Sarah Hunking

This is an extremely early sampler, worked in the vertical band format, characteristic of that period. It is signed, “SARAH HVNKING / HER SAMPLER SE / PTEMBER THE 27 / 1737.” Early alphabets didn’t include the letter U, using V in its place. Sarah’s surname was, no doubt, Hunking. 

The Hunking family in America began with two brothers, Hercules Hunking (1590-1659) and Marcus Hunking (1615-1667), who were each born in England and immigrated to New Hampshire. Sarah descended from Hercules’ line and was born on January 7, 1728, the daughter of Capt. Mark Hunking (1699-1776) and his wife, Mary (Leavitt) Hunking (1699-1760) of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 

In 1749, Sarah married Nathaniel Meserve, Jr (1725-1758) and they remained in Portsmouth where they had four children. After his death, she married Nehemiah Wheeler (1721-1796) and they had three children. Sarah died in 1787 in Epping, New Hampshire. 

Sarah stitched two alphabets, each beginning with the early form of the letter A with the cross-bar at the top, and embellished the sampler with horizontal bands. Two of the bands are nicely pictorial - one combines a handsome geometric pattern with a small flower arrangement in a double-handled basket and a fine organic vine of buds and leaves grounds the sampler at the bottom. 

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. A photo of the back of the sampler taken prior to conservation mounting indicates that the sampler retains much of its original coloration. It has been conservation mounted and is in a beveled frame. 
 

photo of reverse