Kentucky 18th c. Needlework Sampler, signed Isabella McDowell, Lexington, May 7th, 1791. Alphabet and numeral sampler, executed in green, gold, brown, and pink silk thread on linen, using a variety of stitches including cross, queen, eyelet and Irish stitch, over a verse: "honour thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon/the land which the lord thy god giveth thee". Signed beneath the verse "Issabella McDowell/born the 11th of August 1781/ worked in Lexington, May 7th, 1791". Note: Updated research since this Southern sampler was sold in 2007 at Leland Little Auctions indicates this is one of the earliest known Kentucky samplers. Isabella McDowell was the daughter of Col. James McDowell, who moved to Kentucky from Virginia following his service in the Revolutionary War. Fayette County, Kentucky court records include a deposition by Capt. McDowell taken June 21, 1800 as part of a land survey dispute in which he testified "I settled at the plantation where I now live in fall of the year 1784," which would place the family in Lexington at the time the sampler was made (a copy is available on request). (Note: In 1792 McDowell was appointed by Gov. Shelby, one of the three first Majors of the State; he also served in the War of 1812). Isabella married Dr. John Pogue Campbell and died in 1838 in Lexington, KY. 16 1/2" x 16" sight, 17 3/4" x 18 1/4" in later giltwood frame. Provenance – Lexington, Kentucky area collection. Condition: Four areas of repair, one at upper right near letter N, one upper left over C, one center left at letter O, one at center letter U. 1/4"hole under letter M at right center. Overall light discoloration, fading and staining. CONDITION: Four areas of repair, one at upper right near letter N, one upper left over C, one center left at letter O, one at center letter U. 1/4"hole under letter M at right center. Overall light discoloration, fading and staining.