It is interesting to search out auction catalogs online. The artist in me likes to do it, but today the genealogist in me got stirred a bit when I saw the above memorial sampler for Eliza Sargent in the James D. Julia catalog for their February 3rd and 4th antique and fine art auction. This is not my branch of the family, but you never know how they might have been related to my own ancestors.
The auction description states:
THE SARGENT FAMILY MEMORIAL SAMPLER FOR ELIZA. SARGENT, MARCH 12, 1811. Silk on linen, worked by Margaret Sargent (b. 1802), top center panel titled "A Family Record" including names of her parents, dates of their births and marriage, as well as birth dates of her nine siblings. A pious verse stitched above the bottom memorial panel consisting of a monument and urn flanked by weeping willows, a tribute to her sister, Eliza, "Sacred to the / memory of Eliza Sargent / who died March / the 12 1811 aged / 2 years and 2 mon / tho lost to sight in / memory dear we / meet again in hea /ven." Below the monument reads "Executed by Miss Margaret Sargent," with a wide floral border and a cornucopia flanked by grapes above the upper panel. Young Eliza's death is listed in the "Index to Deaths in the Massachusetts Centinel and Columbian Centinel 1784-1840" as the youngest daughter of Loring Sargent. The maker's parents, Loring Sargent (1775-1838) and Margaret Abrams (b. 1779), were married 20 January 1799 by the Rev. Sam Stilman in Boston and had ten children, all of whom are recorded on the sampler. Loring Sargent, whose occupation was that of a bricklayer, is both listed in the 1810 and 1820 United States Census for Boston Ward 3, Suffolk, Massachusetts, as well as the "Boston Directory (for 1800) 1800, Boston" printed by John Russell. The directory lists residence on Prince Street. The sampler is by direct descent through the line of the maker's sister, Susan, who married John Nathaniel Barbour (1805-1890) in 1830; the couple had five children. "The Boston Herald" announced his January 29th, 1890 death in a lengthy article entitled, "A Man of Many Good Deeds: Mr. John Nathaniel Barbour of Cambridge Dead." His address is listed as #34 Prince Street, Boston. A copy of the Sargent Family history accompanies this lot. SIZE: 24"h x 21"w. CONDITION: Very good overall with yet vibrant colors. No insect damage noted. Coffee-colored stain at bottom of work approximately 20" in length and 3" wide at widest. 9-20756 (5,000-7,000)
1 comment:
It'd be interesting to know how old Margaret Sargent was when she stitched this sampler to her sisters memory. If she started this at the death of her little sister, that would make her about 9 years old. Which wasn't too young to begin a sampler, by any means. Curious as to when exactly the sampler was completed. If it was recently after Eliza's death, I find it amazing the talent her sister possessed with the needle.
I think samplers and quilts are the most precious of all heirlooms.
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