West Carlisle, Coshocton County, Ohio, Friendship Quilt, 1862

Intro by Barry

Daniel B. Ashcraft (b 1761) and his wife, Elizabeth Schuman with their children and son-in-law Thomas McKee were the first white settlers in Pike Township, Coshocton County, Ohio, in 1808. About a year later, Charles McKee (b 1765), his wife Margaret Lockhart, and family were the first settlers in Brown Township, Knox County, Ohio.

               These pioneers raised sheep and spun wool for yarn. Sadly, Elizabeth Ashcraft died in a fire while spinning wool in 1824.

               Two generations later, textiles were available in stores, and Quilting Bees were common. In the local paper, “The Coshocton Age” July 6, 1866, the saucy poem “The Quilting” appeared:

The day is set, the ladies met,
And at the frame are seated:
In order plac’d, they work in haste,
To get the quilt completed.
While fingers fly, their tongues they ply,
And animate their labors,
By counting beaux, discussing clothes,
Or talking of their neighbors.

               Four years previous – in 1862 – in West Carlisle, Coshocton County, Margaret Moore Crawford was married, and 36 of her friends quilted and signed a “Friendship Quilt”. This quilt was described in the 1981 book, “Our Yesterdays in West Carlisle”, by Florence Mikesell, who also donated this quilt to the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum, Roscoe Village, Coshocton County.

               In 2002, Bonnie and Kelley visited this museum, took pictures of the quilt and recorded the 36 names. This is described in their Coshocton website which includes links to other family webpages; http://k.noe.tripod.com/coshocton.html .

               I have copied their words below:

              

In June, 2002, we (Bonnie and Kelley) traveled to Coshocton to locate the “Friendship Quilt” Florence Mikesell writes of in her book, “Our Yesterdays in West Carlisle”, 1981. The quilt was donated to the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum, Roscoe Village, by Mrs. Mikesell, and contains the names of the thirty-six crafters that sewed the quilt as a wedding gift for Margaret Moore Crawford, in 1862. We wanted to see if our 2nd great-grandmother, Jane Binger, had participated in the quilt. The quilt was not on display; however, the staff graciously located it once they heard our reason. It was very overwhelming to see all of the women’s names, especially that of our Jane Binger. Many of these women’s husbands, brothers and sons were off fighting the Civil War at the time the quilt was crafted. Some never returned home. With all of the emotions we were experiencing, we volunteered to compile a historical sketch so that these women could take their place in history.

 

               Deb has noted that three McKee family members are named on this quilt, and I have copied at the bottom of this page, the “historical sketch” for Belle, Julia, and Tilia McKee – with some changes for Tilia’s family. Tilia McKee lived at Danville, more than 20 miles from West Carlisle – both marked with X on adjacent map.

               Note that Belle’s husband Thomas was a Coshocton County Commissioner and Justice of the Peace; Julia’s father George served in the  Ohio House of Representatives.

               Below are the women’s names, with the spelling on the quilt. The signatures appear to be in the same handwriting. Beside the list of names is the photograph of this “Friendship Quilt”, taken by Bonnie and Kelley in 2002. Thanks to them and Florence Mikesell who have preserved this history!

Merry Billman
Jane Welling
Jennie McGruder
Ella Moore
S. M. Cochran
Lorena Roney
Maria McShea
Tillia McKee
Frank Kanavel
Mary Gault
Julia McKee
Arrie Cochran
Mollie Kanavel
Mrs. Jane Cummings
Mary Moore
Mary A. McDowell
Mary J. Baird
S. E. Dunlap
Bell McKee
E. J. White
Jane Garner
N. E. Forrest
A. Redd,  Telegraph Office, South Branch W. VA.
Maria Gault
Phoebe White
Mrs. C. Lovetta
Maggie Crawford
M. E. Baughman
Rachie Welling
S. S. Edwards
Lee Bonnett
J. E. Bonnett
Jane Binger
Agusta M. Diven
Sinda Gault
Sallie Welling
Julia A. White

BELLE McKEE

Arabella A. Henderson McKee was born about 1826 in West Carlisle to parents William and Arabella Henderson. William, an Official Coshocton Pioneer, was born about 1791 in Maryland, and both his parents were from that state. He was the first Blacksmith in West Carlisle, and later was a dealer in stock, including imported sheep. He came to Pike Township from Belmont County, Ohio, in 1816. William died on May 21, 1866 at age 75. Arabella, his first wife, died on September 26, 1836, at age 39. Both are buried in the West Carlisle Cemetery, although not right together.

