Williamson County Historical Society Journal

Janet and I are pleased to announce our latest article, "19th Century Williamson County Samplers: Emerging Research." The article presents 19 Middle Tennessee samplers in full color. The cost is $25 which includes postage. To order, contact historian Rick Warwick. Make checks payable to "Williamson County Historical Society."

Rick Warwick
Williamson County Historical Society
PO Box 71
Franklin, TN 37065
(615) 591-8500 ext. 14
rwarwick@historicfranklin.com

Core, Jennifer C. and Janet S. Hasson. “19th Century Williamson County Samplers: Emerging Research.” Williamson County Historical Society Journal 43 (2012): 9-18. Descriptions of 19 Middle Tennessee samplers and biographies of the makers. 39 images.

Exhibit Opening and Lecture: The Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County

1826 Ann L. West sampler (TSS 156)

The Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County is pleased to announce the opening of the traveling exhibit, Tennessee Samplers: 19th Century Schoolgirl Embroidery. The exhibit will be on view at The Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County in Murfreesboro from Tuesday, Oct. 4, to Friday, Nov. 11, 2011. The exhibit will subsequently tour the state, traveling to the Arts Center of Cannon County (Woodbury), the McMinn County Living Heritage Museum (Athens), and the Etowah Arts Commission.

Since 2004, the Tennessee Sampler Survey has been documenting 19th century embroidery. Twenty Tennessee samplers were selected for the exhibit, each from a different county. The exhibit presents the samplers on full-sized panels; the actual samplers are not part of this exhibit due to their fragility. Five text panels, explaining the work of the Tennessee Sampler Survey and the regional characteristics of the samplers, are also part of the exhibit. The travelling exhibit is funded in part by the Tennessee Arts Commission, CBRL Group Foundation, and the LifeWorks Foundation.

Co-curators Jennifer Core and Janet Hasson will lecture on their research at the exhibit opening on Tuesday evening, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. Original samplers including the 1831 Minerva Ann Elam (Harpeth Female Academy) sampler from Oaklands Historic House Museum, the 1831 Mildred A. F. Nelson sampler from the Sam Davis Home and Museum, and the 1826 Ann L. West (Murfreesboro Female Academy) sampler from the private collection of Dr. E. C. Tolbert will be on display the evening of the lecture. Admission to the exhibit and lecture is free.

The Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County is open Monday through Friday from 10 am to 3 pm. The Heritage Center is located at 225 West College Street, Murfreesboro. For more information, call 615- 217-8013, email heritage@mtsu.edu, or visit www.hcmrc.org.

The Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County is a joint venture between the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, Main Street: Murfreesboro/Rutherford County, the City of Murfreesboro, and the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU. Additional support comes from Rutherford County government and State Farm Insurance.

Magnolia Sampler Guild Lecture and Exhibit

Members of the Guild prepare the luncheon

Every other year the Magnolia Sampler Guild of Marietta, GA, sponsors an exhibit of members' work at Bulloch Hall in Roswell, GA. Janet and I were the speakers at the Guild's annual luncheon at the Atlanta Athletic Club on Thursday, September 22, 2011. We then visited the exhibit, which runs through Saturday, October 1, 2011.

Many thanks to our hostesses for a lovely visit!

these members are natives of TN

a really big Rolex

Atlanta Athletic Club



Bulloch Hall

some of the many contemporary samplers on display

Interview with Stitches Magazine

1853 Sarah Ann Cator (TSS 108)
Grassland, Williamson Co.
16 ¹⁄4"V x 16 ¹⁄2"H
wool on 30 ct. linen

Stitches magazine staff writer Chris Ruvo interviewed Janet and me last week. Here is the result. I think he did a great job, don't you?

Exhibit Opens: TSLA

preparing the panels for hanging...

The Tennessee Sampler Survey is pleased to announce the opening of a new traveling exhibit, Tennessee Samplers: 19th Century Schoolgirl Embroidery.

The exhibit will be on view at the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville, TN, from Tues., Aug. 2, 2011 through Sun., Aug. 28, 2011. The exhibit will subsequently tour the state, traveling to the Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County, the Arts Center of Cannon County (Woodbury), the McMinn County Living Heritage Museum (Athens), and the Etowah Arts Commission.

...exhibit is up!

Since 2004, the Tennessee Sampler Survey has been documenting 19th century embroidery. Twenty Tennessee samplers were selected for the exhibit, each from a different county. The exhibit presents the samplers on full-sized panels; the actual samplers are not part of this exhibit due to their fragility. Five text panels, explaining the work of the Tennessee Sampler Survey and the regional characteristics of the samplers, are also part of the exhibit.

