Textiles

The 50,000 objects in the textile collections fall into two main categories: raw fibers, yarns, and fabrics, and machines, tools, and other textile technology. Shawls, coverlets, samplers, laces, linens, synthetics, and other fabrics are part of the first group, along with the 400 quilts in the National Quilt Collection. Some of the Museum's most popular artifacts, such as the Star-Spangled Banner and the gowns of the first ladies, have an obvious textile connection.

The machinery and tools include spinning wheels, sewing machines, thimbles, needlework tools, looms, and an invention that changed the course of American agriculture and society. A model of Eli Whitney's cotton gin, made by the inventor in the early 1800s, shows the workings of a machine that helped make cotton plantations profitable in the South and encouraged the spread of slavery.

This sampler features two script alphabets to “X,” and there are also two block alphabets: one with 26 letters and one to “W” with “NOPQ” not worked but a space left for them.
Description
This sampler features two script alphabets to “X,” and there are also two block alphabets: one with 26 letters and one to “W” with “NOPQ” not worked but a space left for them. At the bottom of the sampler, is a two-story house (in perspective) with a tall pointed tree and a spreading tree behind an ornamental fence, which has reverse-curved sections between fence-posts topped by urns. The house on Diana Austin’s sampler could be her home or the home of her teacher. She showed advanced technique by using surface stitches for her trees and not cross stitch. Diana included the inscription:

“Diana Austins Sampler
Marked AD 1827 Aged 8
PENFIELD NY”
The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 39, weft 46/ in. The stitches used are cross, detached chain, four-sided, Algerian eye, buttonhole, outline, and satin.
Jotham Austin from Vermont, married Hannah Case. At some point they moved to Penfield, New York, where Jotham died in March 1830 and Hannah died on May 11, 1830. They had eight children. Two of them made samplers, Diana (b. May 9, 1819) and Sabrina P. (b. March 13, 1824). Libbeus Ross, who was married to Hannah’s daughter Honoria Austin, was appointed guardian of the family according to Hannah’s will, dated March 15, 1830.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1827
maker
Austin, Diana
ID Number
TE.T14276
catalog number
T14276
accession number
276184
The entire text on this sampler is worked in black silk, using color only for the border and one crossband. The top center contains a 3 x 3 ½” space that is outlined with basting stitches in tan silk, but is completely empty.
Description
The entire text on this sampler is worked in black silk, using color only for the border and one crossband. The top center contains a 3 x 3 ½” space that is outlined with basting stitches in tan silk, but is completely empty. It probably was intended to contain a memorial monument or urn. Working the sampler in black indicated death and including a Bible passage on a sampler was common as most families owned that book. The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 27, weft 28/in. The stitches used are cross and crosslet.
The sampler maker did not include her name, but was honoring a well respected minister. Samuel Hopkins was born on October 31, 1729, and married Sarah Porter on February 17, 1756. She was a widow with five children, and they had nine more children. After Sarah died, Samuel married Margaret Stoddard on October 16, 1776, and they had one child. He was ordained as the fourth minister of the church in Hadley, Massachusetts on February 26, 1755, and served until February of 1809, when he was struck with a paralysis which impaired his mental faculties. He died on March 8, 1811.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.E388183
catalog number
E388183
accession number
182022
This sampler features two block alphabets of 26 letters, with numbers to 8.
Description
This sampler features two block alphabets of 26 letters, with numbers to 8. Below the alphabets is the inscription:

“Sally Precinda Chaffee 1849
11 years of Age”
This sampler was not done on fabric but on perforated paper, a light weight card that first became available in the 1820s and was commonly used for bookmarks and mottos. The sampler is stitched with cotton and wool embroidery thread on perforated paper with a count of 15/in. The stitches used are cross and tent.
Sally Precinda Chaffee was born on September 6, 1838, to Samuel and Ursula Selenda James Chaffee in Berkshire, Franklin county, Vermont. She died unmarried on August 30, 1857, in Berkshire, Vermont.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1849
maker
Chaffee, Sally Precinda
ID Number
TE.T09688
catalog number
T9688
accession number
173352
This sampler features a monument, rendered in perspective, flanked by two small trees and a flowering plant.
Description
This sampler features a monument, rendered in perspective, flanked by two small trees and a flowering plant. On the top of the sampler is the inscription:
“So fadef[s] the
lovely blooming
flower

