Sampler by Julianna Lawrence

Date1830 (dated)

Artist/MakerAttributed to Julianna Lawrence

OriginAmerica, District of Columbia, Washington or Maryland, Baltimore

MediumSilk embroidery threads on a natural-color linen ground of 29 x 32 threads per inch (identification of fibers by eye)

DimensionsFramed: 21 1/4 x 22"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1996-229,A

DescriptionThis is an almost square needlework sampler worked in shades of green, brown, black, tan, ivory, and what was originally a red/orange/pink silk embellishment threads on a natural-color linen ground. The sampler realistically depicts St. Patrick's Church with detailed rendering of individual bricks, molding, mullions, and wrought iron front gate. Two trees flank the church.
Stitched at the top at either side of the steeple: "St. Patricks Church", "In this place I will give/ Peace saith the Lord/ of hosts" and "Blessed are they that/ Dwell in the house/ O Lord." The church sits on a "whimsical lawn" of oversized serrated leaves and berries.
Below this is the signature line, "[Ju]lianna [L]awrenc[e] Work Washington City July 1830."
A border of large stylized undulating flowers and vine enclose sampler on all four sides.

Stitches: cross and outline
Label TextThe fourth St. Patrick's Church in Baltimore was the model for the building embroidered on this sampler. Although the sampler is marked "Washington City," it is not known if the sampler was worked there. Stylistically this piece is more closely related to the "Baltimore building samplers" than to those identified from Washington City. Two Baltimore samplers worked by Mary Ann Craft in 1822 and Elizabeth Harley in 1824 also depict versions of Saint Patrick's Church.
Inscribed"St. Patricks Church", "In this place I will give/ Peace saith the Lord/ of hosts" and "Blessed are they that/ Dwell in the house/ O Lord"
ProvenanceThis sampler was advertised for sale by M. Finkel and Daughter in their 1996 catalog as having "descended in a prominent Maryland family."
History of Sampler Maker:
The sampler was probably worked by Julianna Lawrence. It is unlikely that she is the Julianna Mahala Lawrence, of Frederick and Arundel Counties, daughter of Colonel John Lawrence, Jr. and Sarah Maria Shriner. Col. John Lawrence was in the Frederick County militia. Sarah Shriner was the daughter of Peter Shriner, a wealthy farmer of Frederick County. This Julianna married her first cousin Evan Dorsey, Jr., license Nov. 15, 1828, Frederick County, and moved to Ohio. (See: FOUNDERS OF ANNE ARUNDEL AND HOWARD COUNTIES, J.D. Warfield, Baltimore, 1980.)
It is more probable that the sampler maker is the Julianna Lawrence (b. ca. 1820) who was the daughter of Margaret and James Lawrence (1793-1852). This Julianna married Thomas H. Parsons, an agent for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, in 1845.