The Tennessee State Library and Archives is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Central Time. TSLA is located at 403 7th Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37243. For more information call (615) 741-2764, email reference.tsla@tn.gov, or visit http://www.tn.gov/tsla/.

This exhibit is funded in part by the Tennessee Arts Commission, CBRL Group Foundation, and the LifeWorks Foundation.

Exhibit Schedule

1851 Francis Elizabeth Hulme sampler
Sixth District, Williamson Co. (TSS 214)

The Tennessee Sampler Survey is pleased to announce the opening of a new traveling exhibit, Tennessee Samplers: 19th Century Schoolgirl Embroidery.

The exhibit will tour the state of Tennessee, with visits to all nine developmental districts.

Scheduled stops include:

Start Date	End Date	Location
Aug. 1, 2011	Aug. 28, 2011	TSLA, Nashville
Oct. 1, 2011	Nov. 13, 2011	Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County
Nov. 21, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Arts Center of Cannon County, Woodbury
Jan. 16, 2012	Feb. 22, 2012	McMinn County Living Heritage Museum, Athens
Feb. 27, 2012	Apr. 6, 2012	Etowah Arts Commission
Sep. 1, 2012	Oct. 8, 2012	Rose Center, Morristown

Good News!

The TSS has received a grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission to produce a traveling exhibit. These funds, combined with additional monies from CBRL Group and LifeWorks Foundation, will be sufficient for us to do a bang up job. We are working with graphic designer Patricia VornDick to develop the exhibit.

Janet and I are deep into the revisions of the information panels and sampler labels. The exhibit will open Monday, August 1, 2011, at TSLA.

It will then travel to the Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County and the Arts Center of Cannon County (Woodbury).

(Note: This exhibit is life size photographic representations of 20 different samplers, not the actual artifacts.)

We are excited to report that the first nine months are fully booked! More details and a complete schedule to follow.

Interview with Susan Schoelwer

Susan Schoelwer, author of Connecticut Needlework: Women, Art, and Family, 1740-1840, was interviewed by Jon Kay of the Artisan Ancestors website/podcast. You can listen to Dr. Schoelwer discuss how needlework provides a more complete accounting of the values, aesthetics and lives for women in Connecticut in the 18th and 19th centuries in Episode 20.

Schoelwer, Susan P. Connecticut Needlework: Women, Art, and Family, 1740-1840. Hartford: Connecticut Historical Society, 2010.

Exhibit Closing, Sun., Apr. 10, 2011

John Holtzapple, Tom Price, and Janet Hasson

Middle Tennessee Samplers: This My Name Shall Ever Have is closing this Sun., Apr. 10, 2011. If you've been meaning to visit and haven't had a chance yet, this is the last week.

The James K. Polk Home is open Mon. through Sat. 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and Sun. 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. The Polk Home is located at 301 West 7th St., Columbia, TN. Admission to the sampler exhibit is $5.

For more information contact the Polk Home at (931) 388-2354 or jameskpolk@bellsouth.net.

Lecture, Sun., Apr. 3, 2011

Columbia Female Institute
1838-1932
image: TSLA, Nashville

Janet and I will be giving a lecture on Sun., Apr. 3, 2011, 2:00 pm, at the James K. Polk Home in Columbia, TN. Our topic will be "Reading, Writing, and Refining: 19th Century Female Education in Tennessee." The lecture is the last scheduled activity in conjunction with the exhibit Middle Tennessee Samplers: This My Name Shall Ever Have, which closes Sun., Apr. 10, 2011.

Admission to the sampler exhibit is free to lecture attendees.

The James K. Polk Home is located at 301 West 7th Street, Columbia, TN 38402.

For more information or directions call (931) 388-2354 or email jameskpolk@bellsouth.net.

TSS Reproductions

The first sampler that I charted was the 1854 Margaret Elizabeth Kirkpatrick. The chart packet features everything that I love as a stitcher: photos of both the original and the reproduction, suggestions for adaptations, a biography of the stitcher, info on the historical importance of Middle TN samplers, and a pretty photo of Williamson County. I think the chart is easy to read and handle. The color conversions for three different fiber lines will assist anyone wanting to switch to a different line.

inside cover, showing adaptations

Individuals may purchase this chart for $18 + S/H from:
The Mad Samplar Book Company
1225 Village Drive
Yadkinville, NC 27055
(336) 961-6715
www.madsamplarbooks.com
paige@madsamplarbooks.com

You should call or email Paige with your order; the Needlework Shop section of her website is currently undergoing renovation.