Cut of in lifef[s]
erlief[s]t hour.”
On the monument is the inscription:
“In Memory
of
Sarah Pervier
who died 16th
of April 1826
aged 8 monthf[s]”
The monument represents death and Lydia’s inscription on the top comes from two different sources. The first line is by Anne Steele (1716-1778) from a poem entitled “On the Death of a Child” and the second line is from a hymn that is part of the Catholic liturgy for the feast of Holy Innocents (December 28). The sampler is stitched with silk and cotton embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 44, weft 44/ in. The stitches used are cross, satin, chain, and detached chain.
Nothing is known about the life of Lydia Marden.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1826-1836
maker
Marden, Lydia
ID Number
TE.E388181
catalog number
E388181
accession number
182022
Below family record, pyramidal monument (memorial to deceased sister) flanked by rosebushes and butterflies, under weeping willow tree, on ground-line worked in "crinkled" silk. To left of monument, verse in square outline, all lettering black.
Description
Below family record, pyramidal monument (memorial to deceased sister) flanked by rosebushes and butterflies, under weeping willow tree, on ground-line worked in "crinkled" silk. To left of monument, verse in square outline, all lettering black. Border of geometric flowering vine on all four sides. Silk embroidery thread on linen ground. STITCHES: cross, crosslet, satin, stem. THREAD COUNT: warp 28, weft 31/in.
Inscriptions:
"A Family Reccord
Nathaniel and Margaret Pof[s]ey
The Parent's of thof[s]e Children
SoPhia Maria Pof[s]ey born Oct 8th 1813
Fredrick Jerome Pof[s]ey born Feb 28 1815
Margaret Pof[s]ey born Dec 19th 1816
John Pittf[s] Pof[s]ey born Oct 12 1818
Mary Jane Pof[s]ey born Dec 3d 1820
Hester Ann Pof[s]ey born Dec 28 1822
Nathaniel Boliver Pof[s]ey born April 11 1827
Henry Clay Pof[s]ey born Aug 14 1829"
To left of monument in square:
"Weep not my frien
df[s]. af[s] you paff[ss] by.
af[s] you are now. f[s]o
once Waf[s] I. af[s] i
am now. So you
muf[s]t be. prepare
to meet me in
Eternity."
Embroidered on the monument are the following words:
"sacred
to The -
Memory of
Margaret Posey
Who died Feb 2
A.D. 1824 aged 8 YS
1 Month and 14 days
Below monument:
"Hester. Ann. Poseyf[s] Sampler Finished in the 15.th
year of her age. A.D. 1837."
Background:
Hester was born on December 28, 1822, to Nathaniel and Margaret Posey in Baltimore, MD. Nathaniel and Margaret Kemp were married on October 9, 1812, in Frederick, Maryland. Hester was a teacher and did not marry. She died November 7, 1916 in Frederick, MD.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1837
maker
Posey, Hester Ann
ID Number
TE.E365238
catalog number
E365238.000
accession number
124238
Betsey’s sampler includes three distinguishing features of Rhode Island samplers; trumpeting angels with embroidered faces, queen stitch flowers, and a three-story house.
Description
Betsey’s sampler includes three distinguishing features of Rhode Island samplers; trumpeting angels with embroidered faces, queen stitch flowers, and a three-story house. Below the house, flanking flowers and birds is the verse:
“While hof[s]tile foes
our coaf[s]ts Invade
in all the pomp of
war arrayd Ameri
cans be not dismayd
nor fear the f[s]word
or GUn

While Innocence is
all our pride and vir
tue is our only Guide
Women would f[s]corn
to be defyd if led by
WASHINGTON”
This verse on Betsy’s sampler offers a rare opportunity to discover the political thinking of a young girl during the Revolutionary War. She is showing a brave female defiance of Britain and an unwavering faith in George Washington, the commander of the Continental Army. Betsy undoubtedly was influenced by her father who was a privateer during the Revolutionary War. At the bottom of the sampler, flanked by queen stitch flowers, is a cartouche with the inscription:

