Floral Wreath
Narcissus McColl Hargrove
McColl, SC
ca. 1870
Gift of Claire Palmer
McKissick Museum Collection 2018.02.01
Red and green on white appliquéd quilts were very popular between 1840 and 1870. This one is distinctive for its use of “cheddar” or chrome orange fabric to make the center of the flowers visually pop. Cheddar fabrics are commonly found in quilts made from 1860 to 1880. This particular floral wreath pattern was published in the March 1926 Modern Priscilla magazine, indicating the design’s resurgence as part of the Colonial revival and preservationist impulses of the 1920s and 30s.
“Barnyard” Crazy Quilt
Mittie Belle Agner Barrier (1894-1977)
Salisbury, NC
1917
Saucers of Snowball Variation
Margaret Eleanor Pridgen Salley (1880-1961)
Salley, SC
ca. 1930-1940
Narcissus McColl Hargrove (1852-1929) 2018.02.01
Narcissus McColl was born in Marlboro County, SC. Her grandparents, Hugh and Catherine McColl, were both born in Appin, Scotland and immigrated to America in 1774, settling in North Carolina. One of eight children, Narcissus was the daughter of Solomon and Nancy McColl, who moved to Marlboro County, SC from Scotland County, NC. Both of her parents died in 1857, when Narcissus was five years old.
She married Alfred Hargrove in 1885 and they had one son, Manardie Alvin. Alfred and Narcissus managed a modest farm, primarily growing cotton and corn. Alfred died in 1886, five months after Alvin was born. He was only 38 years old. At the time of his death, they had sixteen acres in cotton and fifteen acres in corn. In settling his estate, personal property was sold at auction to settle various debts and other financial obligations. Items sold included a wagon, buggy, several mules, a cow, and three hogs.
By 1900, Narcissus was living with her sister Mary and her brother Menardie on a farm outside of McColl. She lived in the Red Bluff area of Marlboro County until her death in 1929.