Sarah Jane Campbell

An excellent, large sampler, this was made by Sarah Jane Campbell, who was born in Albany, in 1814. Quite poignantly, Sarah Jane used the sampler, in part, to memorialize both of her parents, who had passed away - her father, Jesse, and her mother, Sarah. When Jesse Campbell (1789-1825) died in Albany at age 36, his death notice was published in the New York Evening Post. 

Back to the sampler, the uppermost register features a fine scene of a house and a church with a mourner, perhaps a depiction of Sarah Jane herself, leaning into a stone with the initials, SC, and flocks of birds flying above. The fence and trees that define the bottom of the scene are wonderfully detailed. 

Sarah Jane carefully stitched the full six lines of the classic sampler verse that begins, “Jesus permit my gracious name,” in the center of the sampler. Beneath that is an amusing little parade of birds and leafy plants and then specifics about each of her parents. A splendid pair of large, soaring birds lead down to the further reference of her deceased parents underneath a bowing tree. The baskets that flank her name and the finely worked border deserve mention as well. 

In 1838, Sarah Jane married Ogden Nash Chapin (1817-1875) in Albany and both were said to be “of Albany.” While one could assume that Ogden was related to the poet, Ogden Nash, it doesn't appear to be the case. They had 4 children born between 1840 and 1852. Sarah Jane died in 1858 and is buried with family members in Albany Rural Cemetery. 

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