Silk on linen with cross, Algerian eye, satin, straight, and tent stitches. The ground has vertical blue spacing lines every ten threads of the warp; the thread count is 25/inch horizontal, 25/inch vertical.
Provenance
The sampler was made in 1845 by Elizabeth Nancy Howe. It was sold to Private Collector #39 in March, 2023 by Neverbird Antiques, Williamsburg, VA.
Description
Kentucky Family Record samplers are uncommon. The sampler has sprigs of flowers along its right and left periphery with vine and flowers along its top and bottom. In the upper half of the field there are seven rows of alphabets and numbers separated by simple crossbands. Her signature line reads:
Elizabeth N. Howes work IN T
he Fourteenth Year OF Her age 1845
Below the signature is the single dominant motif, a large rose in the lower central portion of the sampler, just above the name of her possible teacher, "L. S. Howe", who is likely a relative.
To the right of the rose are her siblings, identified by initials and surname with (addendums) by AKS:
M R Lee (Minerva Rebecca Howe Lee, 1824-1871)
M L Howe (Marshall Lowry Howe, 1826-1913)
M J Howe (Martha Jane Howe, 1829-1925)
M D Howe (Margaret D Howe, 1835-1864)
S H Howe (Samuel Henry Howe, 1837-1930)
W T Howe (William Thomas Howe, 1840-1907)
C A Howe (Caroline Amelia Howe, 1843-1860)
L E Howe (Louisa Ellen Howe, 1846-1918)
To the left of the rose is a portion of Revelations 22:17 and her parents:
And The Spirit
And the Bride
Say come
John M &
S R Howe
(The King James Version of Revelations 22:17 reads: "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.")
Elizabeth Nancy Howe was born on December 12, 1832 in Flemingsburg, Fleming County, Kentucky, to John Murphy Howe (1799-1855) and Sarah Marshall Robertson (1805-1871). Both of her parents were born in Fleming County, Kentucky. The 1850 Federal Census indicates that Elizabeth attended school, which suggests, along with the materials used in her sampler, that she learned to stitch her sampler in a more formal setting rather than being instructed by her mother.
Elizabeth’s siblings are as noted above with the addition of Mary Arnold (1831-1834), Sarah (1838-?), and Emma (Emily) Virginia (1848-1853).
Elizabeth married James A. Cassidy (1822-1907) in Flemingsburg, Flemings County, Kentucky on November 18, 1852. Both Elizabeth and James had deep roots in Kentucky. Elizabeth’s paternal grandfather, John Howe (1740-1817), and his wife, Jane Dunlap (1743-1804), emigrated from South Carolina to Lexington, Kentucky by 1766. James was the grandson of one of the founders of Fleming County, Michael Cassidy (1755-1829).
Elizabeth N. Howe Cassidy (see accessory images) and James A. Cassidy moved to Walker, Rush County, Indiana by 1860. And according to census records, she lived there until at least 1910. Their children included William Marshall (1853-1920), male child (1855-1855), Charles Emmett (1861-1945), Alba Marion (1863-1950), John T. (1868-1925), and Louisa/Loura Mae. (1871-1944). An image of portions of the family in Elizabeth’s later life is seen in the ancillary images. From left to right in the photo are: William Howe, Martha "Mattie" Howe Bovell, James A. Cassidy, Marshall Howe, Louisa Ellen Howe Tucker, and Elizabeth "Lizzie" Howe Cassidy, the sampler maker.
Elizabeth Nancy Howe died of pneumonia on December 9, 1910 in Homer, Rush County, Indiana and is buried there in the Hurst Cemetery, (see ancillary images). Her obituary is as follows from “The Shelby Democrat, Page 1, Column 3. Thursday, December 15, 1910.
‘Casady [Cassidy] Obsequies
The funeral of Mrs. Elizabeth Casady [Cassidy]was held in the Christian Union Church at Homer at nine o'clock yesterday afternoon. The immediate cause of her death was an attack of pneumonia. She was seventy-eight years of age and had made her home for several years with her relatives near Homer. She is survived by one daughter and four sons, their names being Mrs. Byron Gates [Louise Martha Cassidy Gates], Alva [Alba], Charles, John and William.
Elizabeth's parents are Major John Murphy Howe (1798-1855) and Sarah "Sally" Marshall Robertson Howe (1805-1871). She married James A. Cassidy on November 18, 1852 in Fleming County, Kentucky and their children are:
William Cassidy
John T. Cassidy
Infant Cassidy
Charles Emmett Cassidy
Alba Cassidy
Louise Martha Cassidy ("Mattie or Loura”)’
