Lot 236: McMinnville TN Needlework Sampler, 1832

McMinnville, Middle Tennessee schoolgirl embroidered sampler, silk on linen, stitched by Louisa Hill, 1832, at the McMinnville Female Academy. The sampler features a wide floral border enclosing a partial uppercase alphabet, lower case alphabet, and row of numbers, above a signature/date line of May 2, 1832, “McMinnville Female Academy,” and verse, “It is wise to talk with oth– past hours and ask them what report they bore to heaven”, stitched both within and partly outside a floral U-shaped garland. Framed under glass in a bronze-finished molded wood frame. Sight: 17 1/2 in. H x 16 1/2 in. W. Frame: 20 in. H x 20 1/2 in. W. Note: this sampler is featured on page 389 of TENNESSEE SAMPLERS: FEMALE EDUCATION AND DOMESTIC ARTS, 1800-1900 which discusses the sampler in detail and contains the following genealogical information: Louisa (Lovisa) Hill of Warren Co., Tennessee, was born on May 4, 1819 to parents Isaac Hill (1797-1871) and Eliza Hill (1800-1859). Louisa’s grandfather, Henry John Alexander “Harry” Hill (1775-1825), was an early settler who established Hill’s Creek, and was one of the original petitioners to form Warren Co. He went on to serve three terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives and was instrumental in naming McMinnville after his friend, fellow House member and Tennessee Governor, Joseph McMinn (1758-1824). Louisa married Abner Woodlee (1808-1846) in 1835 and, then, his nephew, Jacob Woodlee, Jr. (1824-1867), after Abner’s death. She had five children from each marriage and died on April 7, 1857 and is buried in Armstrong Church Cemetery, Irving College, TN.

PROVENANCE:

Private Middle Tennessee collection. Ex-Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates, July 3, 2021, lot 1185. 

CONDITION:

Losses to sampler border, likely from where it was previously tacked down. Ground loss near date and some wear/losses to ground in scattered other areas. Some fading to threads and losses to red threads. First half of alphabet removed. Not examined out of frame.