Created by
Unidentified
Date
1850-1875
Medium
cotton
Dimensions
H x W: 38 1/2 x 114 in. (97.8 x 289.6 cm)
On Form: 39 1/2 x 21 x 1/4 in. (100.3 x 53.3 x 0.6 cm)
Caption
Janett Sharee Galloway inherited this skirt in 1977 from her grandmother, Mary Lizzie (Hunt) Galloway. The story given to Janett with the skirt was that it originally belonged to the “mother’s mother’s grandmother’s mother’s mother” who was enslaved in or near Macon, Georgia, or neighboring Jones County. Tracing back Mary Lizzie's maternal line, it is likely the skirt's second owner and wearer was her grandmother, a woman born as Mollie Johnson about 1862. Mollie Johnson Hunt’s unidentified mother is the likely original maker and owner, though alterations consistent with the silhouette of the early to mid-1870s suggest Mollie may also have worn the skirt.
Description
Printed floral skirt worn by an enslaved ancestor of Janett Sharee Galloway. The skirt is made from cotton with a small-scale print in faded brown of a single flower surrounded by a stippled frame. Two bias brown tapes are machine stitched along the bottom with a pleated ruffle between them. The silhouette is flat in the front with a tightly gathered back waist and a center back closure with a hand sewn buttonhole and one (1) round black button. A loop of cotton string is tied through the buttonhole. An inset pocket with self-fabric lining is sewn at the proper right waist. The skirt is both hand and machine sewn, with later alterations being the machine stitched areas. The wide ruffled panel along the bottom of the skirt creates two layers along the bottom because it is sewn directly on top of the body of the skirt, with the same small floral print underneath the ruffle. A triangular shaped patch of faded blue cotton is hand sewn near the center front waist to add girth. The skirt has been taken up near the waist with a hand sewn tuck, which was sewn before the blue patch was added. The hem of both layers of fabric at the bottom is machine sewn.
Place used
Georgia, United States, North and Central America
Classification
Slavery and Freedom Objects
Clothing - Fashion and Historical
Type
skirts
Topic
Clothing and dress
Families
Slavery
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2011.52
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd55fbba7fc-efe8-4d58-bf36-5dab0710499b

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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