Sampler

Object/Artifact

-

Saco Museum

Name/Title

Sampler

Entry/Object ID

2014.42.1

Description

Marking sampler worked by Polly Page on unbleached linen with silk thread in cross, Algerian eye, satin, chain, and stem stitches. At the top is a wide floral and vine border. A three-sided floral border encloses the alphabets, inscription, and verse, which reads: "Polly Page is my na me America is my na tion Saco is my dwel ling place and chrs t is my salvation Polly Page born december the 19th the year 1780" At the bottom are trees and flower baskets.

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Page, Polly

Role

Needleworker

Date made

circa 1790

Dimensions

Height

23 in

Width

19-1/2 in

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Cultural/Historical Context

Label

Polly (or Molly) was the oldest of three daughters born to Mary and Dan Page of Saco. Polly included her birth date, December 19, 1780, on her sampler; her sister Rhoda was born in 1782 and Nancy in 1784. The 1790 Federal Census lists Dan Page and one other person as living in the "Pepperell Gore." Dan died in July 1800, and according to the 1800 Census, the Widow Page was living in Pepperrellborough with two young women and a young man. The young women may have well have been her daughters Polly and Nancy, as Rhoda died in May 1799. Mary Page only survived her husband by two years and died in April 1803. Nancy Page married Sherbourne Tilton in Saco, but no marriage, death, or cemetery records have been found for Polly. The verse which Polly chose for her simple marking sampler reads: "Polly Page is my name, America is my nation, Saco is my dwelling place, and Christ is my Salvation."