Pennock Quilt Secrets Discovered
It’s remarkable how many items owned by Pennock family members either never left the Hall or have been donated by descendants. One of them is the beautiful, brightly colored Pennock Quilt, which is on display on the Hall’s second floor. The hand-made quilt measures about 9 feet square and encompasses 49 12-inch squares, each with a center panel with tiny lettering.
Each panel includes a signature, and many of the squares also include a small drawing, ornamental flourishes, poems, or sayings. Among the drawings are birds, lyres, grapevines, and flowers. Two of the squares contain the same verse: “Religion has a / balm for every wound / the heart can feel.” One was stitched by S. A. Pennock “in her seventh year.”
Some panels are dated (1884, 1885, and 1886), which gives an estimate of when the quilt was sewn together.