Mary Ann Appleton

A lovely sampler with an interesting family history, this was made by Mary Ann Appleton, who was born in England in 1810 to Dr. Thomas Etherington Appleton and his wife, Ann Appleton. Mary was the eldest of their seven children. The family immigrated to the United States in 1821, sailing on the ship Cincinnatus and arriving in the port of New York. 

Thomas Etherington Appleton was a physician as well as an engineer, who co-designed the Staple Bend Tunnel, the first American railroad tunnel, in 1831. This was constructed for the Allegheny Portage Railroad section, located at a bend of the Little Conemaugh River. Initially, it allowed access to horse-drawn rail carriages hauling canal boats. 

Mary married James Wilson in 1827 and they had one child, James Appleton Wilson, born in 1828. Sadly, Mary died shortly after his birth and is buried in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. The sampler descended in the family until recently. 

The sampler features alphabets, the most prominent in a fine, Quaker style font, and a numerical progression. An unusual border of excellent composition frames the sampler. More needlework, perhaps a two-line verse, must have been intended for the space below her inscription. 

Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in its original black and gold painted frame.