Sampler by Ann Marshall, 1848.

Linen fabric, wool threads, 425mm x 317mm.

This is another good example of a Scottish schoolgirl’s sampler from the mid-nineteenth-century. It uses the typical Scottish red and green colour scheme. The upper portion is replete with alphabet and number sequences, including two and a half rows of initials. These family references are echoed in the lower portion with two further pairs of initials with neat little hearts between them. These probably relate to the sewer’s parents although neither set of initials ends with an ‘M’ (for Marshall). Plant and bird spot motifs take up the rest of the lower section around the central motif of the school building. There is a border pattern of flowers with twisted stems along the top – another traditional Scottish element - but this does not continue around the entire sampler. The sewer has worked her name, location and date into the bottom of the sampler and deserves full credit for spelling ‘Auchtermuchty’ correctly.

Ann Marshall was from Auchtermuchty, Fife, Scotland and was a schoolgirl in March 1848. This would have made her an ideal age for emigration to Otago in its founding years. Unfortunately we have no further details on Ann. Did she emigrate and settle in Otago or was this simply brought to Otago by a descendant or family member?