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Sampler by Mary A. E. Blincoe

Date1834

Maker Mary A. E. Blincoe (1810-1883) (1810 - 1883)

OriginAmerica, Kentucky, Marion County

MediumSilk and wool embroidery threads on a linen ground of 28 x 32 threads per inch (fiber identification by eye)

DimensionsFramed: OW 20 3/8" x OH 19 7/8" Actual (by sight): OW 16 3/4" x 16 3/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2019-118

DescriptionThis is an almost square sampler stitched in shades of red, yellow, green, blue, purple, cream, and black embroidery threads on a natural color linen ground. From the top the sampler consists of:
“HS” uppercase block worked in cross stitch
“A-Z” uppercase block worked in cross stitch
Intertwining strands of cross stitch
“A-Z” uppercase block worked in cross stitch
Greek key band worked in cross stitch
“a-I”, “k-z”, “&”, “1-9”, “0” lowercase block worked in cross stitch
“A-M” uppercase block worked in double cross stitch
Decorative band of double cross stitch
“N-Z.” uppercase block worked in double cross stitch
Decorative band of cross stitch
“A-[E]”, “F-[K]”, “L-O” uppercase script worked in cross stitch
Triple band of Irish stitch over four
“P-Z”, uppercase script worked in cross stitch and two diamond motifs worked in back stitch, cross, eyelet, half cross, and queen
Band of eyelet stitch
The bottom half of the sampler consists of the following verse:
“Awake my soul and rouse thy spirits/ To think on thy Redeemers merits/ Thro’ which thou shalt repose/ How many hours have past away/ In which thy time was spent in play/ But One W thoughts arose”, “O now the welcome time is near/ In which God’s wonders shall appear/ My helpless soul to save/ Let’s view them with attentive eyes/ That ve [sic]
may from these follies rise/ to which we were a slave”, “O ye high mountains and low vales/ O ye large fountains cool’d by gales/ And shaded by the grove/ I’ll walk beneath your bowers to find/ A healing balm to soothe my mind/ Or to increase my love”
Below this verse is the signature block which reads:
“A Sampler worked by/ Mary A E Blincoe in the/ School of Loreto/ A.D 1834”
Practice stitches are scattered along the left and right sides of the sampler.

Stitches: back stitch, cross over two, double cross, eyelet, half cross, Irish, and queen

Label TextThe maker of this sampler, Mary Ann E. Blincoe, was a Roman Catholic nun and teacher at a school operated by the Sisters of Loretto, located near Nerinx in Marion County, Kentucky.

The Reverend Charles Nerinckx founded the Sisterhood of Loretto in April 1812. Rev. Nerinckx initially conferred the veil on three young women at the foot of the cross in St. Charles Church located at Hardin's Creek, Kentucky. The sisterhood was originally known as the "Little Society of Friends of Mary under the Cross of Jesus." The name was later changed to "Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross," though in popular usage they are normally referred to as the "Sisters of Loretto."

Mary Ann E. Blincoe was the daughter of James Blincoe (1765-1824) and Sarah Carroll Blincoe (1780-1814). Within a few years of her mother's death, Mary Ann was enrolled in the school operated by the Sisters of Loretto. She eventually joined the sisterhood and became one of the teachers at the school. Mary Ann stitched this sampler at the age of twenty-four while working as a teacher and likely used it as an instructional tool. The year after she completed her sampler, Mary Ann left the Sisters of Loretto to marry Thomas Livers Worland (1805-1894), with whom she would have eight children.
Inscribed“Awake my soul and rouse thy spirits/ To think on thy Redeemers merits/ Thro’ which thou shalt repose/ How many hours have past away/ In which thy time was spent in play/ But One W thoughts arose”, “O now the welcome time is near/ In which God’s wonders shall appear/ My helpless soul to save/ Let’s view them with attentive eyes/ That ve [sic]
may from these follies rise/ to which we were a slave”, “O ye high mountains and low vales/ O ye large fountains cool’d by gales/ And shaded by the grove/ I’ll walk beneath your bowers to find/ A healing balm to soothe my mind/ Or to increase my love”
ProvenanceThis sampler passed from Mary Ann E. Blincoe (1810-1883) to her third child, Susan Ellen Worland (1839-1921). Susan Ellen Worland gave the sampler to her daughter, Alice Delores Buckley (1879-1965). In 1936, Alice Delores Buckley donated the sampler to the Sisters of Loretto; at that time, she was a member of the sisterhood and had taken the name Sister Mary Justine. The sampler remained in the collection of the Sisters of Loretto until they sold it at Cowan's Auctions on June 23, 2007. Colonial Williamsburg acquired the sampler from Neverbird Antiques in 2019.

History of sampler maker:
Mary Ann E. Blincoe (1810-1883) was the daughter of James Blincoe (1765-1824) and Sarah Carroll Blincoe (1780-1814) of Washington County, Kentucky. Within a few years of her mother's death, Mary Ann was enrolled in the Roman Catholic school operated by the Sisters of Loretto near Nerinx in Marion County, Kentucky. She eventually joined the sisterhood and became one of the teachers at the school. Mary Ann stitched this sampler at the age of twenty-four while working as a teacher, and likely used it as an instructional tool. The year after she completed her sampler, Mary Ann left the Sisters of Loretto to marry Thomas Livers Worland (1805-1894), with whom she would have eight children. She died in 1883 and is buried in the Calvary Cemetery in Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky.