Telling Their Stories * DAR Catalogue of 86 Samplers On-Line

Telling Their Stories: Nineteenth - Century Samplers and Silk Embroideries was an exhibition given by DAR from April 11 - August 30 in 2008. In case you missed the exhibition, like I did, don't fret - you can still enjoy looking at and reading about the samplers on-line. Thank you DAR!
The silk on linen sampler above is dated 1793 and was stitched by Sarah Herbert, probably in London, England. The donors stated that in 1794 Sarah Herbert married Christopher Hommann from Heidelberg in London and then, with her new husband, sailed to Philadelphia to make their home. The marriage of a Johan Christoph Hommann and Constantia Herbert is recorded at Saint Martin in the Fields, London. The archives at Christ Church in Philadelphia reveal a Sarah Hommann, daughter of John and Constantia Homman, who was born September 14, 1809 and baptized May 23, 1810. It seems likely that Constantia brought the sampler to Philadelphia and named her daughter for Sarah, a yet unidentified family member. (Gift of Miss Amelia Harrison Brooke and Mrs. William Hill Brooke)

The darning sampler of 1814 above is by Martha Woodnutt and was stitched at the famous Quaker Westtown School, Pennsylvania. It is worked in cotton on a linen/wool mix. It is a perfect blend of painstaking needlework and practicality. Martha Woodnutt and her family were members of the Society of Friends in Salem County, New Jersey. Martha married Joshua Reeve in 1835 and was the mother of two children. She died in 1868 and is buried in Friends Burying Grounds, Salem, New Jersey. (Friends of the Museum Purchase)

This sampler of 1798 is very well knwn. Stitched by Hannah Grimes when she was 13 at Ackworth School, Yorkshire, UK. Hannah Grimes entered the Quaker Ackworth School 2 January 1798 and remained until 3 January 1799. Born in Eydon, Northamptonshire, Hannah and her family attended the monthly Bugbrook and Northampton meetings and the quarterly Northampton Meeting. She has filled her sampler not only with exquisite half-medallions but also a graceful flower, swan, paired birds and the familiar "A Token Of Love." Hannah died very young on May 6, 1807 in Eydon. (Friends of the Museum Purchase). To explore the samplers by yourself, just click here.