According to family information, Mary Rigby pieced this quilt top when she was six. There is a definite difference in the quality of stitching. Either Mary improved as she worked or she had help with the quilt top. She was about 8 or 9 when her mother died and possibly this activity was designed as a distraction for her. A child’s thimble (TE*T12873) used by Mary is also in the Collection.
Eight-inch blocks, pieced in a “Pinwheel” pattern are set diagonally with plain white triangles. The piecing is done by overcasting, not by a running stitch.
Mary Augusta Rigby was born September 10, 1847 in New York. Her parents were John Hankey Rigby (1819-1853) born in England and Catherine Bentley (1825-1856) born in New York. Mary married Thomas Wintringham (1846-1900) on December 18, 1877. They had two children and lived in San Rafael, California. Mary was active in community causes such as saving the original pear trees from the San Rafael Arcangel Mission. She died in California on September 9, 1945.