Page 23 - Demo

William Rodolphus Storms, Sandwich, Massachusetts, 1826 (cont.)19William was born on March 5, 1817, the third of the eight children of a ship captain, Peter Storms, who was born in Belgium, and Susan Collins of Dennis, Massachusetts. Capt. Storms came to New York in 1802 where he prospered, spending much time in Venezuela, as he was running cargo between New York and Venezuela. This success enabled him to purchase 300 acres of land in Massachusetts at the mouth of the Back River. While in Venezuela, Capt. Storms fathered a son, Simon Pe%u00f1a Storms (named for his friend, Simon Bolivar), in 1830. The family accepted this foreign-born son and in 1840 William, or one of his American brothers, went to Venezuela to bring Simon to Massachusetts to be raised by his sister Mary Ann Ellis. Simon lead an interesting life, heading west with the gold rush in 1849 and settling in Mendocino, California where he established a Native American settlement called %u201cStorms Ranch;%u201d he also worked for the US Government as an %u201cIndian Agent.%u201d He and his older brother William remained close. Back in Sandwich, samplermaker, William, married Margaret A. Pease in Edgartown, and they had two children, Anna and Lizzie, in Boston. William enjoyed success as a dry goods merchant. After the death of Margaret, William married Lucretia A. Robbins, a widow, in 1867. William died in New York in 1882.With such a worldly family steeped in adventure and culture, it is no wonder that William had many talents, and it is evident that needlework was one of them. Alphabets, verse and inscription fill the sampler, within a framework of decorative elements. A procession of fourlegged animals creates a bottom border, while a young man in a top hat actively feeds little chickens in the corner. Classic overstuffed baskets and birds frame the work from the top, and budding vines enclose the composition from each side. Along with a complete and fascinating file of family information and research, the sampler is also accompanied by a handsome daguerreotype of William from the 1850s that descended with it. Worked in silk on linen, Master Storms%u2019 sampler remains in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted into a molded mahogany frame.Sampler size: 21%u201d x 22%u201d Frame size: 23%u201d x 24%u201d Price: $6800.