Silk on linen with satin, cross, tent, and detached chain stitches.
Provenance
Per family history, this mourning sampler was made by Maria Eliza Arthur, in approximately 1836, following the death of her father, William Arthur on September 8, 1835. Family history details the line of descent from Maria Eliza Arthur Jameson to her daughter Mary Eliza “Mamie" Jameson Fritts (1851-1896), to her daughter Mary Katherine Fritts Glover (1889-1979), to her niece Mary Catherine Fritts Amberson (1918-2009) (daughter of Isham Gordon Fritts), to her cousin Dr. Travis Rowan McElroy (1926-1999). Dr. McElroy's estate was handled by Jim "Bo" Amberson, son of Mary Catherine Fritts Amberson, to antiques dealer Mr. C. L. Smith to Private Collector #40.
Description
Mourning samplers from Kentucky are exceedingly rare. Maria E. Arthur’s mourning sampler to her father, William Arthur, has a saw tooth border framing the top and sides with a grass lawn bordering the bottom. In the center is a large, inscribed monument surmounted by a willow tree. The monuments reads:
Sacred
To
The memory of
my dear father
William Arthur
who departed this
life Sept 9th 1835
In the 39th year of
his age
William Arthur was born in 1792 in Peebles, Scottish Borders, Scotland, and was married to Eliza Parsons (1802-1887) of Maryland. The couple had at least four children - Maria E (Jameson) (1824-1882), William Evans (1825-1897), Harriet Ann (Chenowith) (1826-1876), Sarah I. “Sallie” (Allen) (c. 1829-1908), and Helen Wallace (Lewis) (1834-1901). The couple lived in Ohio until approximately 1830 when they moved to Kentucky. William Arthur died in 1835 in Covington, Kenton County, Kentucky, and was originally buried at the Craig Street Cemetery in Covington. His remains were reinterred at Linden Grove Cemetery in Covington, Kenton County, Kentucky on September 14, 1872 where his wife Eliza is also buried.
Maria E. Arthur married Alexander Hamilton Jameson on July 27, 1848. Together the couple had five children together - Arthur Hamilton Jr. (1848/9-1884), Mary "Mamie" Jameson (Fritts) (1851-1896), Harriet C.(1853-1901), Walter (1855-?), and Thomas (1857/8-?).
Maria Eliza Arthur Jameson died December 23, 1882. Alexander H. Jameson predeceased her on April 2, 1867.
Sources:
The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) at Old Salem
Some life and death dates from: E. O. Jameson, "The Jamesons in America: 1647-1901. Genealogical Record and Memoranda by E. O. Jameson" published in Boston, MA 1901. accessed: https://www.seekingmyroots.com/members/files/G003550.pdf
Findagrave.com/
Familysearch.org
Ancestry.com
Owner/History of Owner/Credit Line
Private Collector #40, Courtesy of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) at Old Salem
