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 TextThis is one of the oldest known samplers with a history in Georgia. Sarah Jones, later Glen, was the granddaughter of Noble Jones (1702–1755) who established Wormslow Plantation (now Wormsloe State Historic Site) in the late 1730s. The Jones family became very wealthy, largely from crops raised by the hundreds of people of African descent they enslaved. This wealth likely gave Sarah Jones better access to education than most girls her age. Samplers were a way that many middle and upper-class girls perfected needlework techniques and practiced reading and writing skills. They learned these skills from private tutors or at academies. Mostly using tiny cross stitches, Jones rendered the Ten Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer in the form of two tablets, with flowers, vines, and foliage for added decoration. Her verses come from A Guide to the English Tongue in Two Parts, an educational text by British teacher Thomas Dyche (d. ca. 1733).
Text written for Craft Along the Coast, 2026
