Memories of the Coes 22: Dressmaker, Rugs, Needle work
Dressmaker
In later years when we younger girls were growing into young ladies, and were at school in Le Roy, she would have a dress maker come to the house. Other work would be put aside as much as possible, and the dressmaker would plan, advise and cut the goods, and the women of the family would sew as fast as possible. With five women to sew for, there was a lot to be done, if each one only had a dress or two.
Father was full of fun and jokes. Once mother sent him to see if Miss Sarah Skinner, now Mrs John Sandles, could sew a day for her. She did a great deal of our sewing. She has told that she make the wedding dresses for all four of us. At this time she was engaged so far ahead, that father said disgustedly, "I engage you for a year from to-day!" She entered it in her book, and when the date drew near she wrote mother a card saying she reserved that day, but if mother didn't need her it was all right. But mother had her.
I there were many years, when in the press of all her duties, mother did very little fancy needle work. She embroidered an eyelet slip which I wore when a baby, - a long skirts. I think all my children wore it when babies, and at least one grandchild, Helen Call, the first grandchild, wore this skirt in her first photograph. It shows in the picture. The pattern was stamped on very thing paper which was basted to the goods to be embroidered, and the braid sewn over it. The twins had red merino with black braids, I had the same braid on blue. I think the first pictures of the twins, seated on the same chair, show those dresses, and that there is one of me in blue. I think there is also one of Mary taken in a braided Garibaldi waist, taken about that time. Later Mary had a purple "empress" cloth dress. I though it the most beautiful color I had ever seen. Soon after I had a blue empress cloth dress. I think I was ten years old. There is a photo of me in that. I cannot remember mother in any but sober colors, black and browns and grays. Father was very partial to brown. In her leisure (!) mother pieced many quilts. In the winter she would get together woolen pieces, mostly old, the best parts of worn out garments, and piece comfortables, - we called them. - in a hit or miss pattern. These had a large cotton batt in them and were tied. The fine quilts were quilted. Then there were rag carpets to make. Old dresses, shirts, sheets, pillow cases, - anything not too badly worn, but not good enough for wearing, preferably cotton, were collected, cut in suitable stripes and sewn. Some were wound into balls of the same color, others in short strips were sewed hit of miss. We girls would sometimes help in the sewing and winding. She did quite a good deal of dyeing, yellow, red, brown, black, - good colors; green and blue were not successful on cotton. She had "a reel" that she could wind rags or yarns on into skeins. The rags had to be in skeins in order to dye them. She dyed for other purposes also. When the analine dye magenta was first introduced, we had so many magenta ribbons and other articles that I took a dislike to that color. I believe mother used butter and different barks of trees and shrubs for coloring, also cocheneal for a bright red. I was much interested when in school to read that a product of Mexico was a tiny insect called cocheneal, which were collected in great quantities, dried and used for dye stuff. When she had enough pounds of rags prepared for the yards of carpet she wanted, she would get a piece of board and wind different colors around this, making a pattern of the carpet she wanted it woven.
Rugs, Needlework
Mother also made braided rag rugs, and some others, - a few were hooked, all of them worn out now. She also made candle wicking bed spreads. They were white or unbleached worked with white wicking. Very well I remember her drawing an original design for me, there was a large star for the center, and stars were used to fill in the spaces.
In later years when the children were grown and home cares not so heavy, mother did a great deal of beautiful needlework. She made fine and beautiful lace, drawn work perhaps equally fine, and embroidery. It seemed she never wasted a moment. She was troubled with numbness in her hands and arms. I have seen her lay down her work
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Patty's notes on this entry
Miss Sarah Skinner/Mrs John Sandles - Sarah L. Skinner (1855-1936) daughter of DeWitt Skinner (abt 1828-???) and Charlotte (abt 1836-????). She married John A Sandles (1860-1954) in 1894.
Helen Call - Helen Elizabeth Call (1910-1997) daughter of Charles Arthur Call (1885-1962) and Bertha May Hotchkiss (1882-1946). She married Robert Wilson Johnson (1910-1991) in 1931. Helen was the oldest grandchild of Charles Joslin Call and Elizabeth Ann Call.
Twins and first picture - Clara Addie Coe (1864-1950) and Carrie Evelyn Coe (1864-1948), the two youngest children of Albert Coe and Elizabeth Ann Sornberger. Clara married James Daniel McEwen (1861-1901) in 1890. They lived in Wichita, Sedgewick, Kansas and had two sons. Harold and John. Carrie married Frank Lincoln Walkley (1867-1961) in 1894. They lived in Le Roy, Genesee County and had five sons, Fred, Albert, Clarence, Floyd and James. Based on the description of the photograph and dresses in the manuscript, I believe this photograph owned by Marion Sperry Howe is the one Elizabeth was referring to.
Photo courtesy of Marion Sperry Howe
Mary - Mary Isadore Coe (1851-1924) oldest daughter of Albert Coe and Deborah Prentice (1833-1910). She married George W Sperry (1853-1933, son of Platt T Sperry and Rebecca) in 1879
Garibaldi waist - A baggy, bloused style of woman's shirt waist popularized in the 1870s, based on the red wool shirt popularized by the Italian patriot Giuseppi Garibaldi in 1860. Empress Eugenie of France was one of the first to wear and popularize this style of shirt waist.
Woman in White Garibaldi Blouse
Photograph in the Public Domain
Downloaded from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garibaldi_shirt#/media/File:Woman_in_White_Garibaldi_Blouse_Photograph.jpg
empress cloth - Described in the 1913 Webster's Dictionary, Empress cloth was a cloth for ladies' dresses, either wholly of wool, or with cotton warp and wool weft. It resembles merino, but is not twilled.
Father - Albert Coe (1827-1907), son of Ezra Coe (1796-1869) and Elizabeth Ann Sornberger (1795-1888)
Mother - Deborah Prentice (1833-1910) daughter of Southwick Prentice (1800-1876) and Elizabeth Ann Smith (1802-1846)
analine dye magenta - In the 1850's William Perkin revolutionized dyes used for coloring fabric when he created the first synthetic dyes made from aniline extracted from coal tar. You can see some dresses colored with various aniline dyes at https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/aniline-dyes/
cocheneal - Cochineals are small insects found in North and South America that lives in cactuses. They produce carminic acid that is used to create red carmine dye.
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