1743 Sampler Wrought by Mary Gisborne

Sampler wrought in 1743 by Mary Gisborne.  A l988 letter on the reverse, shown below, speculates that Mary might have been from New Hampshire, and I did find Gisborne families in New England.

She may also have been the Mary Gisborne who was born at the British Chaplaincy at St. Petersburg, Russia, daughter of Consul Thomas J. Gisborne, though I found an unsourced reference that this Mary died in 1837 at Stockholm, Sweden.

And it would be fun to think that she might have been Maria (?) Reveley Gisborne, to whom poet Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote his "Letter to Maria Gisborne" in 1820.

The letter above mentions that the crown in the design indicates a loyal subject of colonial America, but it seems also a likely symbol among needle workers in the British empire.

If you have a theory as to the identity of Mary Gisborne, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  Thanks for stopping by!

Clipping showing c1826 Sampler of Charlotte White of Middlesex County, Massachusetts

While looking through some old papers, I found this wrinkled clipping, perhaps removed from an issue of "Maine Antiques Digest" or similar publication, showing the c. 1826 sampler of Charlotte White which sold at auction for $3422.  Photograph by Sloans & Kenyon, presumably the auctioneer.

I can just barely make out the following names:

• Parents John White and Charlotte Hapgood
• Abraham White
• Charlotte White
• Winthrop White
• Luther White
• possibly Mary White
• possibly John White

These names were enough to determine that this was the family of John and Charlotte (Hapgood) White of Action, Massachusetts.  An online tree gave the same names for their children and gave a birth date of 1 May 1814 for Charlotte White, at Acton, Massachusetts.  She married Elbridge Jones Robbins at Acton, in January 1833, had, according to the tree, eight children with him and died in 1844, possibly as a result of the birth of her son William.

Transcript of the wrinkled clipping

Charlotte White was 12 years old when she made this circa 1826 intricate needlework for her family tree.  Residing in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, she designed the 16-1/2" x 17" fabric with 11 squares in which to add family information.  She used seven of the squares, leaving four blank for the future.  Estimated at $3000/4000, it sold for $3422.  Sloans & Kenyon photo.

If you have further information on Charlotte White or her family, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  Sloans & Kenyon Auctioneers & Appraisers might have a record of where this sampler went after the auction, in case you are interested.

Acton, Massachusetts


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