Family Tree Jigsaw Puzzles

Detail of The Wister Family Tree Quilt
International Quilt Study Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2005.059.0001

Researching the names on the Chester Criswell Quilt is a lot like researching a family tree.  The big difference is that with the quilt you already have all the names, you just have to figure out how they fit together.  Imagine all your family history records put into a big pile, and then you have to put them back in the right spot. Warning: Don't try this at home!

There are fourteen Criswells on the quilt. Last year I had about half of them in  place but there were still some mystery people. There were a number of Criswells located at Woodland that I just could not find.  I searched through census records on Ancestry.com, checked the family Bible again, followed up Criswell cousins that had migrated to Ohio, no success.  I looked for Woodland as a place name, it was nowhere near the other quilt locations.

Then I had one of those eureka moments.  I logged on to that favourite genealogy site, findagrave.com, and located James, William, Jane and Elizabeth Criswell.   They were the siblings of the bride Mary Criswell that had all died before the year that Mary and Jesse Jackson Smith were married.

William Criswell's block made by Alice Criswell

Alice Criswell made the bridal quilt for her eldest daughter and had included blocks for each of her deceased children.  In the 21st century we keep death and dying at a distance and leave the management of death to professionals. If we experience the death of a child or a young person - or even someone our own age - it feels wrong and unfair.  In the 19th century death was closer.  People died at home, women died in childbirth, children died from illnesses that we never experience.  I think Alice was saying to her daughter Mary, your family is larger than the people you live with, don't forget the rest.

The mystery is not totally solved.  The dates attached to Elizabeth aren't right unless Alice became pregnant again when she was 58.  Susanna Criswell shares a block with Elizabeth.  Susanna was living in 1850 but there is no record of her after that date.  I think if she was living in 1852 when the quilt was assembled that she would have her own block.  Woodland could be a cemetery name, but Margaret Criswell, Woodland was definitely alive so I think Woodland is the name of the family farm.

William son of Andrew G and Alice Criswell
Born 1836    Died May, 1848
Manor Presbyterian Church Cemetery

Family History and Quiltmaking

About fifteen years ago my Australian husband began his family tree.  He started, like we all do, with information from parents and grandparents.  Then off to the library for hours spent in the microfiche index records finding names, dates and places.  Once the right index was found, it was down to the mailbox to post a cheque to the Births, Deaths and Marriages.  A few weeks later a little slip of paper would arrive and, hey presto, a few more bits of information were added to the family tree.
We gave him a software program to transfer all his little bits of paper safely into the computer.  Then we changed computers and everything disappeared.  That was the end of that family history adventure.

Researching the makers of the Criswell quilt is similar to family tree research.  Ancestry.com is certainly my first port of call, especially as I live in Australia and the records are all in the USA.  The big difference is that I already know all the names; I just don't know how they relate to each other and to Mary McClelland Criswell.

I have made an online family tree called the Criswell Quilt Tree.  It not really one tree but more of a grove of saplings.  My starting place is the 1850 Federal Census records for Chester County; the quilt was made in 1852 and farming families didn't move around a lot.  There are about 80 signatures on the quilt and I have recorded about 400 individuals in the Quilt Tree.  I know something about a majority of the people on the quilt although some are reluctant to be verified.

Let me tell you about my latest 'win' in the family history game.  I was looking for that most elusive family name - Smith.  If you have a Smith in your family tree, you know how difficult it is to find your Smith and not everyone else's Smith.

James R and Nancy C Smith

This block is signed by James R Smith and Nancy C Smith, East Nottingham.  From the 1850 census I know that they have two little children.  In the 1860 census there are more people in the family; but when I looked at the original census page the image is too light to read.  I send a note to Ancestry.com that it was illegible and then went on with something else.
That was a few months ago.  I decided to have another look at the Smiths the other evening, went to the census page and ... the original has been rescanned and is now clear as day!  This is what I found:

James R and Nancy Smith still married and farming.  Mary and William are ten years older, and in addition there are Jane, Elizabeth and Alice.  But wait, there's more!  Dorcas Smith aged 60 and Jahn Carlisle aged 73 are also family members.
Many families in these records are multi-generational.  I take a small leap of faith here and assume that Dorcas Smith is James' mother and John Carlisle is Nancy's family. Nancy's middle initial C probably stands for Carlisle.   Dorcas Smith is a new person so I add her to the tree.  Carlisle/Carlile is a common name on the quilt - Mary McClelland Criswell's mother was a Carlile - so I look to see if I have a John Carlile of the right age.  Bingo!  John Carlile is in the tree, in 1850 he was living with his wife Mary and son James Taylor Carlile - who also has a block in the quilt.



James Taylor Carlile, Elk Dale

 That makes Nancy Smith and James Carlile sister and brother, another link is made, and my family quilt tree grows another notch.

(I made some more Smith discoveries, but I'll save them for another time.)