Signature Quilt Captures Family

Centre Block of St. Mary's Church Name Quilt made by the Catholic Women's League of Owen Sound, 1909. Photo courtesy of Grey Roots Museum & Archives collection.

On a beautiful summer evening, a well-dressed crowd gathers in a garden pavilion, surrounded by lush trees. The tables are filled with savory and sweet foods and cups of lemonade. Another table is staffed by young women eagerly selling tickets for raffles, while youngsters dart about enjoying games and fun. 

A large signature quilt is displayed on a nearby table and many gather around to admire the embroidered handiwork and the red-stitched image of their church, St. Mary's. They search for their own names and point out the names of their neighbors, friends, and fellow churchgoers who also signed the quilt. 

The quilt was more beautiful than they imagined it could be when they signed the small square blocks weeks ago. And, God willing, it would raise the funds they needed to fulfill their congregation's dream: to fill their beloved church with the soaring sounds of an organ.

 

This is a church picnic scene I imagined, inspired by an heirloom signature quilt I discovered online and what I learned about it. The quilt captured a specific moment in time in a church's history, and documents several autographs of my extended Darragh family. It is in the collection of Grey Roots Museum and Archives in Grey County, Ontario, Canada. 

About the Quilt

Some of my Darragh family lived in Owen Sound, Grey, Ontario, and attended St. Mary's Catholic Church there. In 1909, members of the church's Catholic Women's League created a signature quilt to to raise funds for a church organ.¹ Several of my Darragh family autographed quilt blocks, which were subsequently embroidered in red, joined into a quilt, and offered for raffle at a summer picnic.

The entire St. Mary's quilt created in 1909.

 

Grey Roots Museum describes the quilt: 

St. Mary's Church fund-raising embroidered signature quilt / name quilt, 1909 in white cotton ground with red embroidery. The center of the quilt has an embroidered illustration of the church structure of St. Mary's Church at Owen Sound. Title area reads: 'Tuesday July 6, 1909, St. Mary's Church, Owen Sound.' Block numbers go in order of images. Very narrow white binding and no quilting other than separation of the square blocks. There are 785 names on the quilt.²

The website also gave the quilt's provenance:

This quilt was worked by the Catholic Women's League of Owen Sound, Grey County. Tickets were sold for it in a raffle, which was won by Dr. J. Wycliffe Marshall at a church picnic held on July 6, 1909.

Dr. Marshall was an Owen Sound dentist and dental surgeon. He later moved to Thessalon, Ontario. He died in 1929. His wife was Ida Josephine Marshall. They had a son, Clifford Marshall.

Last owned by Josephine Heis (Mrs. R. Heis, also known as Jo Ann Heis). Josephine Heis's mother had kept house for the doctor at Thessalon.³

About Signature Quilts

Signature quilts date from the mid-1800s and were created for many purposes. Some were created as keepsakes of family and friends left behind when early pioneers moved westward. Some were created as commemorative gifts for weddings, or other special occasions. Some were presented to honor an individual, such as a minister upon retirement, for example.⁴

And like this one, some were made specifically to raise money for a particular purpose. Individuals or family members would make a small contribution to have their name applied to a block, which was then added to the quilt. Due to the large number of signatures, these quilts are easily recognized.⁵

 

The Quilt Blocks

The Grey Roots Museum website included images of the 63 quilt blocks as well as a list of all the names on each block. I found Darragh family names on two blocks. And, I couldn't help but notice the names of other extended family also embroidered on the quilt.

On block #25:

• Emerson Darragh (my 1st cousin, 3x removed), my great-great-grandmother Maria Jane Darragh's nephew, her brother Daniel Darragh's son.⁶
• Mrs. Emerson Darragh, Alice Meneray.⁷
• Miss Grace Darragh (my 2nd cousin, 2x removed), Emerson's daughter.⁸

Block #25 includes several of my Darragh kin.

