Images(4)

Sampler by Unity A. Delk

Date1834

Maker Unity A. Delk (1820-1888)

OriginAmerica, Virginia, Isle of Wight County or Surry County (probably)

MediumSilk embroidery threads on a linen ground of 27 x 30 threads per inch; with paper lining; original wooden frame, glass, and brass hanger (fiber identification by eye)

DimensionsFramed: OH 26 2/8 x OW 23 1/2 Actual (by sight): OH 20 2/3 x 17 1/2

Credit LineGift of Martha Wren Briggs

Object number2014-224

DescriptionThis is a large rectangular sampler worked in faded shades of green, yellow, and brown silk threads on a linen ground. The sampler is enclosed in a naturalistic floral and leaf border on all four sides. From the top the sampler consists of:
"A-T"
Double band of double cross stitch
"U-Z", four cross stitches arranged in a diamond, "ED.WD.OD.JD.JD.ED"
"J.C", "M.C"
The center section consists of a large three-story house flanked by tall, narrow trees. Above the house, nestled between the chimneys, is the phrase "Mount Pleasant."
Below the house is the verse: "Jesus prmit [sic] thy gracious name to stand,/As the first effort of an infant hand,/And while her fingers over this canvass move,/Engage her tender heart to seek thy love,/With thy der [sic] children let her share A part,/And wrte [sic] thy name thy self upon her heart." To the left of this verse are the initials:
"MEJ"
"MWD"
"MVC"
"MBD"
To the right of this verse are the initials:
"WJDK"
"TC"
"JOCW"
"JPW"
Below this verse are the following lines:
"EDEMCMAJSLIMADNWJLAB."
"Wiley Delk died December 5th 1820."
"Unity A. Delk. Finished her sampler. Sept 5 1834."

Stitches: chain and counted chain, cross, double cross, four sided
Label TextThis sampler is one of a group of three worked by members of the same family. One sampler was worked by Unity's older sister, Martha, and another by her stepsister, Elizabeth M. Cofer. Except for a few variations, these samplers are almost identical.

Yet another sampler, worked by a girl named Caroline Vellines drew inspiration from an architectural drawing completed by Unity's brother, Jason M. Delk; the building portrayed in this drawing is similar to the one stitched by Unity and Martha. Caroline Vellines later married Unity's brother, Wiley Jones Delk, Jr.

Unity's sampler is dedicated to her father, Wiley Jones Delk. The initials scattered across the linen ground also honor members of Unity's family. The two most prominent initials, "J.C" and "M.C", honor Unity's stepfather, Joseph Cofer, and her mother, Martha Delk Cofer. Unity also included the initials of some of her siblings, half siblings, and nieces.
Inscribed"ED.WD.OD.JD.JD.ED"
"J.C", "M.C"
"Mount Pleasant"
"Jesus prmit [sic] thy gracious name to stand,/As the first effort of an infant hand,/And while her fingers over this canvass move,/Engage her tender heart to seek thy love,/With thy der [sic] children let her share A part,/And wrte [sic] thy name thy self upon her heart."
"MEJ"
"MWD"
"MVC"
"MBD"
"WJDK"
"TC"
"JOCW"
"JPW"
"EDEMCMAJSLIMADNWJLAB."
"Wiley Delk died December 5th 1820."
ProvenanceThe sampler descended from the sampler maker to her daughter Leah Wren Stephenson Williams (1859-1912), to her daughter Mattie Stephenson Williams Briggs (Mrs. Garland Briggs) (1897-1989), to her daughter Martha Wren Briggs (1933-2018), who donated the sampler to the museum in 2014.

History of Sampler Maker:
Born April 25, 1820, the year that her father died, Unity Adeline Delk was the last of eleven children born to Wiley Jones Delk (1779-1820) and Martha Wren Delk (1784-1853) of Southampton County, Virginia. She was the seventh generation of Delks in the Virginia counties of Isle of Wight, Surry, and Southampton, and was probably named for her paternal grandmother Unity Holleman Delk (1755-1835). Four years after her father's death in 1824, her mother, Martha (Patsy) Wren Delk, married Joseph Cofer (1775-1839), a Baptist minister in Surry, uniting the Delk and Cofer children. Unity, her older sister Martha, and her stepsister, Elizabeth Cofer, created almost identical samplers honoring their respective deceased parents. Unity fist married James Clayton, and in 1857, she married Alfred Turner Stephenson (1817-1895). Their children were: Leah Wren Stephenson Williams (1859-1912); Martha Rebecca Stephenson (1862-1896); Cadmus Turner Stephenson (1865-1947), and Virginia Adeline Stephenson (1865-1943). Unity Adeline Delk Clayton Stephenson died on June 22, 1888, and is buried in the Stephenson Cemetery at Barrett Corner in Southampton County, Virginia.