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Hannah Merrell, Barkhamsted, Litchfield Co., Connecticut, 1829
Hannah Merrell states on her fine sampler that she was born April 21st 1819, and that she made it in 1829 in Barkhamsted. She was the daughter of George and Hannah (Howd) Merrell. They lived in Barkhamsted, a fine and hilly small town 20 miles northeast of the town of Litchfield, and first settled in 1746. Hannah's mother died when she was 7 years old, probably as a result of the birth of her last child. George Merrell married his second wife the same year that Hannah made this sampler, when she was 10 years old. At age 26, Hannah married Albert Munson, a miller. The family removed to Smyrna, New York and opened Smyrna Mills, a large mill operation which ultimately was run by their two sons, who also opened the Munson Opera House in 1886, considered one of the handsomest opera houses in central New York. When Albert died in 1880 his obituary said: "The good qualities of heart and head possessed by Mr. Munson endeared him to his friends and acquaintances, and gave him the respect of all." Hannah died in 1870. Hannah's sampler presents alphabets, a four line verse and good pictorial elements including a pair of black dogs and green birds. The verse is one in which she hopes to apply true diligence of her heart toward wisdom's ways. Note that the word "days" at the end of the first line required space underneath as well, and Hannah worked a neat compartment in a running stitch to delineate this. The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted into a cherry frame. |
