Martha Ann Ricks (born Erskine, 1817–1901) was an

Americo-Liberian Americo-Liberian people or Congo people or Congau people in Liberian English,Cooper, Helene, ''The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood'' (United States: Simon and Schuster, 2008), p. 6 are a Liberian ethnic group of Afric ...

woman who was among the early colonists there. Born into slavery in Tennessee, she was freed by her father George Erskine and emigrated at age 13 with him and her family to

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

in 1830. While chiefly working in agriculture there, Ricks also was known for her needlework and became an expert quilter. She became interested in

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

and worked for more than two decades on a quilt for her. In 1892 Ricks traveled with former First Lady

Jane Roberts Dorothy Jane Roberts (May 8, 1929 – September 5, 1984) was an American author, poet, psychic, and spirit medium, who channeled a personality who called himself "Seth." Her publication of the Seth texts, known as the ''Seth Material'', establ ...

to England, where she received a

Royal Audience A ''Real Audiencia'' (), or simply an ''Audiencia'' ( ca, Reial Audiència, Audiència Reial, or Audiència), was an appellate court in Spain and its empire. The name of the institution literally translates as Royal Audience. The additional des ...

with

and personally gave her the quilt.

Life

Martha Ann was born into slavery in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. Her father George Erskine saved money and purchased her, her mother and siblings, in order to free all of them. He and the family emigrated in 1830 to

Clay-Ashland Clay-Ashland is a township located from the capital city of Monrovia in Liberia. The town is in the St. Paul River District of Montserrado County. It is named after Henry Clay — a slaveowner and American Colonization Society co-founder who ...

, as part of the

American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebor ...

project there. In Liberia, Erskine married Zion Harris, an emigrant whom she had first met on board ship to Liberia. The couple were successful farmers and traveled with Liberia's first president

Joseph Jenkins Roberts Joseph Jenkins Roberts (March 15, 1809 – February 24, 1876) was an African-American merchant who emigrated to Liberia in 1829, where he became a politician. Elected as the first (1848–1856) and seventh (1872–1876) president of Lib ...

in 1848, after independence, visiting both the United States and the United Kingdom. The Harris couple raised turkeys, ducks, and sheep, as well as growing crops. Ricks was also known for the high quality of her needlework. Ricks was very good at quilting and had won a prize in 1858 for silk stockings that she made. After Harris died, she married again, to Henry Ricks, and became known as Martha Ann Ricks. Over the years, Ricks developed an interest in

. She was determined that one day she would meet the queen. Over the course of 25 years, Ricks worked on a quilt that she wanted to give to the queen. The quilt depicted the Liberian Coffee Tree and was made of silk cotton. Its pattern included more than 300 green leaves, and coffee berries in red. A tree of life trunk occupied the center of the quilt, and the background was white. When Ricks turned 76, Liberian Ambassador

Edward Blyden Edward Wilmot Blyden (3 August 1832 – 7 February 1912) was a Liberian educator, writer, diplomat, and politician who was primarily active in West Africa. Born in the Danish West Indies, he joined the waves of black immigrants from the ...

arranged for her to travel to England and be given an audience with the queen. Accompanied by former First Lady

of Liberia, Ricks met the queen at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

on July 16, 1892. Ricks died in 1901.

Legacy

Kyra Hicks Kyra E. Hicks (born October 1, 1965) is an author, quilter and quilt historian. She writes about African-American quilt history and encouraging quilt documentation. She has created story quilts, such as ''Black Barbie'', which is in the permane ...

wrote a biography, ''Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria'' (2012). *Ricks's story is featured in a short radio documentary on BBC, "Looking for Aunt Martha's Quilt" (2017), read by her descendant Florence Dennis-Huskin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ricks, Martha Ann Erskine 1817 births 1901 deaths American emigrants to Liberia 19th-century American slaves Americo-Liberian people People from Montserrado County People from Tennessee Quilters 19th-century Liberian women 20th-century Liberian women