🪡Stitched at age 14

In 1827, Caroline Ewer of East Sandwich completed this silk-on-linen sampler as part of her education. Using colored silk threads, she carefully stitched cursive and block alphabets, decorative floral motifs, and a detailed family record, documenting the births of her parents and siblings alongside her own.

Samplers like this were more than needlework exercises. In the early United States, they were tools for teaching literacy, discipline, religious belief, and memory—skills and values thought essential to sustaining the new nation. The religious verse Caroline stitched at the bottom reflects the moral framework that underpinned education in many American communities during this period.

This sampler is one of three known examples connected to a school operating in Sandwich in the late 1820s, linking Caroline’s work to a broader pattern of education shared across towns and regions in the young republic.

2026 Collection Focus —
Throughout 2026, we’re diving into our permanent collection—researching familiar objects, uncovering new stories, and rethinking how they connect to Sandwich, the nation, and the world as we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.