wood carvings, woven fabrics, hand-braided rugs, and paintings.
Many hours were spent designing Abigail. The doll’ s wig was made of cotton fabric strips and braided. Buttons, ties, and hooks and eyes were used on the clothing and shoes, just as real children’ s clothes were fastened. The blouse and skirt were made of calico, with a white linen apron, shoes of oilcloth, and a bonnet. The facial features were painted using“ fast dyes” by Carolyn Griffith, wife of painter L. O. Griffith. She created a carrier for Abigail using two Quaker oatmeal boxes fastened end to end, and covered over with wallpaper. Leather handles were added. Portia went door to door to find women who would provide the workforce needed to make the doll in quantity.
The Nashville House held a“ Christening Party” for Abigail, the Log Cabin Doll, in February, 1932. Newspapers carried invitations to the party, and also wrote about Portia and the artisans who created Abigail. The publicity gained national attention.
Retailers such as the L. S. Ayres Company and Marshall Fields wanted to carry Abigail. People at the Quaker Oats company were so taken by the enthusiasm of Portia Sperry when she asked them about obtaining boxes that they donated the first hundred.
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited the Brown County Folks shop in 1934. Her granddaughters recount that Portia said Mrs. Roosevelt exclaimed“ Oh, I recognize Abigail!” as she entered the shop,
The Abigail doll has been made through the years under the direction of three generations of the Sperry family. Ralph and Portia Sperry passed a legacy to their family and beyond. The motto“ Sweet are the uses of adversity,” appears on the family crest. An Abigail doll has a place on a corner of the crest along with garden tools, a cow, and a piano. Jim lovingly wrote in his book for the family, that his mother was a“ liberal, liberated woman.” She was on the“ cutting edge of women’ s thoughts and ideas.”
The Brown County Folks shop was in the Sperry family until 1984. Traces, the publication of the Indiana Historical Society, published a story about the Sperry family in its fall, 2001 edition entitled“ Doing It Together.” In a fitting tribute to the spirit of Portia, Ralph, and their children Posey, Charles, Jim, and Emily, an exhibition opened in May, of that year at the Indiana Historical Society Headquarters called“ A Working Life.”
Continued on 26
Established in 1926, Brown County’ s original art gallery offers for sale artwork by contemporary artists and consigned early Indiana art. Selections from the Permanent Collections are also on display.
Open Year-Round Mon.– Sat. 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and Sun. Noon to 5:00 pm
May / June 2015 • Our Brown County 25