The sampler has four upper-case and one lower-case alphabet sequences, a partial numeric sequence and features a two-story house with three bays, two chimneys and a transom over the front door. The poem by Oliver Goldsmith (1730-1774) reads:
And what is friendship but a name
A charm that lulls to sleep
A shade that follows wealth or fame
And leaves the wretch to weep.

The sampler is signed:
Martha A. Viley
St. Catherine Sept 1833

Martha Ann was born in 1819 to Willa Janes Viley (1788-1865) and Lydia Smith (b.1794) in Scott County, Kentucky. Willa Viley was one of the pioneers of Kentucky horse racing, having much success and owning many of the most notable horses of his day, including the famous “Lexington”. Martha married Squire C. Gaines in 1838 in Scott County, Kentucky. Her second marriage was to Lewis Turner Payne on October 12, 1842.
St. Catherine’s Academy was founded in Scott County, Kentucky in 1823 by Mother Catherine Spalding (1793-1858). Under Sister Ann Spalding’s guidance the school was transferred in 1833 to Lexington, Kentucky, about 16 miles away.