Embroidery from the Historical Collections of the Follett House Museum

Embroidery, as defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica, is "the art of decorating material, primarily textile fabric, by means of a needle and thread (and sometimes fine wire)." It dates back to ancient times, often used in garments, tomb paintings, and for religious items.  Shown above is an embroidered sampler created by nine-year-old Nancy Ward in 1810. She stitched two upper case alphabets, a lower case alphabet, and numerals 1 to 10.

Here is a hand embroidered motto that reads “Forget me not” with a floral design:

In 1834 Caroline Sprague monogrammed the letter “M” on a linen tablecloth. Since Caroline married Henry Frost Merry in 1837, it is likely that the tablecloth was made for a member of the Merry family.

These four linen embroidered doilies belonged to pioneer Sandusky resident Mrs. William T. West, nee Lydia Mahala Todd:

Also in the historical collections of the Sandusky Library and Follett House Museum is a book published in 1888 entitled How to Shade Embroidered Flowers and Leaves, by Ellen Galusha Smith.

To read more about the history of embroidery in the United States, see the book The Development of Embroidery in America, by Candace Wheeler, available at Project Gutenberg.

1809 Sampler by Gertrude Nash

According to records at the Follett House Museum, this sampler was handstitched by Gertrude Nash in 1809. Gertrude Nash was an early resident of southern Ohio. Hewson Peeke wrote in his book A Standard History of Erie County that Gertrude’s maternal grandfather, Major Horton, served in the Revolutionary War. In 1818, Gertrude married a Mr. Cook, who died young. She later married Henry Clay Victor, who was once a tavern keeper in Erie County, Ohio. One of the sons of Henry Clay and Gertrude Nash Victor, Orville James Victor, became a well known author and editor. Henry Clay Victor and his family lived in Erie County, Huron County, and Seneca County. By 1860, Gertrude was a widow, and she moved back to Sandusky, Ohio. Gertrude Nash Victor died in 1882, and she is buried in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.

1818 Sampler by Rachel Powel

Rachel Powel stitched this sampler in December of 1818, in Presteigne, a town in Wales, near the English border. It was passed down to her daughter and granddaughter.


After Ruby Diggins Schnell passed away, this sampler was given to the historical collections of the Sandusky Library and The Follett House Museum.
Rachel Powel (sometimes spelled Powell) was born in the United Kingdom in 1806. According to Hewson Peeke’s Standard History of Erie County, Rachel Powell married William Bedford in England. They emigrated to the United States of America, and shortly after arriving, Mr. Bedford died. Rachel married William M. Harris in 1832. They had a family of several children, and settled in the southwest section of Huron Township of Erie County. Mrs. Rachel M. Harris is buried at Scott Cemetery, her headstone listing her date of death as Oct. 31, 1881.
One of the children of William and Rachel Harris was Mary M. Harris, who was born in Huron Township in 1844 on the old homestead. Mary Harris married Joy Diggins in 1883. (Joy Diggins is the actual subject of Mr. Peeke’s biographical sketch, mentioned previously.) Ruby Beatrice Diggins was born to Joy and Mary Harris Diggins in 1885.

She married Lewis Schnell, and passed away on January 16, 1970. Thanks to the faithfulness of Ruby and her mother Mary in preserving this family heirloom, we can still appreciate a lovely piece of stitchery which was created over one hundred ninety years ago.