Peace and Plenty

1847 "Peace and Plenty" Coverlet 

written by Virginia Touby Coan

Winifred Bishop, her son Mike Bishop, Virginia Touby Coan, May Lovejoy Loop, Bess Touby Lovejoy (?)

The early woven Jacquard coverlet belonged to the Locke Family.   My great-grandfather, Elias Locke (1821-1891) came with his wife Sarah Ann Brown Locke (1824-1907) and two small children in 1849 from Preble County, Ohio, to settle on a claim in Howard County, Indiana, near the small village of Kokomo.  Here they established their home and raised their family of nine children.  My grandfather, George Luther Locke (1856-1938) was the sixth of seven sons and two daughters.  It is uncertain if the coverlet came with them from Ohio, or if it was acquired later from an itinerate professional weaver.  My mother, Elsie Locke Touby, recalled that each of her father George's siblings owned a woven coverlet of similar pattern.  Although this is not documented, it has been verified through conversations with family members.  In 1983, two of the Locke coverlets were shown, along with two early cane bottom chairs which had belonged to my great-grandparents, Elias and Sarah, in an exhibit of "Early Quilts, Coverlets and Rugs," held in the Kokomo Public Library.  My second cousin, Madeleine Holt, granddaughter of Abraham Locke (grandfather George's brother), and I were the exhibitors of the coverlets.  

Jacquard looms were introduced in America in the 1820s.  Professional weavers had come from Scotland, Ireland, Germany, and France.  Many had settled in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana.  Most of the weavers were men.  The looms were large and it took great strength to operate them.  Women often brought their home-dyed wool to the professional weaver to be made into coverlets.  There were patterns and samples in the shop to choose from, and the weaver would select a border and often add a signature corner block.  D. Arnold may have been the weaver of the Locke coverlets.  He often used the "Peace and Plenty" corner block.
      Virginia Touby Coan