On block #17:

• Mrs. Louis Schwan was Hannah Darragh (my 2nd great-grandaunt), my great-great-grandmother Maria Jane Darragh's half-sister.⁹
• Mr. Louis Schwan, Hannah's husband.¹⁰
• Miss Annie Schwan (my 1st cousin, 3x removed), Hannah and Louis' daughter.¹¹ 
• Mr. Ernest Schwan (my 1st cousin, 3x removed), Hannah and Louis' son.¹²

Block 17 included more family names.

Newspaper Coverage

To gain more background on the quilt, I searched the Owen Sound newspapers and found one article which provided the setting for what happened to the quilt.¹³

 

 

Interestingly, this article ran on 1 July 1909, stating that the picnic occurred on "Tuesday evening." This is in conflict with both the 6 July 1909 date of the picnic embroidered on the quilt and the information on the museum website. The actual picnic date would have been 30 June 1909. Perhaps the picnic was originally planned for 6 July 1909 but had to be moved at the last minute. If the quilt was already completed before that change, that could account for the discrepancy.

Museums, historical societies, libraries, and others often have digitized collections available online, where treasures like this can be found from the comfort of your own home. I was really fortunate to stumble across this artifact that included my Darragh family and to learn a bit more about how signature quilts were created and their purpose. 

Have you ever found a signature quilt that included your family? Tell me about it in the comments.

Until next time...

© Nancy Gilbride Casey, 2026. All rights reserved.  

NOTES

¹ "Proceeds were Large," Owen Sun Times, 1 July 1909, p. 10, col. 5; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-st-marys-church-quilt/196430504/ : accessed 28 April 2026).

² Grey Roots Museum and Archives (https://greyroots.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/391670EF-A96D-45E2-88AB-057745757580 : accessed 28 April 2026), Object Record, St. Mary's Church Name Quilt (1909); citing Object ID# 1975.061.001, Grey Roots Museum and Archives, Owen Sound, Grey County, Ontario, Canada.

³ Ibid. 

⁴ Jody Sanders, "History of Signature Quilts," American Patchwork & Quilting (https://www.allpeoplequilt.com/quilt-patterns/history-of-signature-quilts : updated 29 July 2021).

⁵ Ibid.

⁶ County of Grey, Ontario, Canada, Estate Case Files, June 1901-May 1902, #3239, estate of Daniel Darragh, filed 9 April 1902; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3MW-49KZ-P : accessed 30 Sept. 2025); citing Archives of Ontario, Toronto.

⁷ Registrar General, Ontario, Canada, Marriage Records, Bruce County, Vol. C, 1907, p. 463, No. 3, Emmerson Darragh and Alice Mae Meneray, 22 Jan. 1907; imaged, "Canada, Ontario, Marriages, 1869-1927," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9Q97-Y391-6LY : accessed 28 April 2026); citing Archives of Ontario, Ottawa. 

⁸ Registrar General, Ontario, Canada, Birth Records, Grey County, Vol. 9, 1908, p. 403, No. 91, Gracie Corrine Darragh, 22 Dec. 1907; imaged, "Canada, Ontario, Births, 1869-1912," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9Q97-Y3S7-ZHV : accessed 28 April 2026); citing Registrations of Births and Stillbirths, RG 80-2, Archives of Ontario, Ottawa. 

⁹ 1871 Canada Census, Ontario, Grey Co., Canada West, population schedule, Town of Owen Sound,p. 48, dwelling 188, family 193, Jane Darrach and Hanah Darrach in John Darrach household; imaged, "1871 Census of Canada," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1578/images/4396339_00379 : accessed 29 June 2025); citing Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa. 

¹⁰ 1891 Canada Census, Ontario, district 68, N. Grey, page 53, dwelling B 2/5, Hannah Darragh in Louis Scwan household; imaged, "Canada, Census 1891," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1274/images/30953_148141-00026 : accessed 12 Sept. 2025); citing Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa. 

¹¹ 1901 Canada Census, Ontario, sub-district D, Grey, page 11, line 17, dwelling 95, family 103, Louis Scwan household; imaged, "Canada, Census, 1901," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSS1-L3T8-Q : accessed 28 April 2026); citing Canada Department of Agriculture, National Archives of Canada, Ottawa.

¹² Ibid. 

¹³ "Proceeds were Large," Owen Sun Times, 1 July 1909.