Courthouse Steps

Courthouse Steps - 1894

Charlotte Pradt and the Other Charlottes

During an 1893 visit with her friend, M. Edith Pinney of New Haven, Connecticut, Charlotte Pradt offered to make a quilt for her.  Edith later sent Charlotte a package containing silk fabrics that would be used to create the stunning Log Cabin design.  The completed quilt was returned to Edith, who used it for several decades.  In the late 1930s, Edith passed the quilt on to Charlotte’s great niece, also named Charlotte.  The history of this quilt is filled with a confusing connection of several related women, all named Charlotte.

The quilt maker, Miss Charlotte Pradt, was born in Vermont in 1828.  She had an aptitude for music, which she developed to a high degree, being a music instructor for several colleges and seminaries.  Uncharacteristically for a single woman of the time, Charlotte settled on a plantation in Vicksburg, living there for decades until the early 1890s.  During her life she witnessed the devastation of the Civil War and subsequent reconstruction of the south.  She lost access to her beloved music due to the destruction of many southern instruments during the war.  Around 1891 she moved to Wausau to live with her nephew, Henry Pradt.  Charlotte died in Wausau in 1907, having never married. 

Edith Pinney, who received the quilt, was a relative of Charlotte Atwater Pradt, wife of Miss Charlotte Pradt’s nephew, Louis Pradt Sr., a Wausau resident.

In 1936, Edith Pinney gifted the quilt to Charlotte Pradt Smith (the daughter of Charlotte Atwater Pradt), who was the great-niece of Miss Charlotte Pradt.  It is Charlotte Pradt Smith who is mentioned in the first sentence of the 1936 letter written by Edith (below).  Charlotte Pradt Smith was born in 1907 in Washington, D.C., where her family had moved when her father, Louis Pradt Sr., was appointed Assistant Attorney General by President William McKinley.  In 1905, Louis was a signer of the Articles of Incorporation for the American Red Cross and served as counsel for the organization.  He resigned his position as Assistant Attorney General in 1906 to return to private practice law with offices in Washington, D.C., and Wausau. The family returned to Wausau permanently in 1909 and continued their active involvement in community organizations.

After the death of Charlotte Pradt Smith, the quilt passed to her nephew, Louis Pradt of Wausau, who donated it to the Marathon County Historical Society.

The Quilt

This quilt is made up of Log Cabin blocks arranged in the Courthouse Steps design, with the dark and light strips grouped on opposite sides of the center (rather than adjoining sides as in a traditional log cabin design), thus resembling the steps of a building.  The fabrics are very decorative, making use of silk satins, taffetas and brocades.  The central square in each block is black velvet outlined with embroidered herringbone stitch.

The backing and binding fabrics are pink floral silk with gray stripes.  There is no batting, quilting stitches or tying – the backing is not attached to the quilt top except at the edges.  

There is little wear on this quilt, although it was made for a bed.  Silk coverlets were often used as attractive daytime covers and removed at night.  They could also be used as decorative throws in the parlor.

Letter from Miss M. Edith Pinney, New Haven, Connecticut

May 15th, 1936

A week ago dear cousin Charlotte Pradt come to see me and I was very glad and enjoyed her visit so much.  When in visiting her in 1893 or 4, Mr. L.A. Pradt’s Aunt Charlotte said “she would like to piece me a silk bed quilt”. I later sent the pieces and in due time she sent me this silk quilt.  She was Mrs. (Charlotte Pradt) Marshall Smith’s aunt.  I would like it sent to her, if she would like it.  Pieced in 1893 or 4.

M.E. Pinney