Subject of Square: Joseph Dow’s Trunk

Quilter’s Name: Betty Moore

Background on subject: Languishing in an abandoned storage unit in Idaho sat a simple wooden trunk. On it was written "J. Dow Hampton, NH." The contents of the storage unit were eventually sold at auction. This old trunk was destined for the dump, until it was saved by one of the helpers who asked if he could have it. Upon opening it, he found over 300 documents, and handwritten manuscripts. Doing more research, he learned that Joseph Dow, the trunk's owner, had written The History of Hampton 1638 - 1888. The Hampton Historical Society was contacted, and the contents and trunk were purchased by the Society in 2017.

Why you chose this subject: I was drawn to the trunk because it is one of those amazing tales that you can't make up. Figuring out how the trunk made its way from New Hampshire to Idaho, the mystery of the successive owners and now the fact that these items are "home" where they belong, still seems unbelievable.

Thoughts on your representation/design/color choices/etc.: The seller included a photo of what the trunk looked like when it was first opened, after being in the storage locker for years - stacks of papers tied together, letters secured by ribbons, rolled documents. Included were personal papers, reference books and handwritten manuscripts including the ledger that would form Dow's Part II, the genealogy of the early settlers. I tried to make my square a 3- dimensional image of the trunk's contents at that point in time.

What you hope this quilt will mean for the people who see it: Our quilt celebrates 100 years of an organization whose mission is to preserve and promote the history of Hampton. I hope our quilt squares and stories make viewers want to explore the museum, learning more about Hampton. But even more importantly, I hope it makes the viewer look at their own family history and figure out how to save their story for future generations.