The second sampler I charted was the 1831 Sarah Harriet Stephenson. Rindy Richards and Connie Winslett stitched the model. The chart and an accompanying article were published in the Spring 2009 (Vol. 54) issue of Sampler & Antique Needlework Quarterly. Back issues can be ordered through SANQ. A materials kit, featuring silks from Olde Willow Stitchery, can be ordered from Martha Pullen. Olde Willow no longer produces overdyed silks, so at a reduced price of $41.40, this is the easiest and cheapest way to stitch this sampler. Please note that the materials kit (of silks and linen) does not include the chart; you must order the magazine separately.

A third chart and article were published in the Fall 2010 (Vol. 60) issue of SANQ. The 1831 Mildred A. F. Nelson sampler is in the collection of the Sam Davis Home in Smyrna, TN. Now I will tell you a secret. The 1831 Sarah Harriet Stephenson is charted for Olde Willow Stitchery silks. The 1831 Mildred A. F. Nelson is charted for NPI, because OWS stopped producing overdyed silks. The original samplers, when examined from the reverse, are almost the exact same color palette. Even though Sarah and Mildred lived about 40 miles apart and went to different schools, they obtained their silks from the same source. (We hypothesize.) If you are a confident and adventurous stitcher, accustomed to changing colors, you COULD buy two materials kits for the Sarah Harriet Stephenson sampler and use one kit for Sarah and one kit for Mildred. Mildred used a dark green and a dark terracotta in hers that is not found in Sarah's--you would have to supplement with a few additional skeins of NPI. Do not do this if you plan on emailing or calling me every two days with complaints.

Here are the Olde Willow Stitchery silks, originally intended for the 1831 Sarah Harriet Stephenson sampler, which can be repurposed for the 1831 Mildred A. F. Nelson sampler, if supplemented with a skeins of NPI. For $41.40, you can buy the linen and 18 skeins of silk. This is a good deal. Note that you must also purchase the back issues of the magazines for the charts. I am not going to promise that Sarah's silks will work out perfectly for Mildred's sampler, but if you plan carefully, you will be working much like the 19th century sampler makers did. They did not have control over dye lots and many samplers show where a green changed from blue-green to yellow-green midway through the grass.

I always enjoy seeing your WIP and finished pieces. Let me know if you stitch a TSS sampler.

Reproductions from Tennessee Musuems

Several people have contacted me asking if any reproductions of Tennessee samplers are available. In my next post, I will feature the three samplers that I have charted, but first I wanted to direct you to the other reproductions available.

The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson has a kit of the 1817 Emily Tennessee Donelson sampler available. A complete kit can be ordered through their online shop and costs $21.95 plus S/H.

1817 Emily Tennessee Donelson (TSS 047)
original sampler in photo

The Knoxville Sampler Stitchers reproduced a birth record from the collection of the Ramsey House Plantation. The chart for the c.1811 Eliza Jane Naomi Baine Ramsey sampler can be ordered through the gift shop. Call (865) 546-0745 or email info@ramseyhouse.org.

c.1811 Eliza Jane Naomi Baine Ramsey (TSS 075)
original sampler in photo

The James K. Polk Home in Columbia has a chart for the 1812 Mary Wills Sansom sampler. Although Mary lived in Georgia when she stitched her marking sampler, she later moved to Tennessee and married Anderson Childress, the brother of Sarah Childress Polk, wife of President James K. Polk. This sampler was reproduced in the mid-1980s. The chart is hand drawn and the reproduction calls for natural linen and DMC threads. The price is $2.50 plus S/H. Call (931) 388-2354 or email jameskpolk@bellsouth.net to order.

The Polk Home gift shop also stocks all TSS merchandise, in conjunction with the current exhibit on Middle Tennessee samplers. I will describe our products in the next post.

1812 Mary Wills Sansom (TSS 021)
original sampler in photo

If you know of any other Tennessee sampler reproductions, let me know in the comments. I will add them to this post.

Gallery Guide: Wholesale Orders

The gallery guide is available for bulk orders. The minimum order is 15 at $1.25 each, for a total of $18.75 + S/H. Contact Janet Hasson at janet@tennesseesamplers.com to place an order. The guide is eight full color pages, front and back. It contains an overview of each section of the exhibit, pictures of representative samplers, and a brief bibliography. Information on female academics in Middle Tennessee is also included.

Individuals should place orders for single copies through the Polk Home. To order, call (931) 388-2354 or email jameskpolk@bellsouth.net. The total mail order cost is $5.00 is for international orders, $4.50 within the United States, or $4.76 for Tennessee residents. Price includes shipping and handling and applicable taxes (TN residents only).

Class Description: 1812 Mary Wills Sansom Ornament

On Sat., Feb. 26, 2011, join co-curator Jennifer Core for an ornament class. Worked on linen with cotton fibers, the Mary Wills Sansom basket motif can be stitched in the student’s choice of pink-green-blue or pink-green-yellow.