“Betf[s]y
Bucklin Her
Work Septe
mber
1781”
It is not known who the author of the inscriptions is. The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 25, weft 23/in. The stitches used are cross, crosslet, queen, rice, straight, fly, stem, tent, and gobelin.
Betsy [Elizabeth] Bucklin was born on September 20, 1768, in Providence, Rhode Island to Capt. Daniel and Eliza Carpenter Bucklin. On November 11, 1792, Betsy married Samuel Eddy. They had three children - Martha, Jonathan, and Elizabeth. She died of consumption on October 27, 1799, in Providence, Rhode Island.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1781
maker
Bucklin, Betsy
ID Number
2008.0159.01
catalog number
2008.0159.01
accession number
2008.0159
This sampler features two block alphabets of 26 letters, with numbers to 4. The letters and numbers are all stitched at random in different colors, and all the rows are separated by simple geometric crossbands.
Description
This sampler features two block alphabets of 26 letters, with numbers to 4. The letters and numbers are all stitched at random in different colors, and all the rows are separated by simple geometric crossbands. Julia was only learning the basics needed for plain sewing by making a sampler with just alphabets and numbers. On the bottom she included the inscription:

“Julia Lacey St Vince Sch”>br>
Julia worked her sampler while attending St. Vincent’s school for orphans in Washington, D.C. The sampler is stitched with wool embroidery thread on a cotton canvas ground with a thread count of warp 23, weft 26/in. The stitches used are cross, and crosslet.
Julia Winona Lacey was born in Washington, D.C., in 1840 and married Almanza Layton, who was born on June 1837. They had four children - Esther (c.1860-), Fanny (1862-), Florence (1864-), and Catherine (c.1865-). Julia died in 1874.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1848
maker
Lacey, Julia Winona
ID Number
TE.T08869
catalog number
T8869
accession number
164049
This sampler features one Hebrew alphabet of 21 consonants.
Description
This sampler features one Hebrew alphabet of 21 consonants. (Vowels were not included in the Hebrew alphabet.) The inscription on the bottom includes a first initial, the last name, and date: “B Holländer 1845.” The sampler was stitched with silk embroidery thread on a cotton ground with a thread count of warp 35, weft 35/in. It is very similar to the sampler stitched by B Lazarus 1843. These may have been done at the same school. There are very few known Jewish samplers and these are a welcome addition to the collection.
B Holländer has not yet been identified.
date made
1845
maker
Hollander, B.
ID Number
2011.0040.01
catalog number
2011.0040.01
accession number
2011.0040
The verse that Mary Eddy included on her sampler was written by an English poet named William Oland (1723-85) around 1763.
Description
The verse that Mary Eddy included on her sampler was written by an English poet named William Oland (1723-85) around 1763. It was probably selected by her teacher, and the verses were generally chosen to express the ideals to which young ladies should aspire to, according to her contemporary society.
“The Contraf[s]t
Virtue alone has that to give,
Which makes it joy to die or live
But vice can only that supply
Which makes it pain to live or die.”
The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 27, weft 32/in. The stitches used are cross, crosslet, tent, Algerian eye, and stem.
Mary Eddy was born on April 16, 1804, to Samuel and his second wife Martha Wheaton Eddy in Providence, Rhode Island. Samuel Eddy’s first wife was Betsy Bucklin. (See Betsy Bucklin’s sampler.) Mary married William Chase (1786-1875) as his second wife on March 15, 1854. They did not have any children.
date made
1816
maker
Eddy, Mary
ID Number
2008.0161.01
catalog number
2008.0161.01
accession number
2008.0161
Embroidered sampler worked in 1830 by 11-year old Mary Harrison of Alexandria, Virginia. In upper half of sampler, flanking verses, flowering plant with birds flying overhead, and lady and gentleman under tree.
Description
Embroidered sampler worked in 1830 by 11-year old Mary Harrison of Alexandria, Virginia. In upper half of sampler, flanking verses, flowering plant with birds flying overhead, and lady and gentleman under tree. Man wears short flared coat and carries cane; lady wears elaborate hat, long-sleeved dress, and pantalettes, and carries small bag with long ribbon straps and what appears to be furled parasol. In lower half, large flat-roofed building with tall windows and columns. On flat roof recessed second story also flat-roofed but with large semicircular window. Building stands on lawn (or hill) flanked by trees, urns of flowers, and spotted dog. Border of geometric strawberry vine on all four sides. Silk embroidery thread on linen ground. STITCHES: cross, crosslet, queen, satin, double cross, four-sided, chain, stem. THREAD COUNT: warp 29, weft 31/in.
Inscriptions:
"What iS the blooming fair
And tincture of the Skin
to Peace of mind from care
And harmony within
Sickness and age will blaSt
All outward charmeS away
Virtue will Sooth at last
in deathS tremendiouS day
See the Kind Shepherd JeSuS StandS
with all engaging charmeS
Hark how he calls his tender lambs
And folds them in his arms
Mary Harrison Aged Eleven Years
Alexandria July 1830"
Background:
Mary Harrison was born September 18, 1818, to John and Elizabeth Carlin Harrison of Alexandria, Virginia She married December 28, 1842, Isaac Kell (1814-1864). She died June 30, 1906.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1830
maker
Harrison, Mary
ID Number
TE.T14710
catalog number
T14710
accession number
280469
The lettering on Elizabeth’s sampler is in black silk, and the whole sampler is framed by vines with leaves and flowers worked in various pulled thread patterns.
Description
The lettering on Elizabeth’s sampler is in black silk, and the whole sampler is framed by vines with leaves and flowers worked in various pulled thread patterns. She included the inscription:

