Wreath of Roses quilt by Sarah Wooster, 1856

Quilt is now in the permanent collection of the Virginia Quilt Museum, Harrisonburg, VA. The following information is displayed next to the 1856 Wooster Wreath of Roses quilt at the Virginia Quilt Museum

1856 Wooster Wreath of Roses

Made by Sarah Wooster of Litchfield, Connecticut for her husband David. The Woosters were married in January 1855 and the quilt was completed on February 27, 1856. The traditional Wreath of Roses pattern is appliquéd with a border of tulips; hearts are quilted in the background. Perhaps this was an anniversary gift to David Wooster.

In collecting history about the Warren-Sipe House, the quilt museum building, we have learned that the Warrens were married in 1856 and the house was a wedding gift.

E.T.H. Warren helped organize the first militia in Harrisonburg prior to the start of the Civil war. He became a colonel in the Confederate Army and was killed in June 1864 at the Battle of the Wilderness. War records tell us that David Wooster enlisted in the Union Army in August, 1862 and served as a member of Co.D, 2nd Heavy Artillery Regiment. He was also killed in 1864 (September) at Fisher’s Hill near Winchester.

It is conceivable that both David Wooster and Col. E.T.H. Warren fought in many of the same battles in the Shenandoah Valley – on opposite sides.

This quilt has been selected as the centerpiece of the quilt museum’s “1856 SOCIETY” fund raising campaign because of the date it was completed and the link between the two men.

The quilt is part of the museum’s permanent collection.

Gift from Mrs. Mary-Elma Smith
Pensacola, Florida