OLD BARRACKS MUSEUM
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Sampler Collection


Needlework was an essential part of a young girl’s education during the 18th and 19th centuries. Typically created by girls ranging in age from eight to fifteen and working under the instruction of a teacher, samplers demonstrated the individual’s necessary skills of sewing or mending for their future home life. Depending on the skill and age of the creator, samplers could range from simpler “marker samplers” to embroidery with beautiful landscape subjects resembling paintings.

​Considered art in their own right, samplers have come to be valuable for another reason, as oftentimes they are the only physical representation left of everyday women of the past. Usually girls would include their name, age, date of birth, and hometown (or some combination thereof) into their stitching, leaving a written record of their existence.

The Old Barracks Association is proud to display these pieces and
the stories that can be pieced together about the lives of the women who created them.   


​
Click on any image to learn more about it and the artist.
Picture
Mary Bartoll (1759)
Picture
Rebekah Sharp (1790)
Picture
Hannah H. Davies (c. 1782)
Picture
Amy Wills (1799)
Picture
Mary Potts Wright (c. 1808)
Picture
Elizabeth Scudder (1808)
Picture
Eliza Hazard (1812)
Picture
Unknown, George Washington Silk Memorial (c. 1810)
Picture
Amanda Oliphant (1819)
Picture
Rebecca Robbins (c. 1820)
Picture
Sarah Hutchinson (1822)
Picture
Mary Hutchinson (1827)
Picture
Esther Engle (1824)
Picture
Mary Fletcher Johnston (c. 1828)
Picture
Catharine M. Pearson (1829)
Picture
Elizabeth Orum (1832)
Picture
Anna P. Forman (1857)
Picture
Picture
Unknown, Rose Sprig on Newspaper Backing
Unknown, Silk Basket on Newspaper Backing
Collection Highlights
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