Description:
Sampler made by Nancy Munn (1790-1878) of Greenfield, Massachusetts, who was nine years old when she completed this sampler on October 17, 1799. The unbleached, plain weave linen ground is embellished with colored silk embroidery floss mostly executed in cross stitch. By the late 18th century, samplers were intergral tools for the instruction of young ladies within academies of the New Republic. Through the repetition of embroidery stitches like cross stitch, young women learned important needlework skills to prepare them for tasks in their expected future roles as adult, married women with children. Instructors and academies could employ characteristic motifs or forms in their students' work, which helps to group needlework at times into regional variations. Munn was the daughter of Calvin and Hannah Munn. She married Hooker Leavitt (1785-1842), also of Greenfield, on December 31, 1808. The couple had at least one child, Thomas Hooker Leavitt, who was born on May 16 or 18, 1824.

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