Mildred Dixon

This is a beautifully made sampler that shows a decided similarity to the significant groups of samplers made in Norfolk, England. The horizontal band as well as some of the pictorial elements that comprise the fine scene along the bottom are specifically Norfolk in their influence. Lincolnshire and Norfolk share a bit of a border at the coast and Scrivelsby is about 40 miles from Norfolk.

We consulted Joanne Martin Lukacher, author of the excellent book, Imitation and Improvement: The Norfolk Sampler Tradition (In the Company of Friends, Redmond, WA, 2013), for her thoughts on how this sampler relates to those made in Norfolk. Ms. Lukacher told us that Mildred’s sampler is similar to a Norfolk group that includes the sampler made by Jane Cotterell in 1829 (pp. 272, 273) and Eliza Shrimplin in 1810 (pp. 256, 257) in her book. She also noted that Dixon is a family name that appears frequently in Norfolk and that she is currently working on a possible connection between a Norfolk educator and a school in Louth, another town in Lincolnshire.

Mildred was born on January 1, 1809, to Martha (Lilley) and William Dixon. They lived in Scrivelsby where William worked for 37 years as a carpenter for Sir Henry Dymoke (1801-1865), Baronet, British landowner and the hereditary King's Champion. Sir Dymoke was High Sheriff of Lincolnshire in 1833.

In 1840, Mildred married Paul Walker (1815-1893) and they remained in Lincolnshire. Mildred died in 1898.

The sampler was worked in silk on wool and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in its original beveled frame. 

photo of reverse