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DS1999-0136
Sampler by Eliza Dulaney Kemble
DS1999-0136

Sampler by Eliza Dulaney Kemble

Dateca. 1832
Artist/Maker Eliza Dulaney Kemble (b. 1/3/1821 (Born January 3, 1821)
OriginAmerica, West Virginia, Harrison County, Clarksburg
MediumSampler: silk embroidery threads on a linen ground of 36 wefts by 27 warps per inch (fiber identification by eye) Frame: bird's eye maple with poplar backboard, brass decorative tacks and hanging mechanism
DimensionsSampler: 17 3/8" x 17 1/8"; Frame: 19 5/8" x 19 1/2"
Credit LinePartially funded by Friends of the Textile Collection (Williamsburg Spinners and Weavers, Hoffman Media, Inc., Orange Coast Sampler Guild, Mary Ann Locklear, Edna Medlin, Carol Harrison, Richard L. Cooper, Joanne Harvey, Williamsburg Rose and Thistle, Marie Ruggiero, Jeannine's Sampler Seminar, Patricia Halstead, William Hargroves, Dr. Charles and Dr. Nancy Ray, Queen City Samplers Guild, Anita Brock, Patricia Fiedler, Sharon Pelz, Barbara Angel, Susan Daly, Jennifer Heemann, Arlinda Brook, Alice Howe, Deborah Patterson, Donna Di Marco, Patricia Williams, Barbara Hemmerling, Betty Hamilton, Deanna Griffith, Queen City Samplers Guild, Evelyn Schott, Rosemary Fitzpatrick, Peg Gramling, Elaine Zimmerman's Needlework Seminar, Historick Needlework Guild, Inc., Evansville Chapter of the EGA, Terry Zimmerman, Deborah A. Novak, and Georgia Chapter of the EGA
Object number1999-4,A&B
DescriptionThis is a framed square needlework sampler worked in what was originally green, black, cream, blue, pink, and yellow silk embroidery threads on a darkened linen ground. The sampler has selvedges at top and bottom and is hemmed in a 3/16" hem at sides. The top third of the sampler consists of the verse: "JESUS permit thy gracious name to stand/ As the first effort of an infants hand/ And while her fingers oer this canvass move/ Engage her tender heart to seek thy love/ with thy dear children let her share a part/ And write thy name thyself upon her heart." Flanking the verse on both sides are a rosebud, bird, and stylized spray of lilies of the valley. Below verse is an undulating band of cross stitch with 5 large strawberries stemming from band.
The second third of sampler consists of a central three-storied mansion with two chimneys and eight windows. The house has string courses and a yellow foundation and sits on a lawn of green cross stitch. The figure of a woman in a blue gown stands in doorway of house. Flanking the house on the left are two evergreen trees, a fruit tree, four perched birds, one flying bird, basket of fruit/flowers, and vase of flowers. An oversized squirrel is chained to the largest evergreen tree. Flanking the house on the right are two evergreen trees, a fruit tree, four perched birds, one flying bird, basket of fruit/flowers, and vase of flowers. A figure of a man dressed in a soldier's uniform with a sword stands at the largest evergreen tree.
The bottom portion of the sampler consists of the signature line: "Eliza Dulaney.Kemble. Aged. 11. Years. Dec. 21st/ Clarksburg. Virginia."
The sampler is enclosed in an outer border of single cross stitch. An inner second border consists of an undulating vine of flowers some of which can be identified as rosebuds, tulips, pinks, and strawberries. The inner-most border consists of a single double cross.

Stitches: chain, cross (over 1 and 2) double cross, half cross, outline or stem, satin
Label TextThis sampler is one of three almost identical ones worked in Clarksburg, Virginia, between 1826 and 1836. All three depict a central mansion with string courses and yellow foundation resting on a lawn of green cross stitches. Pine trees flank the mansions and an undulating floral border encloses the samplers. The most charming feature is the oversized squirrels, which are chained to the trees. This sampler is unusual in that it survives in its original frame of bird's-eye maple with it original brass hanging mechanism.
Eliza Dulaney Kemble was the daughter of a Quaker tanner who emigrated from New Jersey to Clarksburg in 1828. At the age of fourteen, Eliza married Mortimer Howell Johnson, an attorney and legislator. The sampler descended in the family of a daughter, remaining in Clarksburg until 1997.
Inscribed"JESUS permit thy gracious name to stand/ As the first effort of an infants hand/ And while her fingers oer this canvass move/ Engage her tender heart to seek thy love/ with thy dear children let her share a part/ And write thy name thyself upon her heart."
MarkingsOn back of frame at top in ink: "Property of Mrs. Robert Morris"
ProvenanceThe sampler descended through the family of the samplemaker's daughter, Lucy Kemble. From a typed label attached to the back of the sampler we learn that in 1997 Richard M. and Norma D. Duez purchased the sampler from Dr. and Mrs. Robert Wilson of Alexander Street, Clarksburg (Harrison County), West Virginia before they moved to North Carolina.

History of samplermaker:
Elizabeth Dulaney Kemble born Jan. 3, 1821 was the daughter of William and Margaret Hedgemond Dulaney Kemble. Margaret Kemble was the daughter of Dr. William and Frances Shackleford Dulaney of the Northern Neck counties of Virginia. Orphaned as a child, Margaret spent her youth living with relatives. In 1818 she came to live at Pruntytown with an aunt. William Kemble, born in Burlington County New Jersey, in 1780, moved with his family to Culpeper County, Virginia in 1787, and to Taylor County, in or near Pruntytown, in 1801. His family was Quaker. William was a tanner by trade and operated tanneries in Kingwood and Weston before moving to Clarksburg in 1828 and to Bridgeport in 1833. Elizabeth married Mortimer Howell Johnson on October 28, 1835. (This means she was just 14 years of age.) He was an attorney and served in the Virginia Legislature. Their children were: Fannie b. 1842, Lucy b. 1844, Porter b. 1845, Alice b. 1847, and L(?) b. 1856. The sampler descended down through Lucy's family to Mrs. Robert Morris.