Anne Roe,
Philadelphia,
1793

Sampler size:
17" x 17¾"

Price: $24,500

Enlarged and Printer Version

A recent discovery, this outstanding sampler is an addition to the important group of "house or castle on terraced lawn" samplers made in Philadelphia at the end of 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. The sampler was made in 1793 by Anne Roe who was the youngest child of Jesse and Rachel (Crispin) Roe who were married in 1766. Anne was born on December 9, 1781 and was baptized one month later at Christ Church which was founded in 1719 and was one of colonial Philadelphia's most important churches.

Anne listed the names of her grandparents, parents and siblings on her sampler, rendering it unusual in that it functioned as a family record as well. The family names begin with her paternal grandparents, Henry & Hannah Roe and her maternal grandparents, Thomas and Jane Crispin.

Jesse Roe (1740-1814) was captain of one of the original artillery companies founded in 1777 under the direction of George Washington. He was an architect and master house builder whose work has been chronicled in many publications. Jesse was active at Christ Church for which he built a reading desk, and, according to published family history, where he hung the chimes. He and his wife are buried there, along with Benjamin Franklin and hundred of other important Philadelphians. In 1804, Anne married John Carothers and they removed to Westmoreland County in western Pennsylvania, where they had 9 children.

A sampler made by Catherine Ann Speel, dated 1805, in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, must have been worked at the same school, as it bears close resemblance, however Anne's sampler is of the earlier composition with the castle centered on a terraced hill. Both makers included the identical and unusual little table with two chairs and a vase of flowers.

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition with very minor loss to the silk. It has been conservation mounted and is in a mahogany frame with an outer bead.

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