Polley Bowman

This praiseworthy sampler offers strong appeal on many levels - the maker identified it with her specific birthdate and age, the 18th century band format is enhanced by a pictorial register at the bottom, and the needlework is excellent. Notably, the back of the sampler (see image below) is absolutely as beautifully finished as the front, quite an accomplishment. 

The sampler is inscribed, "Polley Bowman born December the 17 1779 aged 11 years." The Bowman family in America began with Nathaniel Bowman (1605-1681), who immigrated to the Massachusetts colony from England in 1630, settling initially in Watertown then removing to Cambridge in 1651, with his wife Hannah Smith. Six generations later, Polley was born, as she stitched on December 17, 1779, confirmed by information published in History of Billerica Massachusetts with a Genealogical Register by Rev. Henry A. Hazen (A. Williams and Co. Boston, 1883). Her birth was also documented in Bedford Births, Vital Records. She was the third of eight children of Abel and Lucy (Needham) Bowman. Abel (1747-1822) and Lucy (1751-1826) were married in 1775, in Bedford, Massachusetts. Abel was a private Minuteman in Capt. John Moore’s Company of Militia, one of the earliest to respond to the Lexington alarm on April 19, 1775.

Most unusual on this sampler is the depiction of the Spies of Canaan, from the Old Testament biblical story; they are Caleb and Joshua, as identified by their initials (the letter "|" was frequently used in the 18th century for the letter "J"). Throughout the 18th century, many samplermakers in northern Europe included depictions of the Spies of Canaan on their samplers, but they appear only very rarely on American samplers.

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and remains in excellent condition, retaining its original color. It has been conservation mounted into a molded frame.

photo of reverse