Minerva E. Hardy,
Lunenburg, Virginia,
1825

Sampler size:
21" x 17½"

Price: $22,000

Enlarged and Printer Version

Far fewer samplers were made in Virginia than in the northern states and we are pleased to offer this significant and recently discovered family record sampler from Lunenburg County, southern Virginia. Vincent Hardy was born in 1770 and in 1809 married, as his second wife, a widow, Sally O. Penn. Vincent was a farmer whose first wife had died in childbirth. The 1810 census shows the household and indicates that, along with the family, there were 12 slaves. Vincent and Sally became the parents of eight children born between 1809 and 1822 and it was their fourth child, Minerva Elizabeth, who made this large, outstanding sampler in 1825 when she was 11 years old.

At age 16 Minerva married Robert Blackwell, a merchant, from an early Virginia family. They had five children and remained in Lunenburg. Robert had died by 1860 and Minerva Hardy Blackwell was recorded by the 1860 census, listing her own occupation as farmer, with substantial real estate. The family lost one of their sons, Thomas Blackwell, in the Civil War. Minerva died in 1877 and her sampler descended in the family for many generations.

The family information is recorded on the top portion, a verse entitled "Benevolence" was worked in the center and the lower register features a splendid scene of houses, birds and trees on a lawn. It is all surrounded by a fine border of fat queen's-stitched strawberries with flower buds in the corners. The needlework is excellent throughout and indicates that Minerva would have been taught by an instructress of considerable talent. There are not, however, any other known Virginia samplers that resemble this one.

Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a mahogany veneer frame.

Considering buying this sampler?
We suggest you let us know that you are interested. We will be happy to:

You may contact us by phone, fax or email (see below) or complete our quick Contact Me form and we will respond promptly.

How to Buy
Includes information regarding payment, return privilege, and shipping to any location.