Students will receive a kit containing floss, needle, linen, stitch diagram, ornament chart, finishing fabric, biography of Mary Wills Sansom, and the previously published chart for complete antique sampler. The original 1812 Mary Wills Sansom sampler is included in the exhibit. Students should bring their usual stitching necessities, such as scissors, magnification, lights, and hoops or stretcher bars.

This workshop is offered as part of the Middle Tennessee Sampler Symposium. Cost for both days of activities is $115 per person and includes a tour of the Polk Home with curator Tom Price, a gallery talk with curator Janet Hasson, a miniature needlework workshop with Annelle Ferguson, and a lecture and the ornament class with curator Jennifer Core. To register, contact the James K. Polk Home at (931) 388-2354 or jameskpolk@bellsouth.net.

Gallery Guide Now Available

The gallery guide to the exhibit Middle Tennessee Samplers: "This My Name Shall Ever Have" is now available from the James K. Polk Home gift shop. The full color, eight-page booklet costs $2.50 + $2.50 to cover tax, shipping, and handling for a total of $5.00. Contact the Polk Home at (931) 388-2354 or jameskpolk@bellsouth.net to order. Wholesale inquiries should contact Janet Hasson at janet@tennesseesamplers.com. The exhibit continues through Sun., Apr. 10, 2011.

Class Description: Miniature 1854 Margaret Elizabeth Kirkpatrick Sampler

On Sat., Feb. 26, 2011, join miniaturist Annelle Ferguson for a lecture, instruction in over one stitching techniques, and a practical demonstration of her design process. Students will receive the kit for a miniature 1854 Margaret Elizabeth Kirkpatrick sampler. Annelle will explain her design process, using miniature samplers she has worked as examples. She will demonstrate how to begin designing a 1/12 scale version of the 1831 Mildred A. F. Nelson sampler. Students will be provided with graph paper so they can attempt their own designs. The original 1831 Mildred A. F. Nelson sampler is included in the exhibit. The kit for the mini 1854 Margaret Elizabeth Kirkpatrick sampler contains #48 silk gauze, Splendor silk threads, needle, and all instructions. The original sampler, a full sized reproduction, and the miniature model will all be available for students to examine. Students should bring their usual stitching necessities, such as scissors, magnification, and lights.

Annelle Ferguson is the owner of Mini Stitches, a design company specializing in needlework miniatures. She is the author of Traditional Needlework in Miniature. Annelle has been involved with miniatures since 1978, when she built a doll house for her daughter. Annelle is a member of the International Guild of Miniature Artisans, the National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts, and the Miniature Needlework Society.

This workshop is offered as part of the Middle Tennessee Sampler Symposium. Cost for both days of activities is $115 per person and includes a tour of the Polk Home with curator Tom Price, a gallery talk with curator Janet Hasson, the miniature needlework workshop with Annelle Ferguson, and a lecture and ornament class with curator Jennifer Core. To register, contact the James K. Polk Home at (931) 388-2354 or jameskpolk@bellsouth.net.

Schedule of Events: Middle Tennessee Samplers

The James K. Polk Home, located in Columbia, TN, is pleased to announce the the following events in conjunction with the exhibit Middle Tennessee Samplers: "This My Name Shall Ever Have." All programs will take place at the Polk Presidential Hall. For more information, contact the Polk Home at (931) 388-2354 or jameskpolk@bellsouth.net.

Tues., Jan. 25, 2011, 7:00 pm

Co-curator Janet Hasson will lead a gallery talk as part of the Polk's America Lecture Series.

Sun., Feb. 6, 2011, 2:00 pm

Linda Gupton, director of the Athenaeum Rectory and author of A Southern Saga, will discuss the Columbia Athenaeum and the Columbia Female Institute. Free.

Fri.-Sat., Feb. 25-26, 2011

Middle Tennessee Sampler Symposium

Tour the Polk Home with curator Tom Price, view the exhibit with co-curator Janet Hasson, stitch a miniature sampler with Annelle Ferguson, and attend a lecture and ornament class with co-curator Jennifer Core. Registration is required for this event. Cost is $115 person.

Sun., Mar. 13, 2011, 2:00 pm

Noted historian Rick Warwick will present his research on Williamson County samplers and material culture. Free.

Sat., Mar. 19, 2011, 10:00 am-2:00 pm

Parents and children of all ages are invited to a beginning counted needlework class with co-curator Jennifer Core. Registration is required for this event. Cost is $20 for each parent-child pair and $15 for each additional person.

Sun., Apr. 3, 2011, 2:00 pm

Co-curators Jennifer Core and Janet Hasson will speak on Middle Tennessee samplers and female education in the 19^th Century. Free.