Four Samplers: Elizabeth Cheever, Elizabeth Gore, Adam and Eve and Three Bees, together with Mary O. Folsom

The first, a rare needlework sampler, Elizabeth Cheever (1723/24 - 1762), Boston, Massachusetts, dated 1736.  Worked in silk and twisted silk threads on linen in slanted Gobelin, satin, couched satin, outline, eyelet, flame, long-armed cross-, and cross-stitches. Inscribed: ELIZabetH CheeveR Made/ThIS SamppLER In The 13/yeaR of her/Age 1736. 14 1/2  by 9 1/2  inches. (30 threads to the inch). The third, a small sampler in silk threads on a linen ground with Adam and Eve, above a medallion with three bees, 7 3/4  by 6 inches, and a cross-stitch sampler signed Elizabeth Gore, dated March 1822. 16 1/2  by 12 1/4  inches. Together wtih a sampler by Mary O. Folsom. Worked in silk threads and crinkled silk floss on linen in Gobelin, satin, and cross-stitches. Inscribed: Mary O Folso/m aged 12 years Schoolmistresses: Abigail Rollins, Eliza S. Gilman, Nancy Houg [or Hong?], E.A. Clark and Elijah Blake, instructor. 16 3/4  by 12 1/4  inches. (24 threads to the inch).  4 pieces.

See catalogue note at sothebys.com

Mary Folsom- David and Linda Arman, Pomfret Center, Connecticut, November 1981

Mary O. Folsom sampler somewhat darkened and with some fading.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Exhibited and Literature: LACMA, pp. 26-27, fig. 1;  p.83, fig. 34

Mary Folsom's unfinished sampler is surrounded by a reversing strawberry vine border. The alphabets have been enclosed on three sides by a dazzling inner border of closely worked diamond motifs in an unusual combination of blue, white, and black crinkled silk threads. Born in Exeter, New Hampshire, on May 17, 1815, Mary Olivia Folsom was the third of Peter Folsom and Hannah Pike Hook's eight children.¹ Their homestead of about sixty acres was located on the north side of the Plains Road, now called Stratham Heights Road, in Stratham.² In a town meeting in March 1775, the residents of Stratham decided to "hire School Dams for each end of the town to larn' young children." The first female teacher recorded in the town, Mrs. Edward Taylor, the wife of Deacon Taylor, is listed five years later, in 1780.³ By the end of the first quarter of the nineteenth century-a period of tremendous expansion in the field of education for women- it was considered fashionable for the young women of Stratham to be sent to neighboring Exeter for schooling. However, the numerous rewards of merit presented to Mary Olivia (see below and page 84) suggest that she remained in Stratham for her schooling. For while William Perry notes in Exeter in 1830 that a girls' academy existed in the town as early as 1818,⁴ two of the surnames appearing on Mary's certificates of merit-(Nicholas) Rollins and (Levi) Clark-also appear on the report of the Stratham School Committee of the same year, making it almost certain that Mary's public school classroom was located in Stratham.⁵ These paper mementoes are of interest to us not only because they attest to her ability as a scholar, but because they are dated and reveal the names of several of her instructors. The earliest appears to be that of E. A. Clark, who wrote the date "Feb. 15, 1826," then changed it to read 1827. Five of these awards were signed by Eliza S. Gilman in 1826 and 1827, five by Abigail Rollins, one by Nancy Houg (or Hong?), and one by schoolmaster Elijah Blake, who placed his signature on the only example decorated with polychrome inks. ⁶ These signed certificates document that Mary Olivia Folsom attended school for a period of at least two years, from 1826 to 1827. The presentation of these paper prizes was a common practice in New England schools. They were often painstakingly created by the teachers themselves, ⁷ although they could also be bought ready-made, lavishly embellished with allegorical scenes and decorative borders, with blank space left to insert both the student's and teacher's names. Many of Mary Olivia's merits were printed on the reverse side with verses of popular hymns. Only one of Mary's is handmade. It reads: "This may certify that Miss Mary Olivia Folsom/ is at the head of her class and by studious/ attention, merits the love of her friends and/ Instructresses./ Eliza S. Gilman/ July 9, 1826." There is no evidence, however, that her sampler, worked in 1824, was accomplished while she attended the Stratham public school. In 1839, Mary Olivia Folsom married John Paine Wingate, against his family's wishes. Their only child, Elias Paine, was born in April 1840, but died within six months. John, who had a reputation as a fast and reckless driver, died in a carriage accident a year later. Soon after his death, Mary Olivia became involved in a lawsuit with her husband's parents, who were eventually granted possession of her house. She returned to the farm of her childhood on Old Plains Road and in later years divided her time between Boston and Stratham, making her home with her unmarried siblings, Elizabeth and B. Frank, who was president of the National Granite State Bank of Exeter. Well liked and very astute, Mary was consulted throughout her life by her banker brother for business advice.⁸ She was known to be "wise, thrifty, sensible, and a good housewife." ⁹ Mary Olivia Folsom Wingate died November 4, 1889. ¹⁰

 

1. Letter from descendant, Peter F. McFarlin, August 31, 1982. I am indebted to Peter McFarlin for lending original photographs of Mary Olivia and sharing a wealth of personal information about her life. I appreciate his kindness. See also Elizabeth Knowles, Genealogy of the Folsom Family, 1638-1938 (Rutland, VT: Tuttle Publishing Co., 1938), 397. 

2. McFarlin letter, 1982. 

3. Charles B. Nelson, History of Stratham, New Hampshire, 1631-1900 (privately published, no date), 204. 

4. William G. Perry, Exeter in 1830, ed. Nancy C. Merrill (reprint, Hampton, NH: Peter E. Randall, 1972), S. 

5. Nelson, History of Stratham, 209. 

6. This certificate is inscribed on the reverse, "Sold, wholesale and retail, by Geo. P. Daniels, Bookseller and Stationer, No. S. Market-street, Providence, R.I." It appears to have been stamped with six colors, rather than painted. Others are imprinted "Sold by Munroe & Francis, 128 Washington Street." 

7. Sandra Brant and Elissa Cullman, Small Folk: A Celebration of Childhood in America (New York, NY: Dutton, 1980), 108, 109.

8. McFarlin letter, 1982.

9. Ibid. 

10. Ibid. Clipping of newspaper obituary dated November 4, 1889, enclosed with letter.