Sampler

Period1813

MediumPlied silk thread on linen

DimensionsSight: 23 × 19.25 in. (58.4 × 48.9 cm)

SignedAlong the bottom of the sampler is worked the signature "Elizabeth A. Parker's work, done under the / tuition of C. R. Deen, Long Branch AD 1813."

ClassificationsNeedlework

Credit LineGift of Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, 1942

Object number1770

DescriptionA rectangular sampler worked on fine bleached linen ground in plied silk thread in black, dark green, sage green, pale yellow, pale tan, and off-white. At the top, an extensive verse worked in bold black thread reads "JESUS permit thy gracious name to stand, / As the first effort of an infant hand; / And while her fngers o'er 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." The verse is placed within a simple narrow border, flanked both left and right by a single floral element above a pine tree motif. Below the sampler's verse is worked a large pictorial scene. In the center of a bucolic landscape stands a two-story house with the front and left side visible. The front door of the house includes a doorknob worked in satin stitch, giving it a three-dimensional quality. The house is flanked by rows of trees. In front are two weeping willow trees. A tidy walkway is depicted in front of the house. In the foreground a flock of white and black sheep graze on the lawn on one side of a meandering stream, with a pair of cows in the foreground center. In the sky above the landscape are worked numerous individual motifs including a large central floral basket, two smaller floral baskets at left and right, and four perching birds. Below the pictorial scene is the inscription "Elizabeth A. Parker's work, done under the / tuition of C. R. Deen, Long Branch AD 1813." The signature line is flanked on either side by single floral motifs in bordered squares. A strawberry vine border is worked around the entire sampler. A narrow outer border is worked in alternating Algerian eyelet rows.
Curatorial RemarksLong Branch resident Elizabeth Parker was probably between the ages of twelve and sixteen when she completed this beautifully-worked and well-balanced sampler. Parker's verse was a highly popular one, appearing in both English and American samplers for several decades. The verse itself is attributed by some scholars to hymn-writer John Newton (1725 - 1807), who is said to have written the lines for his niece to include in her sampler. Newton is best known for his enduring hymn "Amazing Grace." If Elizabeth Parker's needlework instructress C. R. Deen was in fact the same Christiana Deen who appeared in the 1860 census, there are several interesting questions the census records raise. Deen was described as a "tailoress," distinct from the description of "seamstress" noted for the other female household resident. As such, Deen had a high level of needlework skill and would have been able to draft a pattern, alter and adjust a garment for proper fitting, and other specific tailoring skills, while "seamstress" indicated someone who was able to assemble, sew, and finish a particular garment. Where did Deen learn her own needlework skills? Did she, as a woman in her twenties, focus exclusively on teaching embroidery to girls like Elizabeth Parker, or was it an adjunct to working as a tailoress? It is not known whether Deen worked within a particular day school or whether she offered individual needlework instruction to girls within her community. Continuing research on samplermaking, the needlework instructors who taught embroidery skills, and the girls who produced these samplers may provide answers to these questions.NotesResearch efforts to identify Elizabeth A. Parker and C. R. Deen have so far not proved successful. The Parker family was very prominent in the Long Branch and Little Silver areas from the earliest years of settlement in Monmouth County. In fact, Little Silver was originally named Parkertown. The 1860 Federal census schedules may provide one clue for C. R. Deen. A Christiana Deen, age seventy four and a tailoress, was living in the household of James J. Dunham, age sixty-four, a merchant at Washington, Middlesex County (now South River). Christiana had been born in New Jersey about 1786. That would have made her around twenty-seven years old at the time that Elizabeth Parker worked her sampler. Also living at the time with Dunham was Hetty A. DeHart, age forty and a seamstress who, like Deen, had been born in New Jersey.

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