Historic Reproductions
Welcome to my Historic Reproduction highlights.
Why do I do these lovely samplers? Quite simple, so they can live again. It is so lovely to find these very old samplers and learn about the people that gave them life, so long ago. I believe sharing these beautiful works and learning about the people that did them connect us as a cross stitch community.
This beautiful and fun piece was found in an auction in Wales, U.K.
Isabella Lee stitched this at age, 9 in 1845.
Isabella was born in Lambley, Northumberland, England on 31 July 1836 and she was 9 years old when she stitched this sweet sampler.
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Her mother was Mary Lawdon (1796 – 1879) and her father Jacob Lee (1796 – 1841). Isabella was an only child and sadly, her father passed away when she was 5.
Isabella and George Stoate were married 30 July 1859, in Carlisle, Northumberland. As you can see on the marriage certificate, Isabella was labeled a spinster at the tender age of 23.
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George was an Irishman, born in 1833, in Fethard, Tipperary, Ireland. He worked for the railway and provided a good income for his ever-growing family
George was an Irishman, born in 1833, in Fethard, Tipperary, Ireland. He worked for the railway and provided a good income for his ever-growing family. I find it interesting that Isabella, being an only child, had 8 children of her own. Although I know that smiling in a photo was Isabella looks tired to me. After her third child she settled on one name (Annie Maria, Eda Jane, Joseph George, Hannah, John, Catherine, Mary and Isabella). I would suspect that yelling out all those names just took too much time and brain power.
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Isabella passed away at age 73 in March 1909, in Berwick Northumberland. George outlived her for another 13 years, and passed away in 1922 in Carlisle, Cumberland.
Isabella Lee 1845
I acquired Isabella’s sampler in Wales. How it got there intrigues me, as it is a good bit away from both Northumberland and Cumberland. I was very much enchanted with the pastoral scene, the big strawberries, her name, those very funky angles. When I received it, the frame had come apart, which was a good thing, as the sampler was beyond filthy, so I suspect it had spent a good amount of time in a barn or cellar. It smelled awful. It shall forever remain a secret as to what happened with the sampler after that, but I will say, this sweet sampler taught me a great deal in many areas.