Rachel Collins

A large and handsome Quaker alphabet and motif sampler, this was made by Rachel Collins who was born in 1816, the daughter of Arthur and Martha (Ballinger) Collins. Rachel stitched eight iterations of the alphabet, four of them in the classic Quaker block letter font closely associated with Friends schools in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Notably, the motifs along the bottom originated in Quaker samplermaking traditions as well. 

The sampler descended in the family for generations and a note regarding the sampler tells us that Rachel made the sampler while at a boarding school. She included initials of family members on her sampler – those of her parents and two brothers, Isaac and Chalkley, and her grandmother Rachel Collins, for whom she was named.  

Copies of many Quaker records are included in the research that accompanies the sampler.  Arthur and Martha were married under the care of the Evesham Monthly Meeting in1809, and the family subsequently transferred their membership to the Chester Monthly Meeting, where Rachel’s birth was recorded on February 19, 1816.

In 1837, Rachel married fellow Quaker, Clayton Lippincott (1810-1891). He was one of the founders of Burlington County Agricultural Society and was elected to the Legislature which revised the State constitution. In 1860 he was appointed a judge of the court of Common Pleas and held that position for fifteen years. The obituary indicated that, along with his many accomplishments, he was “known all over the county as an upright, intelligent man.” They had two daughters. Rachel died in 1881 at age 65. 

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. 
 

photo of reverse