We occasionally find English samplers made in the 1830s and 40s that are wonderfully filled with tightly worked pictorial scenes and many motifs, both large and small. Mary F. Dornan’s exceptional sampler is an excellent example of this, with two horizontal vignettes presenting a village scene with a castle and an engaging landscape with animals, fish and goats. A lush border of large roses, buds and leaves, interspersed with little blue forget-me-nots provides a distinctive border, framing the composition well. All of it was worked in extremely fine stitches. 

The verse is a slight variation on one that we have found on other samplers; it reads, “The world is all a fleeting show / For mans probation given / The smile of joy the tears of wo / Deceitful shine deceitful flow / There’s nothing true but heaven.” It was written as a hymn by Thomas Moore (1779 – 1852), the noted Irish poet who authored many fine religious hymns. 

Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a mid 19th frame. 

Jane DeRonde’s sampler is a very good example of the needlework of a young girl just beginning her education in samplermaking. As she stitched, she was “Aged 7 Years.” She began with alphabets and progressed to a nicely worked religious verse before turning to a more complex flower basket with birds and little trees. A narrow edging of eyelet stitches grounds the bottom of the composition. 

The ancestry of the Deronde family is published in History of Bergen County, New Jersey by J M Van Valen, (New Jersey, Publishing, and Engraving Company, 1900); they were French Huguenots, who came from Holland after they failed to find asylum there. They were living in Cortlandt Manor, Westchester, New York, by 1720.

Jane was born July 21, 1822, to William and Rachel (Goetschius) Deronde. They lived in Rockland County, New York in 1830 and five years later removed to Hackensack New Jersey. In 1852, Jane married Peter Christie (1823-1892) and much information about that family is published in another book, History of Bergen County, New Jersey 1630 to 1923, (Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1923). They had three sons, and Jane died in 1909. Along with family members, she is buried in Maple Grove Park Cemetery in Hackensack.

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a molded and painted black frame.
 

A number of Pennsylvania samplers made in the first four decades of the 19th century feature a certain appealing composition - a house in three-quarter view with a fence and a sloping lawn and a willow tree. We often see a little black dog in front of the house and blue birds in the sky. This excellent sampler, a worthy new discovery and addition to this group, was made by Catharine Binkly Deal who was born in Chambersburg, located 55 miles southwest of Harrisburg, in Franklin County, in 1827.

Catharine was born in 1827, the daughter of Francis and Catharine (Minnich) Deal. The 1840 census shows the family in Chambersburg and the 1850 census indicates that Francis worked as a coach trimmer of railroad equipment. The early history of the Deal family is published in a book, Genealogical Account of the Ancestors in America of Joseph Andrew Kelly Campbell and Eliza Edith Deal, privately printed by Joseph Andrew Campbell, 1921.  

“After the settlement of Pennsylvania by the Quakers, William Penn made known to the world that anyone settling there could worship God according to the dictates of conscience without interference or molestation. This news almost immediately started emigration to the new country. Among the earliest of the German emigrants to arrive was one John Diel, as the name was then spelled, who brought with him his wife and his son, Peter. They arrived in America in 1688, landing in Philadelphia, and made that city their future home. They settled in that portion of the city known as Nicetown, where the men engaged in farming. Peter Diel married in 1709, and had a son born in 1711, who was named Francis. In 1745 Francis Diel married Katrina Butz, born in 1721, and for a time resided with his parents. In 1762, Francis Diel purchased from William Shippen a piece of land situated at Nicetown Lane and Townshipline Road, now known as Hunting Park and Wissahickon Avenues. Here he built his home, which later was called the Abbey Inn. In 1771 he purchased another piece of ground from William Shippen and wife, and in 1773 bought an adjoining piece from Tench and Anne Francis, making his holdings about one and three-quarters acres. The Inn was situated at the corner of the property, and here he lived with his family until his untimely death. On October 17, 1777, shortly before the Battle of Germantown, while standing inoffensively in the doorway of his residence, Francis Diel was wantonly shot and killed by an unknown British soldier.” This Francis Diel was Catherine’s great-grandfather and his sons changed the spelling of the surname to Deal.

In 1848, Catharine married William Wark, who was born in Ireland and lived in Philadelphia where he worked as a watchmaker. The Book of American Clocks by Brooks Palmer (Macmillan Company, New York, 1964) lists William Wark in Philadelphia in 1848 and later. They remained in Philadelphia and had two children. Catharine died in 1905 and is buried at Mount Peace Cemetery in Philadelphia.

