Sampler by Sarah Webley

Date1835

Maker Sarah Webley

MediumSilk embroidery threads on a worsted ground of 42 x 42 threads per inch (fiber identification by eye) Wooden frame and glass

DimensionsFramed: OW 14 5/8” x OH 19” Actual (by sight): OW 13” x OH 17 3/8”

Credit LineGift of Beatrix T. Rumford

Object number2020-77

DescriptionThis is a framed, rectangular needlework sampler worked in shades of green, brown, natural, and black embroidery threads on a worsted ground. The top quarter of the sampler consists of two flower shrubs, two urns with foliage, an unfinished tree, and a cow. A double line of cross stitch separates this scene from the verse: “On the Death of a Sister/ Death has been here and borne away/ A Sister from our side/ Just in the morning of her day/ As young as we she died/ Perhaps our time may be as short/ Our days may fly as fast/ O Lord impress the solemn thought/ That this may be our last/ We cannot tell who next may fall/ Beneath thy chastening rod/ One must be first – but let us all/ Prepare to meet our God”. Below this verse is the signature block which is enclosed in a rectangular border of cross stitch: “Sarah Webleys/ Work Aged 11 years/ January 2 1835”. A diamond motif separates the name “Sarah” and “Webley”. The verse and signature block are surrounded by flowers, baskets, trees, and undulating vines. The entire sampler is bordered by an undulating, floral vine. Blue threads are woven into the selvedges.
Stitches: cross over two, satin

The sampler is in a modern, black frame.
Label TextSarah Webley memorialized the death of a sister in her 1835 sampler, which she probably created in a schoolroom. In addition to teaching sewing stitches, samplers sometimes commemorated deceased family members and/or noted births and marriages.
Inscribed“On the Death of a Sister/ Death has been here and borne away/ A Sister from our side/ Just in the morning of her day/ As young as we she died/ Perhaps our time may be as short/ Our days may fly as fast/ O Lord impress the solemn thought/ That this may be our last/ We cannot tell who next may fall/ Beneath thy chastening rod/ One must be first – but let us all/ Prepare to meet our God”
MarkingsA label on the back of the frame reads: “PURNELL GALLERIES BALTIMORE”.
ProvenanceBeatrix T. Rumford (b. 1939) purchased this piece in Barnstable, Massachusetts in 1965 and donated it to Colonial Williamsburg in 2020.