"Elizabeth Pitman in
her 12th year 1802
And am I born to die, to lay this body down
And muf[s]t my trembling f[s]pirit fly into a world
unknown"
(Most of the verse had disappeared; however it is a standard verse on samplers of the period, Hymns for Children (1763) by Charles Wesley.) Charles Wesley wrote over two thousand hymns during his lifetime, and Elizabeth Pitman chose one that was often used on samplers on the imminence of death. The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 44, weft 44/in. The stitches used are cross, rice, Algerian eye, eyelet, outline, stem, and pulled thread. Elizabeth’s sampler came to the Smithsonian in very poor condition, but is important for research because of the pulled thread work on it and because it is a rare Southern sampler.
Elizabeth Pitman was born on November 30, 1790, to Andrew and Francis Frankey Pitman in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She married Isaac Mytinger on July 16, 1807, and sometime after his death on May 26, 1814, she married Anthony Huffman (1784-1861). They had seven children - David (1815-), Frances C. (1816-), John Morgan (1821-), Caroline Matilda (1825-), Edward (1828-), Ann Elizabeth (1830-), and Asburina Cornelia (1833-). She died on September 3, 1870.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1802
maker
Pitman, Elizabeth
ID Number
TE.T12180
catalog number
T12180
accession number
233455
This sampler features nine rectangles that are outlined by cross-stitch and satin sawtooth bands. The center and corner rectangles contain flowers and strawberries with some worked in crinkled silk.
Description
This sampler features nine rectangles that are outlined by cross-stitch and satin sawtooth bands. The center and corner rectangles contain flowers and strawberries with some worked in crinkled silk. The flower and strawberry motifs on this sampler indicate nature and a perfect fruit: the strawberry has no rind or pit to throw away. The verses and inscription are in the remaining four rectangles, reading from the top center, to the right center, to the left center, back to the lower part of the right center, and then to the bottom center, resulting in jumps from one rectangle to another where words did not fit the space. The words are worked in green and yellow thread, except for the name “Phebe Hoopes,” which is worked in the only black thread used on the sampler. The inscriptions are:

“Waz[s]h Lord ANd
PUrIFY MY Heart
ANd MaKe It CleaN
IN EVerY Part ANd
WheN It IS CleaN
LOrd KeeP It SO
FOr That IS MOre
ThaN I CaN DO
The LOSS OF TIMe
IS MUCh The LOSS
OF Truth IS MOre
The LOSS OF ChrISt
IS SUCh That NO

MaN CaN ReStOre
POOR State of JaCob
Here It SeeMS TO Me
The CattLe FOUNd
AS SOFt A Bed AS He
Yet GOd APPeared
There HIS JOY ANd
CrOWN GOd IS NOt
ALwaYS FOUNd ON
BedS OF DOWN

The Bed WaS
Earth The RaIsed
PILLar StONe
WhereON POOR
JaCOb ReSt HIS
Head ALONe
HeaVeN WaS HIS
CaNOPY The Shades
OF NIGht WaS
HIS DraWN CUrtaIN
TO EXCLUde The
LIGht ThIS WOrK