Arabella (Belle), our subject, married Thomas McKee on July 13, 1843, in West Carlisle. Thomas was born in 1821 in 1821 in West Carlisle to parents Thomas James McKee and Mary Ashcraft McKee. Thomas James was born in 1777 in Donegal, Ireland, and died on July 7, 1868, at age 92, with burial in the West Carlisle Cemetery. Thomas James married Mary in Pennsylvania before they came to Coshocton County with her father, Daniel B. Ashcraft. Mary was born in1788, in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and died April 15, 1824, with burial in the McKee Cemetery in Pike Township.

At the 1850 census, Thomas and Belle were living in Pike Township with two of their children – Lakin and Nancy Catherine McKee. Thomas served as a Coshocton County Commissioner from 1865 until 1871. In 1870, the family was living in Perry Township with children – Addie, Eddie, and Milton. In 1880, this family was living in Utica, Licking County, Ohio, about 20 miles west of West Carlisle. There, Thomas was Justice of the Peace. Addie, their last child, was living with them.

Here is a listing of all Belles children:

1. William Thomas McKee was born in 1844, and lived for only 4 months, with burial in the West Carlisle Cemetery.
2. Lakin McKee was born about 1846. He married Margaret H. Thornhill on February 10, 1868,     in Coshocton County. In 1870, Lakin and Margaret were living in Perry Township with one son, Lloyd McKee. By 1880, they had moved to Girard, Crawford County, Kansas, and their two children were Lloyd McKee and Helen K. McKee. Lakin’s brother Milton was living with them at that time.
3. Nancy Catherine McKee was born June 11, 1848. She married Joseph Smith on September 28, 1865, in Coshocton County.  In 1870, Joseph and Nancy were living in Perry Township with two children – Anna A. Smith and Minnie Smith. Nancy died on May 5, 1899 in Newark, Ohio.
4. Maria Adaline McKee was born in 1850. She died on June10, 1851, at age 8 months, with burial in the West Carlisle Cemetery.
5. Arabella (Arra) Jane McKee was born on November 7, 1852, in West Carlisle. She married French H. Thornhill on March 14, 1868, in Coshocton County. They were separated in 1869. Arabella then married Jesse Dial Luce on June 1, 1872, in Coshocton County, and by 1880, they were living in Zanesville, Muskingum County. Jesse was a music teacher there. The five children with them were: Minnie A., born April 2, 1872; Clara E., born March 3, 1874; Vera J., born November 15, 1876; Jesse Edna, born September 3, 1878; and James Herbert, born July 23, 1880. Meanwhile French Thornhill married again and was living in Clairborne, Union County.
6. Hugh Milton McKee was born in 1854. In 1870, he was living in Perry Township with his parents Thomas and Arabella. In 1880, Milton was a music teacher, living in the household of his brother, Lakin, in Girard, Crawford County, Kansas.
7. Flora Etta McKee was born in 1857, and was living with her parents, Thomas and Arabella, in Perry Township, in 1870. She married John Reid Dunlap on May 1, 1878, in Licking County. In 1880, he was a merchant living in Utica, Licking County, with Etta and one son, Carl R. Dunlap.
8. Adelaide (Addie) McKee was born in 1862. In 1880, at age 18, she was living with her parents in Utica, Licking County. She married Chalmers Jamison Laughlin on December 24, 1896, in Coshocton County. Chalmers was born on November 6, 1866, in Bakersville, Adams Township, Coshocton County, to parents David Ezra and Mary Ann Dinsmore Laughlin.

Belle, our subject, died in 1903 in Columbus Ohio, with burial in Greenlawn cemetery. Her husband, Thomas McKee, died on October 12, 1897, in Columbus. After his death, she went to church the very next Sunday.  Members expressed surprise at her attendance and she replied, “Where else would one go for comfort?”

