Sampler by Christeen Baker at Choctaw Mission School

DateJune 9, 1830 (dated)

Maker Christeen Baker (b. 1817)

OriginAmerica, Mississippi, Mayhew, Choctaw Nation

MediumSilk embroidery threads on a linen ground of 25 warp by 24 weft threads per inch (fiber identification by eye)

DimensionsOW: 11 1/2" OL: 16 1/4"

Credit LineGiven in memory of Sarah B. McGehee by her daughter, Milly McGehee

Object number2009-137

DescriptionRectangular alphabet and verse sampler worked in faded shades of green, blue, gold, rust, and ivory on a natural color linen ground. The sampler has selvages at top and bottom and is hemstitched on all four sides.

The top fourth of the sampler consists of:
"A-P" uppercase block, worked in cross stitch.
"Q-Z" uppercase block, "&", worked in cross stitch.
Decorative band of checkered cross stitch.
"a-v" lower case block, worked in cross stitch in green and ivory.
Band of cross stitch.
"w-z" lower case block, "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0", worked in cross stitch.
Decorative band of checkered cross stitch in blue and ivory.

The second quarter of the sampler consists of the following verse worked in cross stitch and a sawtooth band worked in satin stitches: "Wha[t] so ever thy hand findeth to do do it with/ Thy might for there is no work nor device nor/ Knowledge nor wisdom in the grave whither thou/ goest." (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

The third portion of the sampler consists of the following verse worked in cross stitch and a decorative band of balls and dashes worked in cross stitch: "When shall we all meet again/ When shall we all meet again/ Oft shall weried [sic] love retire/ Oft shall death and sorrow reign/ ere we all shall meet again. When the dreames [sic] of life are fled/ When its wasted lamp is dead/ When in cold oblivions shade/ Beauty power and fame are laid/ Where immortal spirite [sic] reign/ There may we all meet again." (William Cullen Bryant, 1794-1878)

The bottom section of the sampler consists of the signature: "Wrought by/ Christeen Baker/ Choctaw Mission school/ Mayhew June 9th 1830" worked in cross stitch.

The sampler is enclosed on four sides with an inner border of sawtooth worked in satin stitch, a middle border of balls and dashes worked in cross stitch, and an outer border of sawtooth worked in satin stitch. The sampler is hemstitched on all four sides.

Stitches: cross over one and two threads, hem, and satin.

Label TextChristeen Baker's sampler is a rare and important work wrought by a Native American girl on the American frontier in what is now Mayhew, Mississippi. In addition to its artistic merit, the sampler is also a lesson in social and geographical history and illuminates the changing nature of American culture in the early nineteenth century. Research revealed that Christeen Baker was the white name given to a twelve-year-old native Choctaw who worked this sampler while attending the Female Mission School at Mayhew, Mississippi in the years 1829 and 1830. End-of-the-year reports for the school state that she learned reading, writing, and geography. Her sampler indicates that she also was taught needlework skills and Bible verses.

The Choctaws surrendered their claims to the Mayhew area in the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek signed September 27, 1830, just three months after Christeen finished her sampler. In exchange they were given lands in present-day Oklahoma to which most of them moved. It is not known what became of Christeen Baker, but her surviving sampler provides a glimpse into her life and powerfully illustrates the story of cultural assimilation, women's education, and the forced removal of an indigenous people.

The verse "When shall we three meet again?" was was written by Anna Jane Vardill and was originally published in the July 1807 issue of a British magazine titled La Belle Assemblée.
Inscribed"Wha[t] so ever thy hand findeth to do do it with/ Thy might for there is no work nor device nor/ Knowledge nor wisdom in the grave whither thou/ goest."

"When shall we all meet again/ When shall we all meet again/ Oft shall weried [sic] love retire/ Oft shall death and sorrow reign/ ere we all shall meet again. When the dreames [sic] of life are fled/ When its wasted lamp is dead/ When in cold oblivions shade/ Beauty power and fame are laid/ Where immortal spirite [sic] reign/ There may we all meet again."

"Wrought by/ Christeen Baker/ Choctaw Mission school/ Mayhew June 9th 1830"
ProvenanceThe sampler was purchased by the donor's parents from Gary Young of Carriage House Antiques in Carrollton, Missouri, on June 6, 1976.