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1994.608.1, Sampler
Sampler by Molly Coppuck
1994.608.1, Sampler

Sampler by Molly Coppuck

Date1796 (dated)
Artist/Maker Molly Coppuck
OriginAmerica, New Jersey, Burlington County
MediumSilk embroidery threads on a linen ground (fiber identification by eye)
DimensionsOH: 17" x OW: 15 1/8"
Credit LineGift of the Estate of Ella Lodge Stackhouse Van Siclen (1896-1992) by Mr. & Mrs. Garret T. Van Siclen
Object number1994.608.1
DescriptionThis is a small rectangular needlework sampler worked in silk embroidery threads on a natural color linen ground. The sampler is enclosed on all four sides in a decorative vine border of flowers and strawberries. A simple inner border is worked in cross stitch. The sampler consists of three alphabets in the upper section, one done in eyelet stitch, and the others in cross stitch, and a series of numerals. The lower section is inscribed in cross stitch: "Love the Lord/ And he Will be/ A tender Father/ Unto Thee." Also inscribed in the same manner is "Molly Coppuck/ her Work done/ in the 10th Year of / her Age/ 1796." The lower section of the sampler contains a centered large red and white brick house on a landscape with evergreen trees, birds, and stags.

Stitches: cross, eyelet, half cross (tent), queen, satin, and straight
Label TextTypical of many New Jersey samplers, Molly Coppuck did not name her needlework teacher on her sampler. However, her work is related to a group of samplers created between 1786 and 1799 by schoolgirls living in or near Burlington County, New Jersey. Six of the samplers name schoolmistress Sarah Shoemaker. Although similar, variations in Molly's format and motifs, such as her prominent red checked house, suggest that Mary had a different teacher.
Inscribed"Love the Lord/ And he will be/ A tender father/ Unto Thee"
ProvenanceThe sampler was in the collection of Ella Lodge Stackhouse Van Siclen (1896-1992) of Ambler, Pennsylvania. In 1994, it was given to AARFAM by her son and daughter-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Garrett T. Van Siclen.

History of maker:
Molly Coppuck may be the Mary Coppuck born in 1786 in Mount Holly, New Jersey, to James (1750-1823) and Elizabeth (1765-1848) Coppuck. She married Moses Kempton, Jr., on March 28, 1810, in Burlington County, New Jersey. (Burlington County Clerk's Records, cited from letter from Betty Ring, 9/10/94). Mary and Moses had three children: Elizabeth, Mary, and James. She died in 1817 in Philadelphia and is buried in the cemetery of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Mounty Holly along with her parents.(Morven Museum & Garden Exhibition Catalog, HAIL SPECIMEN OF FEMALE ART!: NEW JERSEY SCHOOLGIRL NEEDLEWORK, 1726-1860. (Princeton, NJ: Morven Museum & Garden, 2014.), p. 87.)