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and remains in excellent condition. While it would seem as if the house has faded over time, a photo taken of the reverse of the sampler prior to mounting indicates that it retains its original color. Conservation mounted and now in a beveled cherry frame.

With its many carefully stitched alphabets and excellent and unusual verse, we find this sampler to be highly appealing. It is signed, “Grace Amelia Cunningham / Brooklyn October 1812,” with the word Brooklyn repeated at the end of the largest alphabet. Diminutive birds, stylized baskets of fruit and flowers in urns provide decorative embellishments. The eyelet-stitched alphabet, tightly worked row of strawberries and other narrow horizontal bands add further to the appeal of this engaging sampler.

The verse is positively exceptional; we have not come across this previously. It reads, “The charms of sweet music no pencil can paint / They calm the rude savage enliven the saint / Make brighter our pleasures more joyous our joy / With raptures we feel yet those raptures ne'er cloy.” We found that it was published in The Hive: Or a Collection of Thought on Civil, Moral, Sentimental and Religious Subjects: Selected from the Writings of Near One Hundred of the Best Authors of Different Nations; but Chiefly from the English Writers. Intended as a Repository of Sententious, Ingenious, and Pertinent Sayings, in Verse and Prose to Which Youth may have recourse upon any particular Topic: and by which they may be taught to think justly, write correctly and elegantly, and speak with propriety, Hartford: Printed for and Sold by Oliver D. Cooks, 1803, Lincoln & Gleason, Printers.

Research into the identity of the samplermaker points to specifics about the Cunningham family. Grace Amelia Cunningham was born in 1805, the daughter of William Cunningham, Sr., Esq. who was born in Scotland in 1753. He emigrated at age 18 and lived in Brooklyn much of his adult life. His wife was Helen (Stuart Harris) Cunningham. Grace died at age 16 years, 9 months on March 29, 1821, in Brooklyn. Notice of her death was published in the New York Evening Post. Her gravestone is in Green-Wood Cemetery, the historic Brooklyn burying ground, along with family members. 

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a beveled cherry frame with a black bead. 

photo of reverse

This is a delightful and unusual Scottish sampler signed, “Sarah Gordon Crosbie Aged 9 yrs Glen-tarff School 16 June 1813.” Notably, prior to this sampler, this school hadn’t been documented by scholars and researchers of Scottish samplers. Another unusual aspect of the sampler is the fact that two of the motifs that Sarah stitched captured rarely appear on samplers – a lyre and a harp. These may have represented a particular interest of Sarah’s, or a focus offered by the school. 

The four-line poem reads, “No flocks that range the vallies free / To slaughter I condemn / Taught by that power that pity’s me / I learn to pity them.'' This was written by the Irish physician and author, Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774), published in The Vicar of Wakefield in 1766. Beneath this verse are two charming registers with strawberries, a peacock, stylized trees and three tiny rabbits, plants and flowers on a deep green lawn.

Sarah Gordon Crosbie was the daughter of Robert and Agnes (Halliday) Crosbie who were married circa 1800 in Parton, Kirkcudbrightshire. She was the second of their six children, born in 1803. In 1822, she married Samuel Blaind in Dumfries, and they had three children. 

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in very good condition, with some slight darkening to the linen. It has been conservation mounted and is in a 19th century gold leaf frame. See below for a photo taken prior to mounting. 

photo of reverse

Quaker samplers made in the first quarter of the 19th century in New Jersey and Pennsylvania are widely admired for the strong graphics and the precise skill demonstrated by the samplermakers. The provenance of this outstanding sampler is equally important as it was in the personal collection of the late Susan B. Swan, the revered, long-time Curator of Textiles at Winterthur Museum. It was published in Sue’s book, Plain & Fancy: American Women and Their  Needlework, 1650-1850 (Rutledge Books, 1977), as figure 35. The sampler has remained in the collection of one of her sons and is now available for sale.  

Mary Ann Clark’s sampler is exceptionally fine. The Quaker style lettering includes many precisely worked alphabets, an Extract verse and the inscription, all within a graceful leafy vine enclosure topped with a bellflower motif. Many very refined and tightly-worked Quaker motifs arranged in a balanced format provide appealing embellishment. 

