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Rockbridge County, Virginia, needlework sampler apparently stitched by two sisters, Narcissa B. Hamilton (1809-1888) and Mary H. Hamilton (1811-1853). The undated sampler, circa 1820, features a sprig border enclosing six alphabets rendered in a variety of 5 kinds of stitches and includes numerous pictorial motifs including birds and baskets of flowers, along with a verse titled “On leaving Green Hill” containing lines including “Sweet Scene of my Youth / Seal of Friendship and Truth” / Where love chas(e)d each fast year / Lo(a)th(e) to leave the(e) I mournd / For a la(s)t look I turned… If again we shall meet / in this rural retreat / __ we meet as we part…” . The sampler also includes the name Mary L. Finley and initials ILF lower left. We have not been able to discern the connection between Mary L. Finley and the Hamilton sisters; it is possible, given the nature of the verse, that she was a friend who died young or moved away, or was perhaps their teacher (there were a number of Finleys in neighboring Amherst County). However, there is a notable connection between the sisters and at least one well known national figure: their mother, Sarah “Sally” Lechter Hamilton (1788-1828) of Rockbridge County, was the first cousin of Tennessee and Texas governor Samuel Houston through her mother, Mary Houston Lechter (1763-1820). The girls’ father was Robert Hamilton (1780-1859). Both girls eventually moved to Missouri, where by the 1860 census Narcissa was living with her brother Isaac on a farm in Washington County. Mary married Charles Bobb and their son Charles Letchen Bobb was born in St. Louis in 1835. She died in St. Louis in 1853. The sampler is unframed and stitched to an old piece of cardstock. It measures 19 in. H x 17 3/4 in. W.
PROVENANCE:
Private Middle Tennessee collection, ex-Brunk Auctions, July 11, 2010, lot 243.
CONDITION:
Repairs to three 1 1/2 in. areas along top edge, to three areas (1/2 in. to 1 in.) at center right area near border, and to one area at lower edge (1 in.). Bleeding and disintegration of black thread to some lines of the verse. Fading and discoloration throughout. Scattered small ground holes. Backing is acidic and should be replaced.
