Kentucky schoolgirl needlework sampler with verse, signed by Mary Ellen Ellis (Hadley, Warren County, b. 1854) and dated 1865, rendered primarily in red and green wool/cotton on linen. Depicts an upper and lower case alphabet over a large red house flanked by a ship and flowering plants, over a verse and signature "I am the Lily of the Valley / Mary Ellen Ellis Age 11 1865. Charity". Framed under glass in a wide walnut frame. 11 3/4" x 10 1/8" sight, 19 1/2" x 18" framed. Note: Mary Ellen Ellis was the daughter of William Lewis Ellis and Nancy W. Stratton. Mary Ellen married James Warren Stratton in Robertson County, Tennessee on Dec. 21, 1869, at the age of fifteen (four years after completing this sampler). The couple moved to Adairville, KY and had three children. She died in 1936 and is buried in the Adairville City Cemetery. CONDITION: Overall excellent condition with a few miniscule spots of thread loss to red thread, few spots of light ground discoloration. Not examined out of frame.