The first quilt we asked about was one on which the name Cantrell predominated. The other names were Bogart, Fuge, Hensley, Kelly, Lloyd, Long, Matlock, Moore, Newton, Ryan, Shaw, Turner, and Vanhoosier.

It is 70x80 w/ a typical "album block" design - 9 squares on point ("diamonds"), each made with room for a name. The names are hand-embroidered, and it was hand-quilted as a "summer quilt" (a spread without batting). Lisa had purchased it in January 2000 at the Hemet, CA quilt show.

I began by placing queries on sites like ancestry.com, a well-organized geneological site with many records broken down by name. I also went to Rootsweb and other genealogy sites and groups, and sent E-mails to Cantrell and other name researchers. I put queries at each name site corresponding with one on the quilt.

In only a few minutes, I started to get the first of many communications on the quilt, several offering to buy it. Family members and relatives soon began filling in the blanks. What a wonderful thing the Internet can be!

A lady named Sandy wrote; "You say you have a quilt? I know these names.... where did it come from, what does it look like, and how much?.....Thanks."

Within a few more days, we had dozens of responses, though most were of different families than the ones who made this quilt. However, a few were of the other families listed. We also heard from Ken Fiebelman of the Ozark Heritage Museum, which has a quilt collection. All were fascinated that this piece of family history had emerged.

As we were already getting offers for the quilt, we agreed that it should be sold only to a maker or their family.

Our next correspondent was Gloria Bogart Carter, of Springfield, MO who turned out to be not only a genealogist, but the younger sister of two of the block makers! Gloria informed us that the quilt was made by the children of the London School, which was in Wright County, about five miles north of Mansfield, MO, c. 1932.

She wrote; "Harry and Wilma Bogart are my older siblings. Harry is deceased and Wilma Bogart Kinnamon was 80 years old last July. I personally know (or knew) each one of those named. They attended the London School, in Wright County, MO, where I also attended grades one through four."

Gloria and her sister Wilma (one of the makers) gave us more information. "The blocks were made by students at London School in Wright Co., MO. Each made several blocks and traded with other students. My sister Wilma has one. I have a picture of London School 1933 and almost all of the kids listed on the quilt are in the picture." She later sent a copy of the picture, and more information. "It was a one-room school, grades one through eight. Wilma attended school there thru the 8th grade." Wilma thought that Claddie Shull, one of two teachers in 1933, had been teaching when the quilt was made.

 London School, c. 1933

I asked Gloria the obvious question, and indeed, they were related to Humphrey Bogart, the movie star. It was this that had started her on her geneological quest, many years ago. Her brother, a sailor during WWII, had kidded his shipmates that he was “Bogie’s” cousin. On a bet, he called Hollywood, claimed he was Bogie’s cousin, and was rewarded with a visit to the studio. Bogie and the Hollywood crowd treated him royally, and he returned to his crew the hero of the hour. It became Gloria’s self-appointed mission to verify the still unsubstantiated claim - and she finally did. After much research and study, she showed that the star actually was their 10th cousin once removed.

We heard more about the quilt and its origins, as well as many interesting bits of local history from Gloria, and others. One thing we learned from Sandy was that the quilt was probably sold by one of the Cantrell descendants who moved to California in the early 1950s, and that a woman named Della Cantrell (whose name is on a block) may have made it. She said that some of the Cantrells had moved to Riverside, CA (which is near Hemet).

She also said; "I expect this is how a lot of our heritage ends up. I know a lot of my Great-grand-mother's stuff was sold at auction and I think it is a shame that people don't take more pride in their roots. I recently bought a picture of John Cook (lived in Webster County) near Sacramento - a long ways from home - The quilt would be a treasure that's for sure."

Gloria was interested in buying the quilt, and although Lisa would have liked to have kept it, we both agreed it should "go home." We gave her our asking price (this genre of quilt is very collectable, and they often command a good price on the market). She wrote; "I would love to have the quilt because of memories - but it is out of my price range. Thank you. I would be interested to know who does buy it."

However, Lisa and I were determined by his time that the quilt should "go home" one way or another - we couldn't afford to donate it outright, but we decided to sell it near Lisa's cost. We made Gloria a counter offer. She spoke with her sister, Wilma - and the deal was made.

We shipped them the quilt before the check arrived, as Wilma wanted it for her great-grand-daughter, Stacy Edwards, for her 16th birthday. Gloria wrote about how pleased and excited Wilma was. She also told us; "Stacy's great-great grandfather, Jordon Bogart taught the last term of school in 1924-25, before the school was moved from its former location on the hill east of the store, to the location near the London Store, then taking the name London School."

 Wilma's Block

The quilt was displayed at the Wright County Historical Society at Hartville, Missouri, during Fall Festival Day in October 2003. A piece appeared in the local paper about the quilt and its long odyssey.

We then began researching other Autograph quilts Lisa had, and found more interesting stories! (Check back for Part II of Returning Home!)

PS: If any Bogart, Cantrell, or other descendants of the names on the quilt want to get in touch with her, Gloria's contact info is:

Gloria Bogart Carter, Genealogist gbcarter@juno.com. She does professional research, has an E-mail book list, and an Ozarks genealogy query column which appears each Sunday on line. You can also visit the Wright Co MO web site