Sarah Henshaw Ward Putnam 1800
Sarah Henshaw Ward was born in 1800 and died in 1894, both in Shrewsbury, MA. Sarah married Benjamin Perkins Putnam of Marietta, Ohio in 1824. He died three months later and Sarah returned to Shrewsbury. The watercolor mourning art in commemoration of Benjamin Perkins Putnam was hers. Sarah never remarried and resided with relatives in various locations until her death. The quilt on display at the Ward House Museum is hers. The piecework suited both her mobility and commitment to providing for her extended family. She made this quilt for her nieces, Elizabeth and Harriet Ward.
The Henshaw farm, which was adjacent to the Ward farm, had been leased to tenants who paid the Wards with a share of the produce. In 1843 this arrangement ended and the main farm took over all agricultural production.