Sarah ann Vandegrift

This is a fine 1817 Pennsylvania sampler made by Sarah ann Vandegrift, who lived in Bucks County, just north of Philadelphia. The sampler presents an excellent house and lawn scene with a young lady, dog and sheep and many strong Quaker school characteristics. The overall composition is somewhat unusual and very appealing: the off-center fine brick house with two chimneys and dormer windows, a young lady in blue dress and tiny black slippers holding a reticule, the gazebo with large birds on top, the large and detailed black dogs and white sheep centered on a fruit basket on the lawn, four fat birds forming the top border and the many excellent Quaker motifs that float in the upper register of the sampler. The center tree exhibits strength and grace; the two small pine trees at the upper corners have their origin in the many excellent samplers of 18th century Philadelphia. A silk ribbon surrounds the sampler, decorated further with six little rosettes formed of the same ribbon.

Genealogical and Personal History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Vol. I, by William W. H. Davis (Genealogical Publishing Co, 1975), includes much information about the family and its early origins in America. Jacob Vandegrift (1696 - 1771) was brought to Bensalem as an infant, and became a large landowner and prominent citizen. Generations later, Sarah ann Vandegrift was born on September 2, 1802, the oldest of the seven children born to William Bloomfield and Christiana (Monington Souders) Vandegrift. William was a farmer and served as County Director of the Poor. Sarah’s nephew, Charles Souders Vandegrift, served as a state senator and held many positions of leadership in Bucks County.

Sarah married a farmer, Charles Tomlinson and they had at least two children, Julia and Edward. She died in 1872 and is buried in the Vandegrift Cemetery.

The sampler was worked in silk on linen with silk ribbon and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a cherry frame.