Introduction

 

Mystery of the ABC School Sampler

Story by Barbara Lewellen

SYMBOLS - INTERPRETATION

ABC SCHOOL SAMPLER DETAIL REVIEW BY LINE

 

Line 8: A series of initials. They are ST, VT, FT, MT, EPT, EAT, and SBT, followed by a bird and a key symbol. Closer inspection of the sampler reveals that there is a gap between the initials FT and MT which could indicate this is where Kitty Taylor, maker of the sampler, ranks second to the oldest in the birth order of the siblings. A solid green cross-stitched line follows line 8.


Line 8: TREE Trunk with branches cut off leaving notches - FAMOUS PERSON - CAPTAIN JAMES LAWRENCE

 

The green stitched line of ocean waves between the line of Kitty Taylor L. T and above the line of family initials is similar to the markings of the "Lawrence" coat-of-arms. The markings on the coat-of-arms are actually a symbol of a tree trunk with its branches cut off - thus the notched effect. A symbol of separation from family.

The most notable "Lawrence" member was Captain James Lawrence, born 1 October 1781 in Burlington, New Jersey, was a Navy Commander in the War of 1812. 

He joined the navy in 1798 and obtained the rank of Captain by 1811. Early in the War of 1812, Lawrence in command of the Hornet, won a great victory over the Peacock. After this success, Lawrence was given command of the frigate Chesapeake. A few days after his arrival in Boston the British ship Shannon appeared in the offing, and the Chesapeake immediately went out to meet her on the 6th of June 1813. After exchanging a few broadsides, Lawrence fell mortally wounded, and was carried below, saying, "Don't give up the ship."

When Lawrence fell, there being no first officer on board the Chesapeake, the command devolved upon Augustus C. Ludlow, the second lieutenant, barely 21 years-old, and a native of Orange County, New York. Ludlow was almost immediately mortally wounded. The bodies of Lawrence and Ludlow arrived at Harlem overland from Salem on September 13th. The funeral procession, to Trinity Church, for Lawrence and Ludlow, was estimated to have included 6,000 persons marching four abreast. Twenty to thirty thousand people are said to have gathered along the line of march. Burial services were conducted by Bishop John Henry Hobart followed by burial in the Trinity churchyard, New York City.

(Source: The Memorial History of the City of New-York, Edited by James Grant Wilson, Volume III, New-York History Company, 132 Nassau Street, 1893, pages 271, 272, 276, and 292 thru 294).

 

 

Lines 9-10: Upper case blocked alphabet letters and the numbers one through nine stitched in button hole eyelets. Forest green and harvest gold are used for the letters, alternating two green and two gold letters. Separating the two lines is a line of very large chain links, each link filled with gold yarn. In line 9 the "W" is double stitched making it very bold. All the numbers 1 through 10 are stitched in harvest gold, followed by a large gold heart. There is no separating line of green stitchery after line 9.

 

Line 11: Kitty signs her name as maker of the sampler Kitturah Taylor born Jan 13 1820. This is followed by five symbols. They are from left to right a 1) brewers pot, 2) a rose sitting in a vase made out of the letter "W", 3) a basket, 4) a divided heart, and 5) the Celtic symbol for the tree-of-life with four branches and hearts adorning each side. Immediately below Kitturah's birth date is another tree-of-life adorned on each side by a bird.

The entire sample is then enclosed with a weaving green vine. Based on the average age of 9 to 13 years of age for the maker of the sampler, Kitturah could have stitched this sampler between 1829 to 1833. Mary & John Watts birth date of 1830 backs up this estimate. The sampler is approximately 170 years old in the year 2000.

 

Brewers Pot, Rose, Basket, Heart, and Celtic Tree-of-Life Symbol

Upon completion of her sampler, Kitturah has stitched in five symbols that are most symbolic of her family origin. It is not known if she finished her sampler prior to leaving King & Queen County, Virginia or in her new home in Warren County, Missouri. Therefore interpretations are based on events in both states.

BREWERS POT

The brewers' pot is the top part of a distilling apparatus used for either making liquor or brewing medicinal curatives called the alembic. The still was made of three parts 1) at the bottom a fire box to heat the contents of the 2) straight sided pot that sat on top of it called a cucurbit, and the (3) alembic, the head of the still. The cucurbit could be filled with the material from which the distillate was to be extracted, or with sand in, which sat a glass flask holding whatever liquid had to be converted to steam. The steam rose into the still's third section, the alembic or helm, where it condensed on the inside and ran down into a narrow trough within the rim and out through a spout. (Ref: "Martin's Hundred" by Ivor Noel Hume, published 1982, pages 100-101).

