Ellen Morton Littlejohn

Ellen Morton Littlejohn (c. 1826 - 1899) was an enslaved African-American quilt maker.

Life Littlejohn was enslaved by Marmaduke Beckwith Morton, who owned an estate called "The Knob" in Russellville, Kentucky. Her mother, "Aunt Eve", had raised Morton and eleven of his siblings, before he went on to own Eve and her daughters, Ellen and Margaret. Littlejohn was known as "Aunt Ellen" during her life. It was made around 1850. Scholars think the "Whig roses" design was a nod to the Whig Party, with which the Morton family was affiliated. For many years, the quilt had been attributed to Elizabeth, but examination of the quilt's back revealed a note which attributed the quilt's creation to enslaved women in the household.