Hunt. Her father is a farmer. It us presumed the wool came from their NY farm.

Interestingly, in census we also found a Thaddeus Woolworth born 5 Feb 1782 in Granville, Massachusetts, Hampden County. Is this her father and the census records are wrong about his place of birth? His father’s name was Phineas.

There are many other Woolworths in this area, as in Phineas Woolworth, Marietta, Julia, Ruth (presumably Aunt Ruth who gave this away much later), Rosalinda, Rhoda, Timothy, Taylor, and others. The town name is written as Pinkney, NY in the time period, as it is on the card.

We also found Mrs. Orlando Richards in census. Her name is Hattie Blanch Richards, nee Hurd, daughter of Lucy Hurd Woolworth. In the 1910 census she lives in Yonkers, NY, age 45, and has 3 children; Orlando Jr., Ruth W. and Helen Richards.

This was found in Schoharie New York, Schoharie County. It’s a wonderful old piece. The design is strikingly folky Americana, with stars, houses, birds and many Victorian embellishments. The condition is intact with 2 rips at edges, about 10 inches long. It is bound in an early indigo blue cotton, from the period. A wonderful old family item!

You may buy the original piece, or scans of it, which will be close up views of the paperwork and coverlet. We will upload them to a web site for your viewing upon your scan order below.

Size: 72 × 78 inches