Sampler

Date1844

Artist Ellen Tobin (American, born c. 1834)

CultureAmerican

MediumSilk threads on linen ground

DimensionsSight (tall rectangle): 13 3/8 x 10 1/2 in. (34 x 26.7 cm)
Framed: 17 3/8 x 14 7/8 x 1 in. (44.1 x 37.8 x 2.5 cm)

Credit LineTransfer from Vassar College Libraries, Special Collections, Martha Clawson Reed Collection

Period19th c

Classification(s)

SignedEllen Tobin / 1844

InscribedInscribed: YEA LORD THOU KNOWEST THAT I LOVE THEE/ How tedious and tasteless the hours/When jesus no longer I see/ Sweet prospects sweet birds and sweet flowers/ Have all lost their sweetness to me / The midsummer shines but dim/His presence disperses my gloom/And makes all within me rejoice/I should were He always thus nigh/Have nothing to wish or to fear/No mortal so happy as I/My summer woud [sic] last all the year Miss Ellen Tobin St. Johns School Philadelphia / February the 8 1844

Bibliography Wikipedia entries for St. Johns Church Philadelphia and Philadelphia Nativist Riots https://stjohnsphilly.org/homepage-ext/#history_row "A large fire breaks out on 13th Street above Chestnut. The church catches fire several times but is not destroyed. St. John's School established by Fr. Hughes in the basement of the church. Classes continue in the basement until 1899. August 1834" https://stjohnsphilly.org/homepage-ext/#history_rowDescriptionA red, white, and green strawberry border embroidered in cross stitch surrounds a hymn, an inscription, and date also worked in cross stitch in brown silk thread. The hymn YEA LORD THOU KNOWEST THAT I LOVE THEE is by John Newman, the English slave trader turned Anglican cleric and abolitionist, best known as the composer of the classic hymn "Amazing Grace". The hymn choice, the identification of ten year old Ellen's school, St. John's Roman Catholic, the diocesan church of the parish, and her Irish immigrant heritage are particularly poignant given the place, Philadephia, and the year, 1844, in which that city saw a tide of rising anti-Irish, anti-Catholic sentiment that culminated in bloody riots, resulting in two dozen deaths and the deployment of the state militia. The riots are believed to have been provoked by the false rumor that the Catholics wanted to remove the Bible from public schools. Thread colors are red, white, green, and brown.

Terms

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email loebcollections@vassar.edu