Polly Bennett was born in Gee’s Bend Alabama in 1922. Daughter of Mary and Minniefield Mooney, Polly Mooney Bennett was raised in Gee's Bend, Alabama. Her parents separated in 1928 and left her in the care of her grandmother Mary Brown Mooney.[4] Mary Mooney was a tenant farmer, and Polly helped on the farm starting at a young age. Polly was able to attend a school in Boiling Springs but was no longer able to attend after grade six.[5] She found work nursing and cooking for various white families in the area.[4] She married her husband, Mark Bennett in 1946. They maintained a farm on Rehoboth Rd. for the remainder of their lives.[4] Bennett began quilting under her mother's instruction at about eight years old. She recalls struggling at first, "...back then what I made be so much longer on one side than the other. I didn't start getting them exactly right for a long while."[4] She completed her first quilts at 15 years old and is now regarded as one of the most precise quilt makers in the Soul's Grown Deep Foundation's Collection.[4]
References
^Beardsley, John; Arnett, William; Houston, Museum of Fine Arts; Livingston, Jane; Arnett, Paul; Wardlaw, Alvia J. (2002). The Quilts of Gee's Bend. Tinwood Books. p. 80. ISBN9780965376648.
