Mary and Wellington Hardy married in 1874, but before that, Mary’s older sister Susan E Cutter married Wellington’s older brother Milton in 1859. The relationship of Charles Hardy to either couples is unknown, but the Hardy family appears closely linked. The Hardy quilt was officially gifted to the Arlington Historical Society by another Hardy, living close by to Mary and Wellington, by the name of Charles A Hardy in 1923. It was used to decorate a bed in the John Russell House as late as the 1970s, and likely served several purposes over the years. The Hardy quilt is a striking example of brightly printed calico, or patterned cotton cloth, skillfully pieced together from small, perfectly shaped diamonds, squares, and rectangles. While the reason for the loan is unknown, the skill and talent that went into this beautifully constructed quilt would have made it desirable to display or study for a number of reasons. The Hardy quilt first came to the Arlington Historical Society in 1918, as a loan from Arlington resident Mary Hardy. Now faded with time, this quilt’s history is a tangle of family relationships, a fortune built on whiskey, the legacy of slavery, and a family’s move from North to South to North again on the eve of the Civil War. The soft ivory with brown and tan accents may once have been striking purples or even reds. This now faded cream and green colored quilt was once bright and showy, with crisp white cotton, and bright lime-green flowers on a dark hunter-green background.
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