IN HaND MY FrIeNdS
MaY HaVe WHeN I aM
IN The SILeNt GraVe

Sarah HOOPes
DauGhter OF Abram
ANd SUSaNNa HooPeS
Her WOrK doN
IN The 14th Year OF
Her AGe 1799
ReeSe HOOPeS
DaNIeL HOOPeS
ALICe HOOPeS
Phebe HOOPeS
AP EJ(?) PH SH”
The four verses that Sarah Hoopes included reflect the emphasis of her time on piety and the brevity of life. Even though Sarah’s sampler came to the Smithsonian in poor condition, it is important to the study of these compartmented verse and flower samplers that were worked only in Philadelphia. The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 51, weft 46/in. The stitches used are cross, satin, stem, and outline.
Sarah Hoopes was born on December 25, 1785, to Abraham (1755-1807) and Susanna McNees (1752-1834) Hoopes of Newtown, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Her father was a shoemaker. She lists the names of her two brothers, Reese and Daniel, and her two sisters, Alice and Phebe, on her sampler. There are other initials under Phebe’s name. She died unmarried.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1799
maker
Hoopes, Sarah
ID Number
TE.T11163
catalog number
T11163
accession number
203959
This sampler features a picture of two children, a dog, a parrot, and a butterfly in a garden with a floral border. A dog symbolizes fidelity and watchfulness, a parrot suggests talkativeness, and a butterfly symbolizes immortality.
Description
This sampler features a picture of two children, a dog, a parrot, and a butterfly in a garden with a floral border. A dog symbolizes fidelity and watchfulness, a parrot suggests talkativeness, and a butterfly symbolizes immortality. These are appropriate motifs to go with young children. Mary worked her sampler in Patterson, New Jersey. Patterson was home to many textiles mills in 1840 and that may have been the reason her family came to live there. Her pattern was probably a Berlin wool work pattern. In 1820 with the introduction of Berlin wools comes the name Berlin wool work patterns. These patterns were hand painted on graph paper. The sampler is stitched with wool and silk embroidery thread on a cotton canvas ground with a thread count of warp 24, weft 24/in. The stitches used are cross, crosslet.
Mary Louisa McCully was a cousin of Frank H. McCully, in whose memory the sampler was donated to the Smithsonian.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840
maker
McCully, Mary Louisa
ID Number
TE.T08229
catalog number
T8229
accession number
147229
This sampler features a footed bowl on a square base, holding a large bouquet of flowers. One flower has been shaded with dark red and orange-red paint over the stitches.
Description
This sampler features a footed bowl on a square base, holding a large bouquet of flowers. One flower has been shaded with dark red and orange-red paint over the stitches. Jane included the inscription:

“These violets scent the distant gale;
They grew in lowly bed,
So real worth new merit gains,
By diffidence o’erspread:
Jane Winter Price
But as the fragrant myrtle wreath,
Will all the rest survive:
So shall the mental graces still,
Through endless ages live.”
To accompany her large bouquet of flowers, Jane Price used stanzas 2 and 9 from a verse accompanying a nosegay found in an English reader published in 1816. A small bouquet of flowers often given as a gift was known as a nosegay. The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 25, weft 28/ in. The stitches used are chain, stem, surface satin, cross, outline, herringbone, crosslet, and French knot.
Jane Winter was born on March 17, 1818, to Richard and Catherine Winter Dunnington Price in Charles County, Maryland. She married Josiah Woods McHenry (b. May 14, 1815 in Christianburg, Virginia) on February 27, 1849, in Shelby, Alabama. They moved to Union Springs, Arkansas and had four children - Catherine Price (1850-), Barnabas Middleton (1852-), George Richard (1854-), and Jane Cornelia (1856-). By the 1870 census they were living in Homer, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, and she died there on January 11, 1899.
date made
1828-1835
maker
Price, Jane Winter
ID Number
TE.T12732
catalog number
T12732
accession number
241104
In the center section, a two and one half story house is flanked by birds on trees and flower baskets. The house on Laura Stone’s sampler may have some important meaning to her.
Description
In the center section, a two and one half story house is flanked by birds on trees and flower baskets. The house on Laura Stone’s sampler may have some important meaning to her. To achieve the look of bricks, she stitched two cross stitches over two threads by two threads and then left a single thread blank. She also left a single thread blank between each row of stitches. The flower baskets symbolize friendship and love, and the birds on the trees would indicate her love of nature. The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 46, weft 40/in. The stitches used are cross, satin, chain, detached chain, Algerian eye, stem, and eyelet. This sampler has been attributed by descendants to Laura Stone.
Laura Stone was born June 22, 1806, to Amaziah and Fanny Hall Stone in Chesterfield, New Hampshire. She married John P. Henry (1806 –1847) in 1834. They had six children - Maria Abigail (1836-), John Harfield (1838-), Elizabeth Laura (1840-), Charles E. (1842-), James S. (1844-), and George L. (1846-). She married David Holman in 1850, and she died on March 21, 1863. Harlan Fiske Stone (Chief Justice of the United States 1941-1946) was the grandson of her twin brother Lauson Stone.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1830
maker
Stone, Laura
ID Number
TE.T17766
catalog number
T17766
accession number
315495
This sampler features an alphabet, numbers, flowers, baskets, birds, and trees all worked in cross stitch, while the background is completely filled in with long vertical stitches.
Description
This sampler features an alphabet, numbers, flowers, baskets, birds, and trees all worked in cross stitch, while the background is completely filled in with long vertical stitches. The flower baskets symbolize friendship and love, and the birds on the trees would indicate her love of nature. The figure within the cartouche is balanced by a four-storied building, which may depict the school or academy that inspired the design. The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of 26/in warp, 24/in weft. The stitches used are cross, satin, chain, French knots, and straight. Rachel included the inscription:

