Sampler verses have long fascinated those who study the needlework canvas. Here are a few with some of their connections to authors or other needlework references.
Words from the Past
Sampler, 1809 / Clarissa Bracket / Massachusetts / Silk on linen. Clarissa Bracket was nine when she stitched the well-known verses from "The Rose" written by Sir Isaac Watts (1674-1748). The first verse reads, "How fair is the rose what a beautiful flower/ the glory of April and May/ But the leaves are beginning to fade in an hour/And they wither and die in a day." Clarissa was born in Stoughton, Massachusetts, married Deacon Thomas Phillips in 1824, and died in 1886 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Gift of Mrs. Dorothy Richards Gale, great-great granddaughter of Clarissa Bracket)
Words from the Past
Sampler, 1816 / Elizabeth Ranson / Possibly Maine / Silk on linen. To date we cannot verify the collector and donor’s suggestion of Maine as Elizabeth Ranson’s residence. She stitched her appealing sampler in 1816 with a verse by Sir Isaac Watts based on Luke 10:27: "Love God with all your soul and strength/ With all your heart and mind/ And love your neighbour as yourself/ Be faithful just and kind." (Gift of Mr. and Mrs. C. D. Fentress, in memory of Mary L. Roys)
Words from the Past
Sampler, 1842 / Jane Elizabeth Smith / Possibly New Jersey or New York / Silk on linen. This sampler was in the New Jersey home of the donor’s mother for fifty years, but its origin is unknown. Seven-year-old Jane Elizabeth did her best to conform to this idealized view of sampler design. "A sampler/ resembles an/ elegant mind/ whose passion/ by reason sub/ dued and refin/ ed moves only/ in lines of affec/ tion and duty refl/ ecting a picture/ of order and beauty." This simile can be found as early as 1815 on a Quaker Female Association sampler. (Betty Ring, "Girlhood Embroidery," p.319) (Gift of Caroline Lareuse in memory of Mrs. E. Townsend Look)
Words from the Past
Sampler, 1802 / Jane Jessup / Orange County, New York / Silk on linen. Jane Jessup was born in Southampton, New York, but she spent most of her short life in Orange County. She married Isaac Jennings in 1813. In an undated letter, a descendant wrote, "The Jane Jessup who worked it is buried in our church yard & this A. M. I walked over to the tomb & read the inscription, 'died April 1824 aged 36 years...'" Jane stitched four verses from a hymn written by John Fawcett (1740-1817), a minister from Yorkshire, England. The first verse begins, "With humble heart and tongue/ My God to Thee I pray." (Courtesy of the Wisconsin Society, Daughters of the American Revolution. Fort Winnebago Surgeon’s Quarters, Portage Wisconsin. Staff Photo.)
Words from the Past
Sampler, 1838 / Rebecca Anderson / Bethlehem, New Jersey / Silk on linen. Thirteen-year-old Rebecca Anderson was the daughter of Daniel and Delilah Cox Anderson of Bethlehem, New Jersey. Nothing more has been discovered about Rebecca; her sampler descended in her sister’s family. The museum owns several samplers bearing the words of this popular verse, but none feature more charming details. The verse often appears with variations, but it is immediately recognizable from the first few words: "Jesus permit thy gracious name to stand." (Gift of Theodore Weller Dawes, great-nephew of Rebecca Anderson)
Words from the Past
Sampler, 1835 / Ann Catharine Markey / Frederick, Maryland / Silk and cotton on linen. Ann Catharine Markey was twelve when she stitched her sampler. Her mother was the well-known quiltmaker Anna Catherine Hummel Markey Garnhart. The verse on her sampler comes from the third stanza of "Isle of Beauty Fare Thee Well" written by Thomas Bayley (1797-1839), a popular English songwriter. "What would I not give to Wander/ Where my old Companions dwell/ Absence makes the heart grow fonder/ Isle of Beauty Fare thee Well" (Ann Catharine omitted the word “fonder” –line 3) (Gift of Mary C. Buynitzky)
Words from the Past
Sampler, 1817 / Harriet B. Cheesmon / Probably Salem or Cumberland County, New Jersey / Silk on linen. In 1963 this sampler was located in Cedarville, a town in Cumberland County, New Jersey. It is virtually identical in design to a sampler by Ann Seagrave made in adjoining Salem County and owned by Odessa Properties. Although the verses differ, the maker’s identification blocks are the same except for dates and names. Harriet’s reads: "Harriet B. Cheesmon was born November/ the 6th 1803 did this work in the 14th year/ of her age 1817 being the 41st year of A-/merican Independence. April 10th 1817." (Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ellzey)
