An endearing little sampler, this was made by 10-year-old Charlott Jane Petingell; the family lived in Newburyport as well as just across the river, in Salisbury, Massachusetts. She depicted a fine Federal house, with two large birds on its roof. Other birds are perched on pine trees that flank the house. There was a strong samplermaking tradition in Newburyport and those elements are evident in this sampler.

Charlott was born on April 9, 1811, to Joseph and Charlotte (Pecker) Petingell. The surname was spelled variously, and Charlott didn’t include the final “e” on her given name. She also stitched her “n” backwards, twice. Her father was a ferryman, conducting the ferry between Newburyport and Ring’s Island for many years. 

A Pettengill Genealogy by Charles I. Pettengill (Boston, Massachusetts, 1906) chronicles this family, beginning with Richard Pettengill who was born in England, circa 1620-25. He arrived in Massachusetts circa 1641, settling in Salem. Photocopies from this book, from Richard through to Charlott, accompany the sampler. 

In 1831, Charlott married Joshua Moody Pike, a cooper, and they lived in Salisbury, where they had at least  children. She died in 1874. 

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

photo of reverse

Over the many years we have known of several German samplers that share specific and outstanding characteristics, the most salient being very fine squares of pattern worked in various canvaswork stitches including florentine, rococo and tent. Also depicted are beautifully worked bouquets and branches of flowers, birds and other motifs. These were made in Germany in the late 17th century through mid 18th century and form a most appealing group of samplers. The makers didn’t sign their names but did include their initials and a date. Examples are in museum collections including the Victoria & Albert, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and St. Gallen Textile Museum, Switzerland. 

This praiseworthy sampler, dated 1700, is one of the earlier ones from this group and we were pleased to have acquired it.

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

photo of reverse

The Odiorne family in America originated with John Odiorne (1627-1707) who was born in England and emigrated to New Hampshire prior to 1657. Genealogy of the Odiorne Family, by James C. Odiorne (Boston, 1875), documents the early history of this family, as well as the many contributions made by ensuing generations. The emigrant ancestor, John Odiorne, received two land grants circa 1660 for sections of land near Great Island, now Newcastle. The second parcel likely included land at the mouth of the Pascataqua River; it came to be known as Odiorne’s Point. 

Six generations later Mary Folsom Odiorne was born to Theophilus and Sarah (Gordon) Odiorne. He was a farmer and they resided in Durham, New Hampshire on land near the Old Pascataqua Bridge. Amongst Mary’s ancestors were shipmasters, mariners, farmers and merchants, typical trades from this area which derived its success from both the water and the farmlands.

When Mary was 12 years old, she worked this praiseworthy sampler with outstanding baskets filled with flowers and side borders of fine large blossoms and buds on vines. Two large birds and berries on branches were worked in the upper corners flanking a berry-laden branch with brilliant teal blue serrated leaves. The baskets sit on unusual, jagged hillocks worked in vibrant shades of green which are echoed in the six large flowers of the side borders.

She married John Hill, a farmer, also a resident of Durham. They had one child, Lydia, who was born in 1852 and by 1860 the family lived in Madbury, just north of Durham. Mary died there in 1889. Her sampler remained in the area for many generations. 

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

A very good, classic English sampler with mirror-image motifs, and prose, with a wonderfully appealing sentiment, this is signed, “Maria Neep Aged 10 years April the 21 1818.” Motifs that include flowerpots, baskets of fruit, birds both large and small, little dogs and deer, and many hearts. Along with cross-stitches, Maria used the eyelet stitch, tent stitch and others. A fine border frames the composition well. 

Maria was most likely born on January 3, 1808, to John and Ann (Hale) Neep of Aldham, Essex, England who were married there in 1801. Maria married Henry Bailey. 

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in its original beveled frame.

A large and beautifully worked sampler, this is signed, “Ann Musgrove finished her Sampler Longtown February 1831.” The poems that Ann stitched are very appealing as they reference her needlework specifically, “The various threads I drew / And pleased beheld the finished piece / Rise glowing to the view … May I review my life and say / Behold my works were good.”