JULIA MCKEE

Julia C. McKee Bell was born in 1840 to parents George and Elsey T. McKee of West Carlisle.   She is the niece of Belle McKee, described above, who was also a signature of this Friendship Quilt. Julia’s father George was born in 1814 in Coshocton County to parents Thomas James McKee and Mary Ashcraft McKee, both described above. George served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1852 to 1855. He was an early elder in the Presbyterian Church of  West Carlisle. George’s wife Elsey was born about 1824 in Ohio, and both her parents were from Ohio. Julia’s four siblings, all born in Ohio, were:

1. Mina McKee was born in 1843. She married Thomas S. Boggs on June 7, 1866 in Coshocton County. Thomas was the son of Ezekiel and Mary Boggs of Perry Township.
2. James McKee was born in 1845. He married Amanda Riley on December 20, 1868 in Muskingum County. In 1896, Amanda was living on 55 acres in section 8, Washington Township, a few miles east of Cooperdale.
3. Douglas McKee was born in 1858. He was living in his parent’s household in 1870 in Perry Township. Douglas died in 1876 at 18 years age, with burial in the West Carlisle Cemetery.
4. Calvin McKee was born in 1861. He is not listed in the 1870 census with his parents, and is presumed to have died before then.

Julia, our subject, married Stephen Bell in 1870 in Centerburg, Knox County. Stephen, a farmer, was born in 1831 in Knox County to parents John McKee Bell and Rachel Carroll Bell, who were married on March 8, 1829 in Knox County. Stephen first married Catherine Porterfield on December 23, 1856, and then married Julia in 1870.

In 1880, Stephen and Julia were living in Perry Township on his farm of 163 acres, located in the central part of the Township in Section 18. Their house was on Township Road 355, near U.S. Route 79. Two children, Viola and Lloyd were living in the household. Viola,  age 20 was the daughter of Stephen and his first wife, while Lloyd, age 9 was the son of Stephen and Julia.

TILIA MCKEE

Matilda (Tilia) Carter McKee was born in 1834 in Madison County, Ohio, to parents David and Arthelia Kelley Carter, both born in Ohio. Her father, David, died in 1838, and her mother, Arthelia, died in 1852, both in Ohio. Matilda married Robert B. McKee on September 5, 1852, in Danville, Knox County. That was Robert’s second marriage. His first was to Clarinda Mix (1820 – 1852) on May 17, 1840 in Knox County. Robert and Clarinda had four children:

1. Wilson McKee was born March 6, 1841, Danville, Union Township, Knox County, and died February 15, 1888, in Strang, Fillmore, Nebraska.
2. Stansbury McKee was born 17 Jan 1845, Danville, Union Township, Knox County, and died 28 Dec 1928, Cleveland, Ohio (Age 83 years)
3. Lorinda McKee was born Jul 1849, Danville, Union Township, Knox County
4. Alexander McKee was born 09 Dec 1850, Knox County, and died 01 Sep 1932, Brown Township, Knox Co, (Age 81 years)

Robert B. McKee and Matilda (our subject) were married in 1852 and had 8 children:

1. Ellen McKee was born in 1854
2. Squire J. McKee was born December 28, 1856, in Brown Township, Knox County, and died May 24, 1945, in Saint Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri
3. Iris McKee was born in 1859, Danville, Union Township, Knox County, and died 1867, Knox County, Ohio
4. Scott McKee was born 1862, and died 1909, in Maryville, Nodaway, Missouri
5. Almeda McKee was born 1864
6. William McKee was born May 18, 1872, Howard Township, Knox County, Ohio
7. Rosanna McKee was born in 1877, Knox County, Ohio
8. Billy McKee

In 1880, Robert and Matilda were living in Danville, Union Township, Knox County, where Robert was a carpenter.  Danville is located about 20 miles northwest of West Carlisle, as the crow flies. Robert B. McKee died in 03 October 3, 1890 and his wife, Matilda, died 25 March 25, 1896 in Maryville, Nodaway, Missouri, where they had moved to live with son Scott.