From Olmsted County Historical Society
County Rd. 122 and Salem Rd. SW
Rochester, Minn. Vol.2 No.2 Fall, 1983

               Old Quilt Features "New" Look
   The saw mill Joseph Alexander built in 1858 alongside
Bear Creek in Southeast Rochester is long gone, but a quilt
top fashioned by his wife, Hannah, still exists and will soon
be on display at OCHS. Though the interesting nine patch
quilt top must be over one hundred years old, it features
paisley border prints that Jinny Beyer, well-known expert
quilt designer, is calling "new" today, according to Fran
McNeil, member of the Quilter's Sew-Ciety Roundtable.
"it's just another example of how history tends to re-cycle
itself every hundred years or so," Fran stated.
  Early pioneer Alexander had 11 brothers and sisters,
many of whom settled in Rochester. Nobody's calling a
contest, but there could well be more descendents of
Joseph and Hannah Alexander living in Rochester today
than any other family group. It would be hard to prove,
since many of the members are not aware of each other.
Such was the case with Nancy Kriss, great-great
grandaughter of an Alexander and student at St. Cloud
State, who arrived to do research on her prolific family this
fall. Though she had Grandpa Alexander's copious
scrapbooks tucked under her arm, she wasn't acquainted
With any of her relatives here in Rochester.
  OCHS is grateful to Elaine Postier and Gladys Holm.
Hannah's great granddaughters, who decided that this
unique quilt top should be enjoyed by the visitors to OCHS
instead of being hidden away in an attic trunk.