OLD BARRACKS MUSEUM
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Picture
Sampler
Esther Engle
1824
New Jersey
​Silk thread on linen ground
Gift of Elizabeth B. Case
OBA 1971.002.0001

​
But dear girl both flowers and beauty
Blossom fade and die away
Then pursue good sense and duty
Evergreens which ne'er decay

Esther T Engle. Wrought in 
the 11th year of her age 1824

An Emblem of Love
Verse sampler with Quaker spot motifs, both floral and geometric. A two-story brick house with a lawn, fir trees, weeping willows, and horses along the bottom edge.  

Esther Troth Engle was born in 1813 to Quakers Aaron Engle (1764-1842) and his wife Esther Troth (1771-1851). She was the fourth of five children.

In December 1833 Esther married George T. Browning, who was not of the Quaker faith. This caused her to be disowned by the Friends for "marrying contrary to discipline" and "marrying out". She was not alone, as her older sister Elizabeth married out in the same month as Esther.

Esther and George had at least seven children together, with five surviving to adulthood. George died of consumption in 1860. A few years after his death Esther reached out to the Friends and completed the process to be accepted back into the Quakers, including a written apology. 

Esther died in 1875, having acquired several houses and plots of land on Stevens Street in Camden, NJ. Three of her children, Aaron, Elizabeth, and George, received houses and land, while the remaining two, Susan and Paul, are mentioned in her will.  
Picture
Picture
Picture
Silhouette of Esther T. Engle, c. 1830 
OBA 1971.003.0001
Picture
Esther's apology to the Friends, 1865.

To Upper Evesham Monthly Meeting
Dear Friends,
Whereas, I the undersigned, having had a birthright and education in the religious society of Friends, but through unfaithfulness have so far deviated as to accomplish my marriage contrary to discipline, with one not in membership, which deviation I condemn, and am sorry for, the trouble I have given you, sincerely desiring to be reinstated in the soceity, and by  my future conduct be reconciled again to my friends. 
2 mo. 9th 1865
Esther T. Browning 
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The Old Barracks Museum | 101 Barrack Street, Trenton, NJ 08608 | 609-396-1776 | info@barracks.org
Open Wednesday - Saturday 10 AM - 5 PM 
Closed Sundays, Mondays, Jan. 1, Thanksgiving, Dec. 24, Dec. 25
© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • About
    • History >
      • About the Building
      • Bibliography
    • Contact
    • Space Rentals
    • Staff & Board
    • Supporters
    • Projects >
      • Bake Oven Rebuild
      • Operation: Restoration 2016 >
        • Officers' House Restoration
        • Barracks Restoration
      • French and Indian War Outfittings Project & Grant
    • Photo Gallery
  • Visit
    • Hours, Admission, Etc.
    • Special Events >
      • Park Day
      • 4 Centuries of African American Soldiers
      • Spring Lecture Series
      • May Tea
      • Arts at the Old Barracks >
        • Call for Submissions
    • Virtual Field Trips
    • School and Group Tours
    • Plan Your Visit
  • Exhibits
    • Collection Highlights >
      • Sampler Collection
    • A Symbol of New Jersey to the World
    • When Women Vote: The Old Barracks and the Anti-Suffrage Movement
    • "Necessary and Proper for the Public Good" World War I Exhibit
  • Support
    • Membership
    • Donate
    • Volunteers & Interns
    • Email Sign Up
  • Shop