Sampler of Ten Commandments, Lord's Prayer and Apostles' Creed
Date1763
MediumLinen ground fabric with silk embroidery floss
Dimensions13 3/4 × 15 1/4 inches (34.9 × 38.7 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Hubert Bond Owens.
Object number1971.4
CopyrightThe images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextTo the frustration of contemporary scholars, women in historical records are often positioned as accessories to men. Descriptions identify women as the “wife of” or “daughter of” important men, without any insight into who these women were or how they affected history. Likewise, most of the decorative arts in museum collections are identified as having belonged to men, when they were more likely the possessions and selections of their wives, as women often ran the household. Likewise, while the education of prominent men is documented, from the universities they attended to the mentors who nourished their growth, the record on female education is scant. The historical record does show that most girls were educated in domestic arts in addition to basic academic subjects, and almost all such educations included needlework.
Sarah Jones created this sampler, the earliest known example from Georgia, to showcase her achievements when she was 7 years old. Like many samplers of the period, this one displayed her stitches via the religious texts that were part of most children’s education. While directly related to many prominent men, she was a significant human in her own right. She bore 10 children and survived a war while raising them without local male support, which was absent during the chaotic war years. After the war, it was Jones who petitioned the Georgia Assembly to remedy her husband’s problematic situation, caused by switching sides during the Revolution. He eventually regained political prominence and served as mayor of Savannah. Sarah moved to Connecticut where several of her children were educated, including her daughter Mary Jones Glen, whose education, like her mother’s, included needlework.
