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2002-108, Sampler (DS2003-0587_R.2004-2599)
Sampler, Family Record by Jerusha Lewis
2002-108, Sampler (DS2003-0587_R.2004-2599)

Sampler, Family Record by Jerusha Lewis

Date1825 (dated)
Maker Jerusha Lewis (born 1811)
OriginAmerica, Maine, Bridgeton
MediumSilk and crinkled silk embroidery threads on a linen ground of 27 x 30 threads per inch (identification of fibers by eye)
Dimensions12 7/8" W x 16 1/2" H
Credit LineGift of Ellin and Baron Gordon
Object number2002-108
DescriptionThis is a rectangular family record sampler worked in shades of green, black, blue, yellow, and cream silk threads on a natural-color linen ground that has darkened. The sampler has a hem-stitched border on all four sides and is worked in cross (over one and two threads), four-sided, French knots, half-cross, and satin stitches.
The sampler consists of a realistically worked floral and vine border at top and sides and a family record, which reads:
"GENEALOGY/
George Lewis born/
March 28th 1775/
Ruth Lincoln born/
February 16th 1781/
Married Feb. 3d 1800/
Their Children Born in Bridgton [sic]/
Royal L Lewis/
Born Nov. 11th 1800/
Hariet M Lewis/
Born Jul. 15th 1802/
Lothrop Lewis/
Born Sept. 4th 1805/
Tabitha L Lewis/
Born Sept. 23d 1807/
Jerusha L Lewis/
Born Nov 4th 18011 [sic]/
Sarah P Lewis/
born at Gorham/
August 23d 18017 [sic]/"
The signature line at the bottom of the sampler reads: "Wrought by Jerusha L. Lewis 18025 [sic]".

Stitches: cross, four-sided, French knot, half cross, satin
Label TextFamily record or register samplers give modern viewers a wealth of information about the past. They include stitched genealogical charts with information about the birth, marriage, and death dates of the needleworker's parents, siblings, and occasionally other family members or friends. By the 1810s, such records were often incorporated into memorials for deceased family members or commemoratives of other life passages. Family record samplers reflect the changes that took place in the American family in the eighteenth century that resulted in a more openly affectionate family.

Jerusha Lewis's sampler is related to the largest and most important group of Maine embroideries, which were produced in Portland. Worked throughout the first four decades of the nineteenth century, they document the interest in family genealogies.

Family Record Sampler
Jerusha L. Lewis (b. 1811), age 13
Bridgeton, Maine, 1825
Silk and crinkled silk embroidery threads on a linen ground of 27 x 30 threads per inch
Stitches: cross, four-sided, French knot, half cross, satin
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Baron Gordon, 2002-108
ProvenanceThe sampler was purchased by the donors from Mason Stuart of Woodbury, CT.

History of maker's family:
In 1633, the Lewis family arrived from England to Plymouth and eventually moved to Gorham, Maine. The family was well educated and active in business, government, farming, and the military (Revolutionary War). (Email message from Howard M. Faulkner to Natalie Larson, 12/12/02; see HISTORY OF GORHAM, MAINE.)