Ellen Caulfield’s Sampler

Twelve-year-old Ellen Caulfield of Wheeling, Virginia, embroidered this depiction of a large house embellished with birds, trees, and butterflies in 1831. She also embroidered the text of a contemplative poem: “This work in hand my friends may have/When I am dead and in my grave/And when my work each time you see/With fond rememberance think on me.” She identified her embroidery teacher as “C.M.T.” Needlework such as this was a regular part of a gentry woman’s education.