Mary Coffin
Nantucket, Massachusetts, circa 1812
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Quaker community of Nantucket accounted for about a third of the island’s total population and included many illustrious citizens. Mary Coffin was born 2 mo 15 1799 (Quaker phrasing for February 15, 1799) into one of the most prominent of these families. Her parents were Zenas Coffin (1764-1828) and Abial (Gardner) Coffin (1784-1856) and she was fifth of their eight children. Several published accounts provide information about Zenas, describing him as the most successful whale-oil merchant in the island’s history and one of the wealthiest merchants and largest ship owners of Nantucket. Upon his death in 1828, he left the largest fortune ever accrued on Nantucket. For more information, visit his page on Wikipedia ( link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenas_Coffin).
The Quaker samplers made by Nantucket girls at several different schools form an excellent and cohesive group; many of these are in the collection of the Nantucket Historical Association. The shared characteristics include the pair of fat little pine trees that Mary stitched sitting on the bottom border of her excellent sampler. There are 18 excellent queen’s-stitch strawberries of varying sizes in the center section, and these are also a trait of early Nantucket samplers. While the large basket of fruit isn’t specific to Nantucket samplers, this rendition is particularly well-composed.
Mary would likely have been between 11 and 13 years old when she made this sampler, using her birthdate as her inscription.
The Coffin family lived in the large Federal house at 9 Pine Street in Nantucket town and this house stands today. In 1817, Mary married Henry Swift and they lived at 91 Main Street with their two daughters. She died young, in 1827. When Zenas died in 1828, Henry was one of the three administrators of that substantial estate.
The sampler was worked on silk on linen and is in excellent condition with some very minor darkening to the linen. It has been conservation mounted and in a cherry and maple frame.