Margaret Swain

This sampler is a wonderful rarity, as very few samplermakers used linsey-woolsey, a combination of linen and wool. It is generally varying shades of green, from dun-colored olive to a fine deep green; Margaret worked on a very appealing strong green. Additionally, the Swain family was one of the most significant and historic in Reading, a town 16 miles north of Boston. 

Margaret was born in Reading on August 2, 1802, the daughter of Deacon Oliver Swain (1765-1837) and Mary (Hartshorn) Swain (1765-1832). The Swain family roots extend back to Jeremiah Swain who arrived in Massachusetts in 1638 and settled in Reading by 1640. His son, Major Jeremiah Swain (1643-1710) was a renowned doctor in Reading (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/120875178/jeremiah-swayne). He began a long line of prominent Swain men who were doctors, who also held many important positions in the towns of Reading, North Reading and beyond. Oliver Swain Road in North Reading is named for Margaret’s grandfather Dr. Oliver Swain, and her father. The research file that accompanies this sampler includes photocopies from many published sources. 

Margaret’s excellent sampler was made in part as a memorial to her younger brother, Thomas Augustus Swain, who was born on August 3, 1810, and died three months later. This genre of needlework became very popular in the first two decades of the 19th century, following the death of George Washington in 1799. Margaret would have attended a school where needlework was an important part of the curriculum. Interestingly, we know that she continued her education as she was enrolled at Bradford Academy, located in what is now Haverhill, as a boarding student, the following year. 

In 1829, Margaret married James Lewis Foote (1805-1875) and they had four sons. She died in 1856. The sampler remained in the family for many generations. 

Worked in silk on linsey-woolsey, the sampler is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted into an early 19th century gold leaf frame.