Family Record Sampler by Rebecca Tirrell

Genealogical samplers served a distinct purpose in the early 19th century – they recorded and preserved information about families, a needlework version of the entries into a family bible. This type of sampler is a uniquely American form and most were made in New England. Some of these samplers present the family vital statistics without decorative embellishment and some, such as this praiseworthy example, include wonderfully composed and executed borders. An outstanding three-sided border of a thorny vine with flower blossoms, buds and serrated leaves emanates from a pair of shimmering cornucopias.

Entitled, "The Family of Edward C. Tirrell," this was worked by Rebecca Tirrell, who was the eldest child of the family, born on February 6, 1813. Edward and Miriam Tirrell were married on June 18, 1812 and Rebecca stitched a heartfelt couplet that we haven't encountered previously: "When two fond hearts / In one unite / The yoke is easy / And the burden light." 

Edward (1778-1857) was a successful shoe merchant in Boston. He and Miriam had five more children who were born after the sampler was made.

Rebecca included two inscriptions regarding the duty of parents and the duty of children, each enclosed within wreaths, in the lower register of the sampler. 

She married Robert Partridge Tuten, a glass cutter and foreman of the New England Glass Company, in 1832 and they had a son, Robert, born in 1833. Rebecca died in 1836 and is buried with many family members in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. 

Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition with some very slight darkening to the linen. It has been conservation mounted and is in a molded and black painted frame.