Alas how transient all our earthly store
To-day we bloom tomorrow are no more
Rachel Breck / aged 11
Rachel Breck also stitched a silk embroidery in 1810 entitled “Charity” at the Misses Patten School in Hartford, Connecticut.
Rachel Breck was born July 22, 1792, to Joseph Hunt (1766-1801), a silversmith, and Abigail Kingsley (c1766-1846) Breck of Northampton, Massachusetts. In 1819 Rachel married George Hooker who was born 1798 to John and Sarah (Dwight) Hooker of Northampton. He went to Yale, class of 1814 and was a physician who resided in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. They had 8 children born between 1820 and 1833 and Rachel died in January 6,1879.
date made
1803
maker
Breck, Rachel
ID Number
2011.0256.01
catalog number
2011.0256.01
accession number
2011.0256
There is a wide floral crossband at the center of the sampler, worked with crinkled silk thread in long, couched stitches.
Description
There is a wide floral crossband at the center of the sampler, worked with crinkled silk thread in long, couched stitches. At the bottom of the sampler are three large and two small floral motifs, and among them these initials: “WB SB CB JB.” All four edges are finished with wide green silk ribbon. Mary Bishop included an inscription and the names Joseph Bishop, Mary Bishop, and Sarah Bishop.
Inscription: "In the sightless are I dwell / On the sloping sunbeams pley / Delve the cavern’s inmost cell / Where never yet did daylight stray / Joseph Bishop / Mary Bishop / Sarah Bishop."
Mary’s inscription is from a poem entitled “Song of a Spirit” by Ann Ward Radcliffe (1764-1823). Mrs. Radcliffe was a popular English writer in her day and this poem is from her 1791 historical Gothic romance novel The Romance of the Forest. The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 28, weft 30/in. The stitches used are cross, satin, eyelet, rice, stem, outline, and crosslet.
Despite including the names of possibly her mother and father, nothing could be found about the life of Mary Bishop.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800-1825
maker
Bishop, Mary
ID Number
TE.T15008
catalog number
T15008
accession number
286272
This sampler features a two story house with windows and two chimneys on a stepped hill with grazing sheep. The stepped hill can be found on samplers from Philadelphia, western Maryland and New Jersey.
Description
This sampler features a two story house with windows and two chimneys on a stepped hill with grazing sheep. The stepped hill can be found on samplers from Philadelphia, western Maryland and New Jersey. There is a center angel and two apple baskets are on either side above the inscription. The motif of an angel means a messenger of God and the apple baskets often represent fertility and wealth. There is a three-sided geometric border, with queen stitch strawberries and leaves. (a more difficult stitch) The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 28, weft 28/in. The stitches used are cross, queen, satin, and straight.
Elizabeth Throckmorton was born on October 18, 1795, in Monmouth County, New Jersey to Holmes (c.1759 –1821) and Susannah Forman (1762-1820) Throckmorton. Her father served in the American Revolution for three years. She married John Britton on November 18, 1813, and they had three children - John, Mary, and Catharine. Her husband John died c.1822-1823. She married Tobias Worrel on October 26, 1824, and they had a daughter Jane. According to the 1840 census they were then living in Des Moines, Iowa.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1804-1806
maker
Throckmorton, Elizabeth
ID Number
1990.0477.01
catalog number
1990.0477.01
accession number
1990.0477
At bottom of the sampler is an unfinished two-story house with two baskets and an urn of flowers, on a ground of straight stitches shaded like Florentine patterns. Margaret Arndt stitched a common proverb that reflected the importance at that time of one’s salvation in Christ.
Description
At bottom of the sampler is an unfinished two-story house with two baskets and an urn of flowers, on a ground of straight stitches shaded like Florentine patterns. Margaret Arndt stitched a common proverb that reflected the importance at that time of one’s salvation in Christ. The inscription reads:

