Margaret Morley Original

Thought I would share photos of the original Margaret Morley.   Below is a picture of the front of the original sampler.  As you can see the colors are very faded which is more apparent in the following two photos.  The nails left rust marks along the edges.  There are several small tears, but considering when I received the sampler it was attached to the back portion of the frame.  I had to carefully remove the wood from behind the sampler.  I also found it interesting the paper attached to the back of the wooden frame was dated 1914.  The only clue this gives me is it was either framed when it was originally stitched and later the frame was changed, but more than likely this was the first time it had been framed.  From my perspective there would have been additional nail holes had the sampler been framed twice.

Below is a photo of the back of the sampler which shows how vibrant the colors once were.

The  following photo shows how Margaret carried her threads and also a hole on the left hand side is obvious as well.

When the sampler arrived it was attached to a frame that had newspaper attached around the back of the perimeter. The paper was dated 1914 unfortunately the front of the original frame did not arrive with the sampler. When picking out the frame for the reproduction I choose one based on the information I did have from the research I had completed and felt would compliment the sampler.

Margaret Morley

Margaret was added to my collection not to long after my purchase of Susanah Rayment.

The flowers are what intrigued me. I think they are beautiful and very unique. When she arrived the first thing I did was remove her from the wooden frame she was attached to on the back.

The original had quite a bit of damage in regards to holes and tears but when turned over the vibrancy of the colors I found amazing.

I am pretty confident I have found a young lady in Whitby UK who I believe may have stitched this sampler.

Based on what I can find in my research efforts Margaret was born September 22nd, 1828 to Mary Ferguson and William Morley who were married on November 21st, 1825. William's profession was listed as a Sailor and passed away in 1833 when Margaret was five years old.

Margaret grew up in Whitby, Yorkshire, England a town along the coast and was a known seafarer's town. When Magaret first appears on the census in 1841 she was approximately 11/12 years old. The household members listed were Mary and Margaret and they were living on Church Street in Whitby. Based on the ages provided Mary was an older mother, there is no mention of any siblings at home at the time. Mary's profession in 1841 was listed as a Dreft Maker. During the 1851 Census Margaraet is still living with her mother at the approximate age of 22 and they are still residing in Whitby. Margaret is now a Dreft Maker like Mary was during the 1841 Census. At this point Mary is no longer a Dreft Maker but is now a Family Servant. Unlike the 1841 Census, which did not list marital status for Mary the 1851 Census includes this information and Mary's status is documented as a Widow. By this time Margaret and Mary are now residing at the Seamen's Hospital. The Seamen's Hospital is a home for former seamen and their families to live in.

Margaret is stitched on

Lakeside Linen 36 count Maritime White

Needlepoint Silks

Framing by Total Framing, Fairfax, VA