Lucy Burham Gray

Inscribed, “Lucy B. Gray Born Sept 18 d 1795,” this fine sampler depicts a small house set on a lush lawn, several alphabets and the endearing couplet, “This I did to let you see / What care my parents took of me.” A delicate border of a meandering vine with little flowers and leaves surrounds the composition on three sides. Lucy would have been between the age of 10 and 13 when she made the sampler. 

Lucy was indeed born on September 18, 1795, the 4th of 6 children of Timothy and Ruth (Burham) Gray who lived on the family homestead in Wilton, about 20 miles southwest of Manchester. Timothy (1749-1807) was a farmer and soldier in the Revolutionary War, serving at Winter Hill during the siege of Boston. Published information regarding the history of the Gray family indicates that the immigrant ancestor was Henry Gray, who was among the earliest settlers of Andover, Massachusetts. 

In 1818, Lucy married Joel Chandler (1794-1860) of Weare, New Hampshire. Joel was a miller and farmer who served as a deacon of his church for 20 years. A published family history describes him as a greatly beloved man, sound in his faith and undeviating in his attachment to the church. Lucy and Joel had 9 children, 6 of whom lived to adulthood, and they lived in Wilton and then Hopkinton and Weare. Lucy died in 1871 and is buried in Old Hopkinton Cemetery with her husband and several children. 

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

photo of reverse