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Ethel Morrison Williams A Family Quilt
Not all quilters use cloth and thread to create something beautiful and warm. This story is about my maternal grandmother, Ethel Morrison Williams. She was not a quilter of heirloom quilts to be passed down through the generations but a gentle soul that created a loving family quilt. Ethel was born January 28, 1900 near Ogilville, Indiana, the third child of Andrew and Katherine (Freese) Morrison's eight children. She joined Ogilville Church of Christ in 1915. As a young woman she lived in Indianapolis and worked as a stenographer at the Hayward Tire and Equipment Company. She was very well respected in her position and upon leaving was given a special letter of recommendation. She left her stenographers position on November 11, 1921 and on Christmas eve of that year married my grandfather, Jesse V. Williams Sr. Jess and Ethel lived on the Williams' family farm near Ogilville. Over the next 25 years they had 10 children: Laurette Jeraldine, Jesse Virgil Jr., Beebee Bettina, Susie Leatrice, Violet Delores, James Curtis, Don Irvin, Neola Jeanette, Mary Joyce and Gloria Isabel. Grandpa farmed, drove a school bus, hunted and fished and Grandma raised the children. Grandma was a gentle, happy, confident women. She loved her husband and children unconditionally, attended church weekly, tended garden, canned produce, cooked (including whatever wild game and fish Grandpa brought home) and managed the house. Grandma also taught Sunday School, belonged to the Ogilville Extension Home Makers Club and loved to watch her "stories". I remember The Edge of Night being one of her regulars. Grandma didn't drive and Grandpa didn't go to church. But Grandpa took Grandma to church every Sunday and waited across the road at the corner grocery to take her home. This arrangement suited each just fine. This is typical of how Grandma lived her life. She was content with her circumstances and didn't judge others.
This is a picture of
Jess and Ethel's family in 1947.
I asked my mother if she remembered quilts in the house when she was young. She didn't remember quilts but comforters. She remembered helping tie the comforters. I think that is a good analogy of Grandma; happy and caring, a comforter in the truest sense. Grandma's house wasn't large but it was always open and she never met a stranger. When you visited you gathered in the side yard, weather permitting. Otherwise family and friends would visit at the kitchen table or in the living room. The kitchen table was a large round table with benches. It was always full of food or other things. "A place for everything and everything in its place" was not Grandma's motto. I think it was more "Clean enough to be healthy and messy enough to be happy". Housework wasn't a big priority but family was. Grandma passed away on May 13, 1987. Jess and Ethel's family continues to gather twice each year for a summer reunion and annual Christmas party. This picture was taken at the 1999 summer reunion.
Click here for instructions to make a comforter of your own.
The above story
is based on recorded dates, family history, stories passed down
through the generations and my imagination. I hope you enjoyed it.
You can
contact the author via email by clicking on the following email
address To view additional stories click on the quilters link at the top of this page.
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Copyright © 2006 Joe-Pye Butterfly, LLC. All rights reserved. |
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When this picture was taken the four oldest children were married
and Ethel had four grandchildren.
