Jane Hamilton Davies

Welsh samplers can be characterized by a delightful folky quality and Jane Hamilton Davies’ sampler is a fine example. Three oversized flying insects are headed to the large basket with a pyramid of fruit while little deer, dogs and birds add further animation to the sampler. Jane carefully stitched all of these elements along with two alphabets. Her name, in all large, upper-case letters, takes up most of two lines, along with, “Aged 9.”  

Born in 1835, Jane was the daughter of Thomas and Mary (Simmonds) Davies, who lived in Shropshire, England initially. By 1839, they removed about 20 miles west to Welshpool, Montgomeryshire (now called Powys), Wales and Jane’s younger siblings were born there. The 1851 census indicates that Thomas was a Postmaster. Jane, age 16, was still in school. Sadly, Jane died in 1853, at age 19. 

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition with a few lost stitches. It has been conservation mounted and is in a molded and black painted frame.