"While her
fingers oe'r this
canvas move"
Flavia Field
Stebbins Underwood's
sampler
"Jesus Permit
the Gracious name to
stand
As the first efforts
of an infant's hand
And while her
fingers oe'r this
canvas 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"
Ten year old Flavia
Field Stebbins
stitched those words
on a sampler in
1810. It was a
typical young girl's
stitchery practice
piece, with the
alphabet in script,
then upper and lower
case letters, then
numbers, then a
pious verse. The
same unattributed
poem appears on
another sampler in
the collection. It
has also been found
on a sampler from
Hanover MA, and a
cousin of Emily
Dickinson used it on
a sampler she made!
Near the bottom she
proudly signed her
work "Wrought by
Flavia Field
Stebbins, Long
Meadow July 23rd,
1810."
Flavia was born in
Longmeadow on
December 23rd,
1799. Her parents
were Lucy Colton
Stebbins and Doctor
Benjamin Stebbins.
Flavia had an aunt
Flavia, and her
grandfather's first
wife was also called
Flavia. Flavia, not
a common name today,
was quite common
then. Its origin
means "golden, or
blonde." I wonder
if little Flavia was
fair-haired? Sadly,
her mother Lucy died
in 1804 when Flavia
was not quite five
years old.
Simple samplers such
as this one, called
"marking samplers,"
were made by young
girls to practice
their stitchery
skills as well as
their letters and
numbers. They were
not intended to be
framed or displayed
like the more
elaborate pieces
created at girls'
schools like the
Misses Patten school
in Hartford, or the
Abby Wright school
in South Hadley,
MA. Nevertheless,
many of these simple
marking samplers
were preserved as
treasured mementos,
and the Longmeadow
Historical Society
is lucky to have
several in the
collections. Many
of these samplers
contained the
alphabet and letters
like Flavia's, but
others included
family tree
information or
educational virtues.
Detail of Eunice
Storrs' sampler
showing family tree
information
Eunice Storrs
[click image to
enlarge]
Huldah Laird's
sampler including
educational virtues
[click image to
enlarge]
Experts in the
textile arts can
often identify where
a sampler is made by
certain
characteristics like
the color of the
background cloth or
features such as
birds, houses and
animals. The verses
stitched into the
cloth often included
some admonition for
good behavior or
warning about the
dangers of everyday
life.
Irinda Colton
(private collection)
"To Day We Live
toMorrow I may Die"
Needlework skills
were important to
the young girl, as
she would be
expected to mark her
linens, sew her
clothes and perhaps
even weave her own
yardage.
Flavia grew up and
married Russell
Underwood, of
Chicopee, MA, a
furniture maker.
Since beginning this
story, I have
created a database
for all of the
Longmeadow samplers
in the Historical
Society's
collection, and
photographed them.
More research is
needed on all of the
makers.
Coincidentally, this
project resulted in
learning of a
Longmeadow sampler
in a museum in
Oregon, and another
at the Fenimore Art
Museum in
Cooperstown, NY. We
know of others in
private collections
that we would like
to add to the
database...
if you have one, or
know of one, will
you share your
information and a
photo?
Most of these simple
marking samplers
were done by 10 or
11-year olds. Could
you do as well when
you were that age?
This author made a
simple counted
cross-stitch sampler
in her youth. My
parents proudly
framed it, though I
thought it was a
pretty amateur
effort!