“The LOSE of a FaThEr IS MUSh
BUT The LOZE OF a MOTher IS MOOR
BUT the LOSE OF ChrIST IS SUCh
AS NONe CAN RE STOre
DONe IN MY AELEVe
Nth YeAr OF my
Age the YeAr OF
OUR LOrd ONe ThOUSaNd 1815
Margaret Arndt”
The sampler is stitched with silk and cotton embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 27, weft 29/in. The stitches used are cross, chain, Algerian eye, satin, stem, outline, buttonhole, straight, crosslet, slanted gobelin, and hem.
Margaret Arndt, born ca. 1804 in Pennsylvania, married on June 11, 1833, as the second wife of Henry DeHuff (1794 - 1854). They had six children - Catherine (c.1834-), Jacob A. (c.1836-), Abraham (c.1838-), Anna (1840-), Susannah (c.1845-), and John (c.1848-).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1815
maker
Arndt, Margaret
ID Number
TE.T16418
catalog number
T16418
accession number
304266
Lucretia added to her basic marking sampler a decoration of flowering plants, which stand for nature. It is hemstitched on all sides with dark thread.
Description
Lucretia added to her basic marking sampler a decoration of flowering plants, which stand for nature. It is hemstitched on all sides with dark thread. Lucretia included the inscription: “Lucretia M Hand.” The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 32, weft 39/in. The stitches used are: cross, Algerian eye, back, queen, and hem.
Lucretia M. Hand was born on October 7, 1799, in Sag Harbor (Long Island), New York to Jared (1762-) and Beulah Hedges (1769 –1828) Hand. On July 30, 1823, she married, Dr. George Washington Harris of Greenport, Long Island. She died on Long Island in 1863.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1810
maker
Hand, Lucretia M.
ID Number
TE.T14845
catalog number
T14845
accession number
282859
This sampler features two block alphabets with a lower case backward “j,” She included the following inscription:“Bestow dear Lord upon our youthThe gift of saving graceAnd let the seed of sacred truthFall in a fruitful placeCaroline Quick 1841”Caroline Quick’s inscription is fro
Description
This sampler features two block alphabets with a lower case backward “j,” She included the following inscription:
“Bestow dear Lord upon our youth
The gift of saving grace
And let the seed of sacred truth
Fall in a fruitful place
Caroline Quick 1841”
Caroline Quick’s inscription is from a hymn, Prayer for a Blessing by English poet William Cowper (1731-1800). Stitching such a verse on her sampler was a way for Caroline to receive religious instruction. The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 22, weft 25/ in. The stitches used are cross, four-sided, double cross, queen, Algerian eye, and crosslet.
Caroline Quick (c.1831) was the daughter of Reuben and Elizabeth Quick and was born in Ulster County, Marlborough, New York. In the 1880 New York census she was living with George and Timna Quick Woolsey. Timna was a sister to Caroline, and George and Timna were the parents of donor Harriet Woolsey Gardner, Mrs. Daniel Gardner.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1841
maker
Quick, Caroline
ID Number
TE.H37549
catalog number
H37549
accession number
115031
The name “Betsy Bruce” appears at end of one alphabet. Below the alphabets is the inscription:"Seize Mortals seize the present hour Lifes a short summerMan’s a flower he dies alas how soon he dies. E. B.
Description
The name “Betsy Bruce” appears at end of one alphabet. Below the alphabets is the inscription:
"Seize Mortals seize the present hour Lifes a short summer
Man’s a flower he dies alas how soon he dies. E. B. 14 Y.”
The “E.B.” may stand for her sister Eveline Bruce who died July 21, 1817.
Betsy Bruce’s inscription is an adaptation of an Ode for Winter by English poet Samuel Johnson (1709-1784). The sampler is stitched with silk and cotton embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 22, weft 22/ in. The stitches used are cross, Algerian eye, and crosslet
Betsy Bruce was born on September 2, 1809, in Marlborough, Vermont to Rev. Mansfield and Grace Goddard Bruce. She married Origen Smith (1810-1884) on May 11, 1837. They had two children - Irenaeus OP born on February 5, 1841, and Elizabeth, born c.1845. Betsy died on October 4, 1882.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1822-1824
maker
Bruce, Betsy
ID Number
TE.T7729A
catalog number
T7729A
accession number
139053
This sampler features six block alphabets: five of 26 letters and one double. All the rows are separated by simple geometric crossbands.
Description
This sampler features six block alphabets: five of 26 letters and one double. All the rows are separated by simple geometric crossbands. Mary Stabler’s sampler is an example of a marking sampler that consisted predominately of alphabets and numbers, and was usually the first sampler a young lady stitched. Alphabets were used to mark linens for identification. Mary included the inscription:

