[1][2] In 2006 her quilt Bars and string-pieced columns appeared on a US Postal service stamp as part of a series commemorating Gee's Bend quilters.
at birth, most called her by her nickname, "Bootnie," and she always referred to herself as "Jessie," after her favorite school teacher.
Although she knew her father, Joe Benning, and passed his house frequently, he did not play an active role in her or her siblings' lives.
Their farm grew cotton, corn, peas, peanuts, and sweet potatoes, as well as the variety of vegetables that were on their own plot for subsistence use.
[7] After the farm chores were completed, their aunt Seebell would sit the girls down and teach them to piece and sew quilts.