The names of her parents are stitched on her sampler - Jacob and Ann. Jacob Clark (1765-1816) and Ann Claypoole (1764-1832) were married in 1815 in Philadelphia, where both of the families had ties. Ann Claypoole was related to John Claypoole (1752-1810), third husband of Betsy Ross. Her great-grandfather, Joseph Claypoole, was the first warden of Christ Church in Philadelphia; his father James, came to Philadelphia from London in 1683 and was active in the early government of the city, according to American Ancestry: Giving the Name and Descent, in the Male Line of Americans Whose Ancestors Settled in the United States Previous to The Declaration Of Independence, A.D. 1776, Vol. X, published in 1895.

Jacob and Ann lived in Mount Holly, Burlington County, New Jersey, where they raised their seven children. Mary Ann was born on December 6, 1800 and she remained single. She died in 1842 and is buried in Saint Andrew’s Graveyard in Mount Holly, along with much of the Clark family. 

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a molded and black painted frame.

A handsome sampler exhibiting excellent needlework, this was made by 9-year-old Sarah Maria Child, of Groton, Massachusetts. Along with several alphabets, Sarah featured a very appealing aphorism and two baskets filled with fruit. Graceful leafy vines with flowers and buds encircle her aphorism and enclose her inscription. In addition, Sarah cleverly tucked her name at the end of the second row from the top and the date, 1827, appears again at the end of the largest alphabet which was accomplished most impressively in the eyelet stitch. 

Sarah was born on April 13, 1818, to Calvin and Sarah (Fitch) Child. The family lived in Groton where Calvin worked as a blacksmith. Information from the Massachusetts Historical Commission indicates that the family lived in a Federal clapboard house built circa 1821 and located at 228 Main Street. On May 30, 1839, Sarah married John Billings but sadly died later that same year. She is buried in Groton Cemetery with many Child family members. 

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a burl frame. 

While attending Miss Carr’s Seminary in Lincoln, eight-year-old Caroline Bothamley Cheetham completed this nicely balanced and carefully worked sampler. The verse is a devotional that was widely published in the period, and it is flanked by baskets of flowers and grapes on leafy grapevines. 

Records indicate that Caroline was the daughter of John and Mary Cheetham, baptized in 1815 at St. Peter in Eastgate Church in Lincoln. Further research may provide information on Caroline as well as Miss Carr’s Seminary. 

The sampler was worked in silk on wool and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a molded and black painted frame. 

Signed, “Ann Cass Aged 9 years 1773,” this excellent sampler includes two fine, solidly-stitched and beautifully patterned bands. The one near the bottom of the sampler is worked entirely in the queen’s-stitch, an advanced technique requiring much skill, time and silk floss. Even more remarkable is that Ann stitched the entire sampler reversibly, so that the back is as neat and finished as the front (see photo below taken prior to mounting). 

Many family initials appear on the sampler and this enabled identification of Ann and her family. Her parents were Richard and Ellis (Stockdale) Cass who were married in 1760 in Scarborough, Yorkshire, a lovely town on the North Sea of England. Their children were born in Brompton-by-Sawdon, just southwest of Scarborough. They included Richard, Ellis, Eustace, John, Elizabeth, Frances, and Ann, who was christened on February 13, 1764. 

Above the queen's-stitch band Ann stitched a biblical quote from the Micah 6:8, King James version, "And what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God."

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a molded and painted frame. 

photo of reverse

A fine and classic Family Register sampler, this was made by Jane M. Babcock, daughter of Elisha and Charlotte (Howlett) Babcock. The neoclassical composition resembles many others from New England where this type of sampler was popular in the first decades of the 19th century – a pair of columns surmounted by an arch. Jane added a wonderful, whimsical note with the curlicue flourishes to her arch. Flowers and baskets of fruit provide further embellishment and the diamond border frames the composition perfectly. 

Jane stitched information about her parents’ births, their marriage and the births of two of her siblings. Martha was her twin sister; Jane was also born on September 30th, 1829. The verse between the base of the columns reads, “There’s not a heart however cast / But hath some memory of the past / To love and call its own.” Jane may have forgotten to include a line between the first and second, “By grief and sorrow down,” as this appears as part of that published poem. 

The Babcock family traces its roots back to John Babcock who was born in 1696 in Massachusetts and died in 1731 in Connecticut. Jane’s parents, Elisha and Charlotte lived in Hartford, where Elisha was a butcher, according to the 1850 census. In 1849, Jane married Capt. Charles H. Vibberts (1825-1906). He was the grandson of Jesse Vibberts who, according to family history, became one of the heroes of the Revolutionary War and was one of Washington's bodyguards. Jane and Charles became the parents of at least three children. Jane died in August, 1900 and is buried along with many family members in Hockanum Cemetery in East Hartford. 

The sampler is worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a molded and black painted frame.