Sisters' Samplers: Sally Durham and Jerusha Durham

Jerusha Candace Durham

The Durham sisters, Sarah (Sally) Johnson Durham (1817-1849) and Jerusha Candace Durham (1825-1880), worked two very different samplers. Sally's sampler, dated 1832, is a simple marking sampler, with the two alphabets, her name, and the date worked in cross stitch. Two rows of pulled thread work run across the top of the sampler.

1832 Sarah (Sally) Johnson Durham
Warren Co.
silk on linen
5 1/3"V x 7"H ©TSS 208

Jerusha's sampler is an elaborate affair, boasting complicated stitches such as buttonhole wheels. Jerusha included 24 sets of initials, many of them representing her two half-siblings and ten brothers and sisters.

1842 Jerusha Candace Durham
Smith Co. or DeKalb Co.
silk on 26 ct. linen
16 1⁄2"V x 17 1⁄4"H ©TSS 098