Alwyn
Thank you for that explanation, and I think it would be grand if Rootsweb
did add something like that regarding Samplers to their site. What a good
idea!
Lynn
From: AlwynapHuw(a)aol.com
Reply-To: WLS-GWYNEDD-L(a)rootsweb.com
To: WLS-GWYNEDD-L(a)rootsweb.com
Subject: Re: [GWYNEDD] Welsh Samplers
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 23:09:50 EST
In a message dated 31/10/2003 20:14:22 GMT Standard Time,
welshlove2(a)msn.com
writes:
> I recently came across a lovely article on "Gather the Jewels" website
> regarding Welsh Samplers, I wonder if perhaps someone would explain how
they
>
> came about and for what occassions they were used. Were they only used
for
> marking a person's death......or were their other uses for them?
> Regards,
> Lynn,USA
>
I don't know a lot about needlework, but my understanding of the etymology
of
the term Sampler, is that it was an "example" of a girl's needleworking
ability. So a sampler's main purpose was to show a prospective employer or
suitor's
family how good a sewer she was.
The topic of the sampler would add to its "reference / resume" value by
proving
literacy (sewing the alphabet) descent (sewing a good family background)
bilingualism (being able to sew a sentence in English and in Welsh) and
piety
(sewing a
Biblical quotation or hymn verse).
Unless it was made by an orphan to gain sympathy from a prospective
employer
or suitor's family, a sampler marking a person's death is not,
pedantically,
a
sampler - it is a cross stitch memorial. But cross stitch creations to note
all sorts of family events, births. birthdays, marriages, wedding
anniversaries
and deaths are not uncommon and they are often, incorrectly, referred to as
samplers - and, considering how many of them have been preserved they are a
very much under used source of family history.
Perhaps Rootsweb should add a FreeSAMPLER database to the FreeBMD FreeCEN
and
FreeREG family :-)!
All the best
Alwyn
==== WLS-GWYNEDD Mailing List ====
Wales IGI Batch Numbers
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hughwallis/IGIBatchNumbers/Count...
==============================
To join
Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records,
go to:
http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237
_________________________________________________________________
Fretting that your Hotmail account may expire because you forgot to sign in
enough? Get Hotmail Extra Storage today!
http://join.msn.com/?PAGE=features/es