Sampler by Emily Byrd Chapin

DateJune 9, 1826

Maker Emily Byrd Chapin (1822 - 1902)

OriginAmerica, West Virginia, Harrison County, Clarksburg

MediumSilk embroidery threads on a linen ground of 37 x 28 threads per inch with later paint embellishment (fiber identification by eye)

DimensionsOW: 17 1/4" x OH: 17"

Credit LineGift of David and Anna Marie Witmer

Object number2007-115,A&B

DescriptionThis is a nearly square, unframed sampler featuring silk embroidery threads that have been painted over, stitched on a natural-colored linen. The sampler is hemmed on four sides and features an oscillating floral border framed by yellow lines. At the top of the sampler is an inscription stitched in red, which reads, "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." On the left side is a flowering bush with light pinkish-orange flowers and on the right side is a similar bush with yellow flowers. Below these bushes and inscription is an oscillating green band. Sitting atop this band, from the edges of the sampler to the middle are two green, blue, and yellow shapes, which are possibly birds. Next to these are a yellow and black bird and a blue and yellow bird. Between these two birds are five green, red, coral, and green leaf-shaped flowers.

Below this band are a house surrounded by flowers, trees, birds, and human figures. The house has a gabled roof and two stories, with two windows on its first floor and three on its second floor. A figure stands in the doorway. Aligned with the top of the house, from the edges of the sampler to its middle, are two sets of identical motifs, creating a symmetrical pattern. These include bouquets in vases, flying birds, white, green, and red flowers in vases, and single flying birds. The house sits on a green ground, alongside more symmetrical motifs. They are, from the edges of the sampler to the middle, white birds, yellow (on the left) and red (on the right) flowering trees, more birds, green trees, a human (on the left side) and a dog (on the right side), smaller green trees, and birds on tall columns flanked by two smaller birds.

Below this is a signature line in red thread painted over, reading, "Emily.Byrd.Chapin.aged.10.years.June.9th 1826/Clarksburg.Virginia." "1826" is stitched in a later hand, possibly at a later date.

At some point in its history, the sampler's stitches were painted over in red, blue, white, green, black, and yellow.

Stitches: cross over two, satin
Label TextEmily Byrd Chapin's sampler, which she completed on June 9th, 1826, is one of three samplers in the Colonial Williamsburg collection from Clarksburg, Virginia (now West Virginia). The trio of samplers provide modern viewers with a rare opportunity to study three samplers worked under the direction of one 19th-century needlework teacher. This sampler's painted-over threads can tell us more about the history of caring for samplers.
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"
MarkingsNone
ProvenanceThis sampler was originally for sale on eBay by Denning McTague. It was then donated to the museum by Dr. and Mrs. David Witmer. It is not known how it came to Denning McTague.

HISTORY OF MAKER:
Emily Bird (or "Byrd," as stitched on the sampler) Chapin (December 5th, 1822-February 18th, 1902) was born to Phineas W. Chapin and Nancy Gibbs Somerville in Harrison County, Clarksburg, Virginia (West Virginia after 1864). Phineas and Nancy married on December 1st, 1818 in Harrison County. The 1880 West Virginia census indicates that Phineas Chapin was born in Massachusetts. The surname "Chapin" is found extensively in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Phineas and Nancy were listed as two of the 18 charter members of the First Presbyterian Church of Clarksburg, West Virginia, in 1829. The deed grantee indexes for Harrison County between 1823 and 1856 list Phineas Chapin with 800 acres and five lots in the town of Clarksburg. Phinas was an active member of the Clarksburg community who owned several businesses and engaged in activities to enhance the cultural image of Clarksburg.

Emily was one of at least five sisters and two brothers. These siblings were Irving Pindall (born January 1820), Mary Margaretta (born November 5th, 1825), Virginius Pendleton (born November 2nd, 1827), Ruhama Pindall (born May 30th, 1830), Elizabeth Sabrina (born August 4th, 1831), Sophronia (born November 2nd, 1833), and Caroline Louisa (born September 3rd, 1835).

Emily married Phipps Waldo Bartlett (January 12th, 1815-March 26th, 1900) on January 28th, 1840 in Harrison County. They moved to Fleming County, Kentucky sometime in the middle of the 1840s. They stayed there until 1870 at the latest, as the 1870 and 1880 censuses find them back in Harrison County. In 1870, Phipps Bartlett was listed as a farmer with $6,000 in real estate and $1,590 in personal property. The pair had nine children: Florida Bartlett (born December 10th, 1840), Irving Chapin (born December 19th, 1842), Mary (born June 8th, 1846), Jerome (born April 8th, 1848), Nannie (born November 27th, 1850), Pauline (born January 14th, 1852), Lizzie (born August 30th, 1855), Emma Shrom (born December 18th, 1859), and Ida Rua (born October 8th, 1862).