A single alphabet row at the upper aspect of the sampler is separated by a fairly simple crossband from the below 1735 poem (with errors) entitled: ”Beauty: or The Art of Charming. A Poem’, by Robert Dodsley (1703-1764), and signature:

Mind superior to Body
What is the blooming tincture of the skin
To peace of mind and harmony within
What the bright sparkling of the finest eye
To the soft soothing of a calm reply
Can comeliness of words or deeds compare
With comeliness of form or shape or air
No those at first th unwary hears may gain
But these these only can the heart retain
Elizabeth Nicholson Aged 10 1817
RN EN

(The “RN” and “EN” may be Elizabeth’s parents, but this is wholly conjecture.)

Below is a symmetric grouping of motifs including flowers, birds, dogs, hearts, and a strawberry border at the bottom with a circumferential border.

Elizabeth Nicholson was born in 1807, probably in Henderson, Henderson County, Kentucky. AKS has not been able to ascertain her parentage but the initials on her sampler may suggest they were “RN’ and “EN”.

When Elizabeth was twenty years old, she married George Buck Sr. (1800-1835) in Illinois. They had one son, Marmaduke Buck (1830-1889). George died at thirty-five years old and on April 17, 1836, Elizabeth married a second husband, Sandford Hudson (~1810-1847) in Gallatin, Illinois. They had four children including: Edmond (1840-?), Mary Elizabeth (1842-?), Emerella (aka Amorrella)(1844-?), and Elizabeth (1845-?). Sandford Hudson died in 1847 in the Mexican-American War and Elizabeth Nicholson Buck Hudson was appointed guardian of two of Sandford Hudson’s children from a prior marriage as well as their four children in 1848 following probate. On May 5th, 1850, Elizabeth married a third time to Joseph B. Smith (1793-1860), a doctor in White County, Illinois. After his death in 1860, Elizabeth continued to live in Illinois with her four children by her second husband. In 1870 and through 1895, Elizabeth (Nicholson) Buck Hudson Smith lived in White County, Illinois with her first child, Marmaduke Buck.

Elizabeth Nicholson died on September 25,1895 in Mill Shoals, White County, Illinois and is reportedly buried in Hopson(-Endicott) Cemetery, Enfield, Hamilton County, Illinois.

Note: The sampler has a decidedly English appearance. Given the history of direct descent, the 1810 census record, and the proximity of Henderson County, Kentucky to Hamilton County and White County, Illinois, the sampler is included in the AKS database until proven otherwise. Further research is pending.