Mary Ann Philbrick

A fine little sampler, this was made by Mary Ann Philbrick who lived in South Weare, New Hampshire. Mary Ann stitched a couplet that was penned by Benjamin Franklin and published in Poor Richard’s Almanac, “For age and want save while you may / No morning sun lasts the whole day.” The border was formed with 22 delightful sprigs of flowers that serve as an excellent framework for the alphabets, numerical progressions, Franklin quotation and inscription. 

A Genealogy of the Philbrick and Philbrook Families Descended From the Emigrant, Thomas Philbrick, 1583-1667 by Rev. Jacob Chapman (Exeter Gazette Steam House, Exeter, New Hampshire, 1886) traces the history of the family in America from 1630 on. Eight generations later, Mary Ann was born on June 10, 1830, to Moody and Abigail (Jones) Philbrick, the third of their seven children. In 1851, she married John S. Philbrick (1818-1888) as his second wife. She died in 1914 at age 83 and is buried in Hillside Cemetery in Weare.

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.