Needlework Sampler (made by an eleven year old girl in 1813)

This sampler was made by Mary Ann Tidye in 1813 when she was 11 years old. It is worked in fine silk thread and the work is of high quality.

In the early nineteenth century needlework was an important part of a young girl’s education. Samplers were used to show the needlework skills seen as important for running a home. They often included the alphabet, figures, decorative borders and prayers as well as the date, name and age of their creator. This also allowed girls to show employers basic skills in reading and writing.

Mary Ann Tidye’s sampler reads:
An Address to God
O Power – Supreme! To Thee My Thoughts I Turn,
Thou Only Comfort, When We Truly Mourn,
The Orphan’s Parent, & The Widow’s Friend,
To Thee, My Trembling Knees I Humbly Bend,
O Arm My Soul, The Stroke Of Fate To Bear,
And Check Th’ Impetuous Torrent Of Despair,
Teach Me Submission To Thy Awful Doom,
To See Thy Mercies Thro’ Misfortune Gloom.
Still With Thy Sacred Truth My Mind Inform,
To Guide My Steps Thro’ Life’S Uncertain Storm,
For Thou Who Dost In Nought But Good Delight,
Hast Order’d All, And Therefore All Is Right