The original sampler was stitched on uneven weave linen and measures 17 inches by 17 1/2 inches. The Essamplaire of Red Deer, Canada, has gained permission from the owner of the original sampler, Sue Studebaker, author of "Ohio is my Dwelling Place," to reproduce the sampler for sale.
The stitcher, Sarah Owens, was nine years old when she completed her sampler in Newark Ohio in 1839. Not a great deal is known about her. It is believed that Sarah was a student of Caroline L. (Oliver) Seymour whose own sampler is in the collection of the Licking County Historical Society. Mrs. Seymour stitched her sampler at the age of 15 and finished it in 1824.
Mrs. Seymour and her husband John W. moved to Hartford Township, Ohio. They were strong abolitionists and active members of the Congregational Church. The congregation built their church in 1835 and contained a school for the girls and boys of Newark. It is highly likely that Mrs. Seymour taught at the school. A number of elements in Sarah's sampler point to her having been a student of Mrs. Seymour, the geometric band along the bottom, the verses and the basket match motifs found on her teacher's sampler. Stitches used are cross, cross over one, and algerian eye.
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