Mississippi Oak Leaf quilt, Maria Rodgers Martin

Mississippi Oak Leaf is one of the earliest quilts on display in this exhibition, and was created before the Civil War by an enslaved woman in Missouri. According to historic documents and research by artist Marla Jackson, Maria Rodgers Martin admired the color turkey red—a deep red made from natural dyes. Martin learned to sew and quilt alongside the children of the Robert Brown family, the owners of a plantation in Missouri. In 1862, Martin was kidnapped by Union soldiers and brought against her will to Lawrence, Kansas. In Lawrence, her enslavement continued and Martin witnessed historical events during the Civil War, including Quantrill’s Raid.