Meribah Ellis

We are delighted to offer this very well-composed and beautifully made sampler which reflects the samplermaking traditions of 18th century Philadelphia while documenting a Quaker family of Burlington County, New Jersey. It was made by Meribah Ellis who was born, as she states on her sampler using the phrasing favored by Quakers, “the 8th of the 1st Month 1779.” Her parents were John Ellis (1738-1825) and Elizabeth (Fowler) Ellis (1753-1834), as noted on the sampler. The family belonged to the Chesterfield Monthly Meeting and photocopies of many meeting records are included in the research file that accompanies the sampler. 

Meribah also included the names of her four grandparents – Joseph and Meribah Fowler and Francis and Elizabeth Ellis. Interestingly, when stitching the birthdates of her Fowler grandparents, she referred to the dates as, “Old Stile,” reflecting the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in 1752.
The sampler is relatively small and the work is very tight and fine, demonstrating Meribah’s advanced skill in the needle arts. A photo taken of the back of the sampler (see below) taken prior to conservation, is most telling as the back is as carefully stitched and finished as the front.

Meribah’s sampler, along with one made by her sister Elizabeth (born 1785), was recorded in the highly significant book, American Samplers, by Ethel Stanwood Bolton and Eve Johnston Coe. This book was the result of the seminal project of the Massachusetts Society of The Colonial Dames, published in 1921.

Meribah remained single and died in 1863, having been a resident of Pemberton Township. This sampler would have been given to Meribah’s sister, Elizabeth. When it was published in 1921, it was owned by Elizabeth’s granddaughter, Rebecca Evans Price. 

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

photo of reverse