In looking at late-19th century quilt style I came across this
wool embroidered top with a heartfelt inscription.
"Quilt made of dress pieces of Mothers
Elisabeth R. Mowlds
Pontiac
Illinois"
"Elisabeth Rose Richardson Moudls
June 5th 1891 Aged 84 years
7 months 25 days"
"This is Oct. 11
1897
Dear
Mother's
91st
Anni-
versary
Her Birth"
At her Find-A-Grave memorial we find out how to spell
Moulds and much more about this well-loved Mother.
The Western World ran aground and sank later that fall on
its regular Liverpool to New York run.
Elisabeth's husband died soon after they reached Sandersville, Illinois. He is reported to have walked with aid of a crutch all his life and the trip may have been too much for a 47-year-old in bad health. Elisabeth, her three daughters and three sons remained in Illinois, apparently living among an English colony of neighbors. Daughters Mary, Elizabeth and Martha married brothers who'd also come from England in 1853, perhaps on the same ship, sons of Sarah Howitt and John Moulds, who had 11 children.
Composite photo of the Moulds family about 1870
from Find-A-Grave
Elisabeth's Second Husband John Moulds (1808-1901)
John was remembered as a "Particular Baptist," a
Calvinistic "dissenting" religion in England,
which may have motivated their emigration as much as failed farms.
Sarah Howitt Moulds died in 1885 and the following year Elisabeth married her daughters' father-in-law. This marriage lasted only five years with Elisabeth dying in 1891. She is buried in Flanagan, Illinois.
Elizabeth "Betsey" Richardson Moulds (1838-1911)
The quilt's inscription was stitched in October 11, 1897 so possible seamstresses are Betsey and Mary Richardson Moulds. Either could have embroidered the quilt of her mother's dresses. Sister Martha had died in on Christmas day in 1895 at 55 years old. Mary only survived her by a few months dying in April, 1898, so Betsey is the likely candidate.