Sampler
Maker
Sarah Throckmorton
Period1803
MediumSilk plied thread on linen with muslin support
DimensionsSight: 19 × 15 in. (48.3 × 38.1 cm)
SignedBelow the alphabet is the inscription "Sarah Throckmorton. Aged Thirteen. March 1803."
ClassificationsNeedlework
Credit LineMuseum Purchase, 2001
Object number2001.12
DescriptionThis restrained and beautifully executed sampler is worked in silk plied threads in shades of red, blue, green, black, brown, off-white, pink, and tan on a finely woven linen ground. At the top of the sampler, worked in red, is the verse " Grant me to live, and if I live, to find / The dear lov'd portion of a peaceful mind / That health, that sweet content, that pleasing rest / which God alone can give, as suits me best." Below, within a Greek key border worked in off-white, is an upper case alphabet worked in pale ochre, flanked by two topiary shrubs in two-handled urns. Below the alphabet is the inscription "Sarah Throckmorton. Aged Thirteen. March 1803" worked in pale blue. In the bottom half of the sampler is worked a pictorial image of a brick Federal style mansion flanked by trios of distinctive feathered trees, with four formal garden beds in the foreground. A flock of small black birds fly over the mansion. Below the scene runs a light blue dovetail band. A tiny lower case alphabet worked in off-white appears in a single line below the blue band. Three borders enclose the sampler: a narrow off-white inner border of single worked cross stitches, a medial large border of a dark brown lozenge chain enclosing small floral sprigs, and an outer border of a zig zag cross stitch band worked in light blue. The sampler is mounted on its original wooden strainer assembly, backed with original off-white muslin support fabric and held in place by the original iron tacks. The sampler's frame, of black painted pine with a narrow gilded inner border, appears to be original to the piece.Curatorial RemarksMonmouth County's location, between the city centers of New York and Philadelphia, offered ready markets for its farmers and their products. In return, Monmouth's residents enjoyed access to consumer goods available from these urban sources. Successful Monmouth farmers also made sure their children received quality education. Many chose to send their sons and daughters to local day academies while others chose to educate their offspring at boarding schools. Several day academies are known to have been operating in Monmouth County, with advertisements appearing in local newspapers. Much remains unknown, however, regarding Monmouth's early educational centers. Sarah Throckmorton clearly enjoyed the benefits of a quality education, which included fine needlework skills. The unique and recognizable elements within her sampler - including the distinctive feathery trees and the lozenge chain border - may help to one day identify Sarah's school and instructor.NotesSampler maker Sarah Throckmorton was born in Shrewsbury, Monmouth County, New Jersey, on 31 March 1790 to Joseph Throckmorton (1756 - 1800) and his wife Margaret Williams (1765 - 1817). Sarah married her cousin Dr. Edmund W. Allen on 16 June 1814, and immediately moved into her husband's newly-purchased home located on the corner of Broad Street and Sycamore Avenue in Shrewsbury. The building, known today as the Allen House, is owned by the Association and opened to the public seasonally. Sarah was distantly related to Josiah Allen, original owner of the property and builder of the first structure on that site. Sarah died on 19 March 1875, and was buried with her husband in the graveyard of Christ Episcopal Church, diagonally across the street from the Allen House. The couple had seven children: Joseph Throckmorton (1815 - 1842), Elizabeth W. (1817 - 1886), Edmund Throckmorton I (1819 - 1819), Edmund Throckmorton II (1821 - 1884), Sarah I (1824 - 1825), Sarah II (1825 - 1891), and Harriet Jane (1828 - 1910). It is clear from Sarah's sampler that she received instruction from a talented needlework teacher. The highly organized and planned design, along with Sarah's sophisticated needlework skills, indicate that Sarah attended either a local academy or was educated at a boarding school and received instruction from a talented needlework teacher.The Association owns photographs of Sarah Throckmorton Allen and her husband taken in their advanced age. Another photograph owned by the Association shows how the Allen House looked about 1890. It was taken by Middletown photographer Edward Taylor (1848 - 1911). The store addition to the right of the main house burned in 1914.
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