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 The school girl samplers are my favorite style of sampler. What I love the most about them is that they actually talk to us through the needlework, much like the Bayeux Tapestry and the needlework of Mary Queen of Scots. Because skill in needlework was a necessity for all young ladies, it was taught with enthusiam by school mistresses, mothers, or some other female member of the household. During this time, the sampler was signed and, for the most part, dated. Often the stitcher would add her age. The sampler on this page was stitched by Rebecah French. She dates her sampler 1802. She also tells us that she lives in New Hampshire and she is nine years old when she stitched this piece. Other samplers from this period often include stitched renderings of the church the girl attended, or their houses', some girls even pictured their family members in their sampler.
Church was a major part of every day life so it would have been considered normal to add a scripture verse, prayer, or lines regarding God and His care. Most samplers included some type of biblical reference. There were also entire samplers devoted to various stories from the Bible. Adam and Eve were popular as a topic for samplers. Proud parents would frame and hang their daughter's completed sampler in the parlor for all to see. Today, these school girl samplers are not only vey desirable among museums and collectors, but they are also extremely valuable!
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