The sampler is filled with many excellent motifs. A fine little house set in the center of a fence and a lineup of pine trees anchors the composition well. There are a great number of large and splendid flower baskets, birds and little animals as well.

Ann also stitched family initials on her sampler. TM and MM, nestled in near the verse, are her parents, Thomas and Mary Musgrove. Ann was born in 1817, their eldest child. Notably, Thomas was a master tailor, and is listed in census records and Longtown directories. In 1839, Ann married Nichol Graham, of nearby Arthuret. He also worked in the textile industry, as a weaver. They had nine children and Ann died in 1888.

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

Scottish schoolgirls produced a truly outstanding body of work – pictorial sampler with fine houses in settings with trees, birds, potted flowers, people and peacocks. Occasionally the complex, uppercase alphabet, worked in a splendid font with many curlicues embellishing each letter, was featured as well. Margaret’s sampler includes these characteristics in a highly appealing, balanced composition. 

In keeping with the Scottish samplermaking tradition, Margaret stitched the initials of her parents: JM and MY. We turned to our friends and colleagues at antiquesamplers.org for help in identifying the family and are grateful for the wonderful specifics provided: Margaret was born circa 1821 to John Millar, a schoolmaster of Beith, a town in Ayrshire, and his wife Margaret Young. She remained single and died in 1894. 

Small details add notes of whimsey to the sampler – the little deer climbing up a hill at the end of the alphabet and the delightful little ladies with their curly hair on either side of the house. The sampler was worked in silk on wool and is in excellent condition with some darning to a few very small areas of the wool. 

photo of reverse

Samplers made in Vermont are more scarce than those made in other New England states and linsey-woolsey Vermont samplers are an even greater rarity. This is signed, “Calista Houghton daughter of Abner and Susannah Houghton was born in St. Johnsbury Feb 12th AD 18 __,” and we note that she removed the last two digits of the year of her birth. This practice was fairly common as an older woman might not have wanted her precise age revealed for all to see on her girlhood sampler. Many reliable sources tell us that Calista was born on February 12, 1807; her sampler was likely made when she was between 11 and 14 years old. 

The Houghton Genealogy: The Descendants of Ralph and John Houghton of Lancaster, Massachusetts by John W. Houghton (Frederick H. Hitchcock Genealogical Publisher, New York) traces Calista’s family back to Ralph Houghton (1623-1705). Her parents were each born in New Hampshire, where their marriage was recorded in 1805, in Winchester, New Hampshire. Later that same year, they were living in St. Johnsbury. Calista married Samuel Hall (1811-1843) and they had two sons. After Samuel’s death, she married David Goss (1795-1880). She died in 1865 and is buried at Burke Meeting House Cemetery, north of St. Johnsbury, along with family members. 

The sampler is beautifully composed and precisely stitched. A fine flower basket fills the lower register and inner sawtooth borders provide a fine framework. A further border of trefoil flower within a nicely deep arcade adds to the composition. 

Worked in silk on green linsey-woolsey, the sampler is in excellent condition. There is some slight loss to the lower sawtooth band and some very minor stabilizing to the linsey-woolsey. It has been conservation mounted and is in a fine, mahogany frame.

This is an extraordinary sampler, dated January, 1785; it precisely depicts and celebrates the flight of the first hot air balloon to cross the English Channel, which took place on January 7, 1785. The balloon, filled with hydrogen, was launched from the cliffs of Dover and landed in Calais; it was piloted by Jean-Pierre Blanchard, a Frenchman, and Dr. John Jeffries, an American. The taffeta covered balloon was 79 feet round, the flight took 2 hours and 47 minutes. There were serious risks at several different points during the flight and the pilots needed to jettison all instruments, gear and even their clothing to stay aloft. This sampler depicts the precise hot air balloon, with its diamond patterned net over the entire orb, the basket suspended by long cords. Of particular note is the fact that Mary included the two pilots and the English and French flags that flew from the basket (at least initially). She may have witnessed the flight as the sampler was made within weeks of the event. 

Mssr. Blanchard was a balloonist and Dr. Jefferies was a physician and scientist as well as the financial sponsor of the project. He is considered one of the first significant meteorologists and his birthday, February 5, is celebrated each year as National Weatherperson Day. 

