Think outside the box for unusual places for clues to your
genealogy! Or perhaps I should say, “Think outside of the book!”
Did you know that many samplers worked by young girls in years past often had
family trees or family registers? Did
you know that mourning pieces were often embroidered by young women, in memory
of a loved one who had passed away. All
these types of samplers and embroideries contain names, dates, places and other
clues valuable to genealogists.
I checked out this database last week. There is no browse
feature, so instead of being able to peruse the surnames I decided to put in “New
Hampshire” as a place name. Many hits
came up, including this sampler worked by Eliza Hills of Londonderry, with her
family carefully embroidered in cross stitch lettering. Once you have pulled up
a sampler of interest, you can hit “next” to browse the collection.
Each sampler in this collection has an enlargeable color photograph and a one line biography of the stitcher, some had a family sketch, description of the sampler, and every sampler had a list of each person on the piece. I counted over thirty samplers, from many states, and even one stitched by a little boy, James H. Hoadley, in Connecticut 1844!
REGISTER
John Hills Born Oct.
3. 1799. Married to Jane
Anderson Dec. 17.
1807. She was Born Feb. 5. 1785.
And by him hath the
following children
Names Births Deaths
Eliza Hills Born Sept. 27, 1808
Gilbert Hills Born May 20. 1811
Charles Hills Born Sept 23, 1813
Jane P. Hills Born Sept. 25, 1819
Next unto God Dear
Parents I address
Myself to you in
humble thankfulness
For all car and pans
on me bestow’d
The means of learning
unto me allow’d
Wrought by Eliza
Hills in the 12 year of her age
Londonderry Sept. 1,
1820
You just might find your family in a database or museum
collection like this. Many art museums
and historical societies have collections of samplers. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston has had
exhibits of samplers, and their website has an online database at this link:
http://www.mfa.org/search/collections
and type the word “sampler” into the search box.
I’ve also seen samplers at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and at the
Smithsonian Museums. Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth had a wonderful exhibit of nine samplers until February 1st (you just missed it!) They have a new exhibit open February 1 through April 25 "Needlework Samplers: Wrought by Tradition" that includes 72 samples from the 17th to the 20th century including the oldest sampler in the USA, the Loara Standish sampler. Keep your eyes open
for exhibits of antique samplers at galleries and museum. Watch online for samplers for sale in
auction catalogs, eBay and at antique shops.
Here is a second sampler I found at the NEHGS database, from
a border town of Londonderry. It was
wrought by Dolly Abbott of Litchfield, New Hampshire in 1817. It is a combination sampler/mourning piece if
you notice the embroidered gravestone of her little sister Mary T. Abbott, died
1815, at the bottom (not quite two years before she completed this sampler). This one also has the death dates for most of
the siblings, including herself in the black box. Someone must have embroidered in the death
dates later.
JONATHAN ABBOTT Born Jan
20. 1772 Married to REBEKAH MASSEY
April 1794 Who died Dec. 19 1795 in the 24th year
of her age
And to DOLLY PARKER Dec 31 1800 Who Was Born
Sept 12 1779 the following are the names of their CHILDREN
NAMES
BORN DIED
REBEKAH Nov. 21.
1795 July. 18.
1819
CLARISSA August.
20. 1801 Nov. 28. 1841
DOLLY
April. 19. 1803
April. 27. 1855
ELIZA April. 5. 1805 August 3, 1838
EMILY Sept. 18. 1807
THOMAS P. May. 14.
1810 May. 24.
1810
SALLY P. Sept.
13. 1855 Sept.
22. 1811
MARY T. June.
17. 1815 Nov. 7.
1815
My heart exults while to the attentive eye
The curious needle spreads the enamel’d dye
While varying shades of the Pleasing task beguile
My friends applaud me and my Parents smile
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Dolly Abbott Litchfield New Hampshire Sept 18, 1817
Other blog posts I have done on school girl embroidery:
Sarah Henshaw’s Embroidery, daughter of Elizabeth Bill (my 3rd cousin, 6 generations removed)
Phebe Munroe’s Sampler, 1844 (my great great grandmother)
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/09/phebes-sampler-1844.html
Both sampler photographs above are from
Family Tree
Samplers. Online database.
AmericanAncestors.org. New England
Historic Genealogical Society, 2013. (From the collection of Dan and Marty
Campanelli.)
Pilgrim Hall Museum,
75 Court Street,
Plymouth, Massachusetts
"Needlework Samplers: Wrought by Tradition" 72 samplers from the 17th to the 20th Century, including the Loara Standish sampler- February 1 - April 25, 7 days a week, 9:30 - 4:30.
http://www.pilgrimhallmuseum.org/
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The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/01/samplers-with-family-trees-and-family.html
Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
