Lydia Ann Ingham, Essex, Connecticut, 1830
Price: $4200, Sampler size: 16" x 17½"

Born in 1819, Lydia Ann Ingham was the eldest child of Hon. Samuel and Lydia (Wilson) Ingham. Samuel Ingham (1793-1881) was a prominent lawyer and judge who held many important public offices and rose to become a viable candidate for governor of Connecticut. The History of Middlesex County Connecticut 1635 – 1885 by J.H. Beers & Co. includes a full biography of Hon. Samuel Ingham, indicating that he was noted for his imposing presence and powerful voice and the "deadly precision" of his mind. Amongst the positions the Hon. Ingham held are Speaker of the House of Representatives, member of State Senate and Congress and Commissioner of Customs in the Treasury Department in Washington.

Lydia made this handsome sampler in July of 1830 at age10. In 1845 she married the Hon. James Phelps, of Colebrook, Connecticut who had studied law under her father and then rose to become a well respected and prominent lawyer as well. James was a member of the State Legislature and was elected to an eight year term as Judge of the Superior Court of the Connecticut. The same history of Middlesex County noted his strength of character and his integrity. Lydia and James were the parents of two sons, Samuel and James. The family lived in Essex, a part of Saybrook, Connecticut and appears in the 1850 though 1880 census records, living in the later years with Lydia's father, Samuel Ingham.

Lydia's sampler is a classic example of a house and scene sampler from the early 19th century. Her large three-story house sits amidst various trees on a shaded lawn. This house is depicted differently than many as it seems that Lydia tried to incorporate a three-quarter view into a frontal view, as is evident at the left side of the house. She was 11 years old when she finished this in July of 1830 and the needlework is excellent, with carefully worked lettering and many little motifs at the end of each line.

Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted into a beveled maple frame with a cherry bead.