1875 - 1885 Harriet Fry Hockaday's "Tumbling Blocks" Silk Quilt

Harriet Hockaday, who exhibited and won prizes for her quilts at various fairs, crafted this unique silk quilt. She combined the precise “Tumbling Blocks” pattern with elaborate embroidery to create the top quilt. A second quilt provides the backing. Each one is quilted in a different pattern, 16 stitches per inch. The quilting pattern in one corner of the second quilt incorporates a few Odd Fellows’ symbols. The quilt is finished with a twisted cord along the edges and large tassels at each corner.

Harriet Fry was born May 4, 1831, in Clay County, Missouri. Her mother and father, Susan and Solomon Fry, were prominent longtime settlers in Missouri. In 1850 Harriet married George D. Hockaday (1818-1899) in Clinton Co., Missouri.

They lived in Lathrop, Missouri, and had four children. After the death of her husband in 1899, Harriet moved to Tacoma, Washington, and lived with her son, Eugene. She died in 1902.

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