Other than the depiction of the balloon flight, Mary’s sampler is very much like the great majority of those made in England in the late 18th century with a carefully stitched verse from published sources, and fine symmetrical potted flowers, fruit baskets and birds. 

The sampler was worked in silk on wool and is in very good condition with some areas where loss to the wool has been secured and darned. It has been conservation mounted in a molded and black painted frame. 

An excellent family register sampler, this is signed “Wrought by Eliza Hills in the 12 year of her age Londonderry Sept 1, 1820.” It features two columns topped by an arch, flanked by outstanding floral borders that are growing out of splendid urns. The geometric diamond shapes in the columns and urns provide a fine counterpoint to the graceful swirls of the flowers on leafy vines; the quality of the needlework is exceptional throughout. 

The maker was Eliza Hills, born on September 27, 1808, the oldest child of John and Jane (Anderson) Hills, who were married on December 17, 1807, as stitched on the sampler. The family lived in Londonderry, a town in southern New Hampshire. The family’s ancestor who emigrated to America was Joseph Hills who arrived in 1638 and settled in Massachusetts. Much information about the family is published in Genealogical Data Relating to the Ancestry and Descendants of William Hills the English Immigrant to New England in 1632 and of Joseph Hills the English Immigrant to New England in 1638 compiled by William Sanford Hills, Alfred Mudge and Son, Boston, 1902. 

Eliza married Benjamin Franklin Wilson, a shoemaker, and they lived in Windham where they had four children. She died in 1863 and is buried in Cemetery on the Plains in Windham.  

Eliza likely made her sampler at Pinkerton Academy, a school in nearby Litchfield, New Hampshire that opened in 1817. Several Family Register samplers that form an excellent and cohesive group are published in “Industry and Virtue Joined” Schoolgirl Needlework of Northern New England by Tara Vose Raiselis and Leslie L. Rounds (Saco Museum, 2015). These samplers date between 1814 and 1828 and share the salient characteristics that appear on Eliza Hills’ sampler. Ms. Rounds has stated that it is very likely that Eliza attended the same school and stitched the name of her hometown, Londonderry, on her sampler.

Eliza stitched a very appealing verse on her sampler that shows her appreciation of her parents:

Next unto God dear parents I address
Myself to you in humble thankfulness
For all care and pains on me bestow’d
The means of learning unto me alow’d

Worked in silk on linen, it is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a late 19th century frame. This sampler was, for many years, in the noted collection of Marty and Dan Campanelli.

Family record and register samplers served a purpose not unlike inscriptions in the family bible; they recorded and preserved important information regarding the cohesive family unit, which had taken on a heightened significance in the new republic. An important exhibition of these samplers, presented in 1989 at the DAR Museum in Washington, DC, documented the origin and great variety of this form. Curator Dr. Gloria Seaman Allen, in the accompanying catalogue, Family Record: Genealogical Watercolors and Needlework, states that the family record sampler was, most certainly, an American invention.

The maker of this fine family register sampler was one of the daughters of Moses Ford and Lydia Davis; she used an excellent composition of checkerboard, neoclassical columns connected by an arch and a banner proclaiming, “In God We Hope.” A scene of what is most likely the family house with fences and a tree grounds the bottom of the sampler wonderfully. The lawn was worked in queen’s- stitch, a technique that indicates that the samplermaker was highly skilled. 

The Ford and Davis families are both well researched, with their histories extensively published. The Descendants of Andrew Ford of Weymouth, Massachusetts (Capital City Press, 1968) and Samuel Davis of Oxford, Mass and Joseph Davis of Dudley, Mass. And Their Descendants (George L. Davis, 1884) trace both families from the 1630s onward in New England. Extensive photocopies accompany the sampler. 

Moses and Lydia were married on March 8, 1812 - linked hearts mark this date on the sampler. Stitched on the sampler is a complete record of all births and deaths, some of these added in later. Their daughters were Louisa, Lydia, Marcia and Lucia. The samplermaker may have been Marcia (born in 1821 with her twin sister, Lucia), as she lived in Pittsfield and Southampton later in her life and the sampler was framed in Holyoke circa 1900.

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.