Several family neighbors had distilleries including William Buckner of St. Charles, Colonel David Bailey of Troy, Adam Zumwalt, of Flint Hill, Lincoln County, and John B. Callaway of Femme Osage. Robert Beverley, of Beverley Park, north of Newton, King & Queen County, Virginia was a famous cultivator of grapes and wine maker. Mr. Beverley sponsored the settlement of a hundred and forty-one Huguenots at the upper part of King and Queen County in 1701.

 If the brewers' pot represents the brewing of medicinal curatives a nearby neighbor in Charotte Township, Warren County, Missouri was Doctor Warner Briscoe. 

In Yorktown, York County, Virginia, located 42 miles southeast of Stevensville, King & Queen County,  is found a Taylor family with seven doctors in three generations. The first generation of Doctors were brothers Dr. William Vannah Taylor, (b. 1790 Yorktown, York Co., Virginia-d. 1872 -Memphis, Tennessee)  and Dr. Samuel Vannah Taylor. Four sons, all born in North Carolina, of Dr. William V. Taylor, Sr., and Fannie Henderson entered the profession as physicians: Dr. Arthur K. Taylor, Dr. William Vannah Taylor Jr.;  Dr. Richard H. Taylor, and Dr. John Taylor. Dr. William V. Taylor, Jr., married Mary Jarratt, and they had a son Dr. William V. Taylor, III, b. 1849, Tennessee. 
                 

ROSE

The rose, resting in an inverted "W" vase has three interpretations depending on when the last line of the sampler completed:

  1. Completion date of 1834-35: Leroy Taylor who died in 1834 Washington County, Tennessee. Leroy Taylor, b. 1758 Prince William, was the son of William Taylor (ca 1730-1760) and Sarah Bradford. After William Taylor died Sarah Bradford secondly married Hosea Rose and removed to Burke County, North Carolina. Leroy and his brother Parmenas both went by the last name "Rose" until entering military service in the Revolutionary War when they used their birth surname "Taylor." Hence, the symbol interpretation of a "Rose" resting in a vase made/established by "William" Taylor.
     

  2. Completion date of 1842/3: The rose, and the flower of romance and love, represents Kitturah's love and marriage in 1843 to her husband in William Brisco.
     

  3. Completion date 1842/3: The third interpretation is based on a family legend that William Brisco was the son of a Cherokee descendent Nancy Looney who married  William Brisco in Tennessee, and the rose stands for the Cherokee rose, the state flower of Georgia

BASKET

The basket could symbolize the container to hold fruit yet to be gathered or perhaps an acknowledgement of the basket making skills of the Cherokee women of Georgia.

HEART divided in HALVES

This symbol can have two interpretations: 1) a broken heart or the much more romantic interpretation 2) the two hearts of William Briscoe and Kitturah Taylor joined as one in marriage.

CELTIC TREE-OF-LIFE

The Celtic Tree-of-Life is a combination of a Celtic cross, and a tree-of-life, adorned by hearts. This is a very complex symbol which can be broken down into several elements and meanings.

CELTIC CROSS

  1. The Celtic cross, a symbol of faith and eternity, is a predominant symbol of Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and England. The cross sits on a three-stepped base, with a circle enclosing the upper arms. In Celtic symbolism the earth is represented by the three-stepped base. In Kitty's sampler the three stepped base is multi-colored: gold, green, gold. On top of the cross the tree-of-life serves as a 'capstone' which represents the sky. The point at which the horizontal and vertical shaft cross and maintain balance is the soul. The vertical shaft of the cross is the link between the earth and sky. The circle that encircles the cross represents wholeness or completeness.
     

  2. The tree-of-life represents wisdom and life everlasting. Starting from the top, the tree-of-life has four branches adorned by a harvest gold ball on each each branch and a harvest gold ball perched on top of the "v" formed by the two top branches. The five harvest gold balls are either a harvest crop of cotton, pears or apples.
     

  3. Tailylour of Barrowfield. The two hearts, one adorning each arm of the horizontal shaft, help maintain the balance of the soul. The hearts adorning each side of the tree of life are similar to the Scottish Tailylour clan arms of Barrowfield: "Argent, a saltire engrailed Sable between two hearts; Gules one in chief and one in base and as many cinquefoils in the flanks Vert." (Reference: Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia by George Way of Plean and Romilly Squire, HarperCollins Publishers, Glasgow, 1994, page 46. Translated: Background color of shield: Silver or white. Shield outlined in black between two hearts. Red at top and bottom of shield, with a five petal flower in the left and right sections. Barrowfield is located in Glasgow, Scotland.

 

 

 

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