Week 33 - Contrary Husband

This block is about a lot more than not getting along with a husband.  It is about how women did not have the right to get away from an abusive spouse, and used the story of Ann Cary Randolph (1791-1826), Thomas Jefferson's granddaughter, who married Charles Lewis Bankhead.  Charles was the son of Ann's grandfather's close friend John Bankhead, but unfortunately, "Charles Bankhead proved to be alcoholic, abusive, and improvident."  Ann's grandfather and mother did not want anyone to know Ann was being beaten by Charles, but it seems unlikely his character was a secret since he was known to carouse in the taverns and stabbed Ann's brother in a public place.  Divorce was just about impossible in Virginia at the time, so she stayed with Charles and died at the age of 35, just a few months before Thomas Jefferson did.

I used the last of the three birds that show up on this green toile fabric, with the darker fabric enclosing it to go with the symbolism of this block.