“Mary P Stabler’s
Work
Aged 11 Alexandria”
The sampler is stitched with silk and cotton embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 28, weft 29/in. The stitches used are: cross, crosslet, four-sided, double cross, rice, Algerian eye, queen, and herringbone.
Mary Pleasants Stabler was born on January 30, 1809, to Edward and Mary Hartshorne Stabler in Alexandria, Virginia. In 1835 she married John Leadbeater and they had eight children - Edward S., Lucy, Mary G., Alice, Anna, Alice, William, and Thomas. Mary died on August 9, 1863. See her daughter Anna Leadbeater’s samplers.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1819-1821
maker
Stabler, Mary P.
ID Number
TE.T12610
catalog number
T12610
accession number
235642
Man in fawn-colored fall-front trousers, short blue jacket decorated with faceted gilt beads, and tall dark hat.
Description
Man in fawn-colored fall-front trousers, short blue jacket decorated with faceted gilt beads, and tall dark hat. On his arm, lady wearing long dress with wide white collar and blue bonnet tied with long bonnet-strings; she carries parasol and reticule and wears necklace or chain of gilt beads. To right of couple, blue-domed building (temple?) with tall columns on hill above pond, with two deer and flowering bush; to left of couple large tree and under it, sheep and dog. In each upper corner, bluebird under grapevine; children's names enclosed in panel outlined by wave band. Grapes on vines in upper corners worked by coiling purple thread and tacking down each coil in two or three places. Border on all four sides, straight vine bearing roses and rose buds. Silk embroidery thread on linen ground. STITCHES: cross, crosslet, chain, four-sided, French knot. THREAD COUNT: warp 28, weft 28/in.
Inscriptions:
"FAMILY RECORD
Mr Levi Ingersoll was born Dec 26th 1775
Miss Sarah Hubbard was born Jan 2nd 1779
They were united in marriage Jan 31 1802
THEIR DESCENDANTS
Hannah Ingersoll was born Jan 30th 1803
Eliza Ingersoll was born Oct 30th 1804
Ann Ingersoll was born Nov 1st 1806
Henry H Ingersoll was born Feb 25th 1809
Charles Ingersoll was born Jan 23rd 1811
Jane Ingersoll was born July 1st 1815
Mary Ingersoll was born Sept 27th 1819 [last 2 numbers replaced or filled in later]
Sarah Ingersoll was born Feb 10th 1821 [last number replaced or filled in later]
By Miss Mary Ingersoll in the 9th year of her age New York 1830" [number 9 replaced or filled in later]
Background:
Mary was born on September 27, 1819, to Levi and Sarah Hubbard Ingersoll in Pound Ridge, New York. She died unmarried on April 18, 1889.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1830
associated dates
1990-03-26
maker
Ingersoll, Mary
ID Number
1990.0146.01
catalog number
1990.0146.01
accession number
1990.0146

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