Jonathan Conger; Figured and Fancy coverlet; tied-Beiderwand; 1836; New York

This blue and white, tied-Beiderwand, Figured and Fancy coverlet was woven at Jonathan Conger’s manufactory in Groton, New York in 1836. The centerfield features a “Double Lily and Starburst” carpet medallion pattern. The three borders feature the “Eagle and Willow” pattern. The two cornerblocks include woven inscriptions dating the coverlet to 1836 and listing the location, Groton, New York in Tompkins County. The coverlet measures 88 inches long by 66 inches wide, and it was woven into two 33 inch wide panels and joined together with a center seam. The date "1836" is woven in the lower corners along with the words, “Groton N. York." There is no fringe. The coverlet was woven using 2-ply, S-Twist, Z-Spun cotton in the warp and weft, Z-spun cotton singles as the binding warp, and 2-Ply, S-Twist, Z-Spun wool for the patterning weft.

Jonathan Conger (1801-1867) was a weaver, inventor, and businessman who wove or supervised the weaving of coverlets, ingrain carpeting, Venetian carpeting, and a variety of kinds of coverlets—first in Tompkins County, New York and later in Chemung County. In 1831, Conger and a man named George Deterich registered a patent for “a new and useful improvement in the Machine for Weaving Figured Cloth.” Conger operated a manufactory in Groton from 1829-1836, moving to Southport, NY and operating his business from 1837-1839. According to the 1850 Federal Census, he had made sufficient money to invest in land and agriculture, because he is listed as a farmer with $5650 in real estate. He may have employed other local weavers, Austin Tyler, his son, Simeon, and a man named Baley Merrill to weave alongside him or even work for him. Figured and Fancy coverlet weavers are best understood as rural industrialists and capitalist rather than craftspeople fighting the tide of industrialization. In many instances, as is the case with Conger, they were among the first people to invest and develop the capital needed to introduce industrial factory-style production to the rural American interior.

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