Kitty Waterman

One of the skills that young needleworkers were taught was whitework darning, which would hold obviously practical, life-long applications. Many of these samplers were made in Quaker schools and exhibit a handsome graphic. Kitty Waterman created this fine, technically proficient whitework darning sampler in 1804, with nine different patterned blocks and an inscription worked in the classic Quaker styled lettering.

Family information that accompanied the sampler indicates that Kitty was born on September 18, 1792 to William and Kitty (Rolfe) Waterman of Portsea, located southwest of London and on the English Channel. Kitty was the eldest of their 12 children, christened at Saint Mary’s Church in Portsea.

Kitty married Charles Robbins (1790-1870), a linen seller, and they remained in Portsea, living in a house called Mile End Villa. They had 12 children between 1817 and 1834 and are listed in the census records for 1841 and 1861. Charles is listed in trade directories and also served as alderman for the town. A copy of a photo (probably a daguerreotype) of Kitty as an older lady and other family information accompanies the sampler. She died in 1864 and is buried in a family vault at Kingston Cemetery.

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a late 19th century veneer frame.
 

Kitty Waterman Rolfe later in life (ancestry.com)