From the onset of this seminar, I have been focusing on needlework and its significance in women’s history. In a patriarchal culture such as existed in early America, the voice of women was ignored and silenced by the dominant goup: white men. Women used the medium of needlework as a voice with which to express themselves in a society where they were not encouraged to do so. The creation of needlework serves a means to connect a woman with her mother, her daughter and her female community.

I chose an antique needlebook as a material object of interest for my blog post, dated 02/01/13. A subsequent blog post (dated 02/15/13) discussed the evolution of the needlebook from the 19th century until today. For my final project, rather than writing about material objects, I have chosen to make two needlebooks which will be applied to my BFA thesis work in printmaking.

A sketch for the needlebook design.

A full-scale mockup in cardstock.

The first needlebook will refer to the 19th century, and include images of patterns from that era, as well as photographs of my female ancestors taken prior to 1900. The images will be printed digitally on fabric, and stitched to background fabrics which include brocades, velvets and silks in a palette of beige, ecru, brown and dark red. I will be constructing the object with hand embroidery, and embellishing with laces, buttons and decorative stitches. In making this piece, I will be focusing on the mindset of women, particularly my personal foremothers, as they strove for a functional means to express creativity in the domestic sphere during the 19th century.

Brocades, velvets and silks.

Woven and printed cottons.

The second needlebook will include images of early 20th century patterns, along with photographs of my mother and grandmothers. The fabrics will echo the same color palette as the first needlebook and will be made from printed and woven cotton material. I will be constructing and embellishing in a similar manner, but instead using ‘rick-rack’ and other 20th century trims, rather than antique laces. Making this piece will remind me of my own mother teaching sewing and knitting techniques to me, and hearing about how her mother had taught her the same skills as a girl in the 1920s and ’30s.

CAPTION:

Hester Elting created this “marking sampler” in 1808, when she was about 9 years old. An embroidered sampler of this era was used to teach a young girl the alphabet and numbers, as well as how to spell her own name. It was necessary for a girl to learn how to stitch in order to mark linens, whether her own or her employer’s if she entered into domestic service.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:

The Hester Elting sampler is wrought in blue and red cotton thread on homespun linen, and is 7″ x 10 1/2″ in size. Secured to the top edge is a sample alphabet of letters A through E, on finer linen (perhaps imported from Europe) and probably made by Hester’s teacher, attached as a guide for her work. Hester stitched the alphabet in both upper and lower case letters, and included numbers one through ten. She added rows of decorative border stitches to separate the bands, and signed it “Hester Elting in the 10 year of life.”

DATE OF CREATION: c. 1808

NARRATIVE:

Hester Elting was born on November 8, 1798, in New Paltz, New York, the daughter of Johannes Elting and Jannetje Wurts. Although the Elting family was not one of the twelve original founding families of New Paltz, the family exerted a significant influence from an early date. The great-great-grandfather of Hester’s father Johannes was Jan Elting, who immigrated from the Netherlands in 1657 to Long Island; the family later settled in Hurley, New York, just across the river from the future New Paltz settlement. He was among the witnesses to the purchase of land by the French Huguenots from the native American Lenape people in 1677. In the early 1700’s, Jan’s eldest son Roelif moved to New Paltz, and married Sarah, daughter of Abraham DuBois, one of the original patentees of the settlement. Hester’s mother, Jannetije Wurts, was the daughter of Dr. George Wurts, the first resident doctor in New Paltz, and Esther Hasbrouck; Esther was the great-granddaughter of Jean Hasbrouck, another of the original New Paltz patentees.

It is uncertain what type of education was available in New Paltz prior to the founding of the first district school in 1812. At that time, it was typical for children to be taught to read at home because it was important that everyone be equipped to read the Bible. Once a child could read, boys and girls often attended classes in the home of a woman in the neighborhood; these schools became known as “Dame Schools.” Hester’s second cousin Rebecca, nine years older, established a “Select School” for girls on 111 Huguenot Street in 1840, which continued until l853. Hester’s may have attended such a school when she stitched her sampler in 1808, but since the sampler is quite basic, she most likely completed her sampler under the tutelage of her own mother or another relative.

The embroidery sampler has a long history in Europe. The earliest dated sampler is housed in the Victoria & Albert Museum in England with the date of 1598, but references in literature occur even earlier. Originally a sampler was long and narrow, and contained a variety of stitches and motifs which could be used for future embroidery work. These pieces were stitched by experienced needleworkers, rolled up and kept in a sewing basket for reference. An example of such a sampler wrought by Loara Standish, daughter of Mayflower passenger Myles Standish, is located in the Pilgrim Hall Museum of Plymouth, Massachusetts. The sampler is dated c. 1653 when Loara was age 21.

With the arrival of the printing press, stitching patterns became readily available and the function of the sampler gradually changed. Education for boys and girls differed in early America. After learning to read, boys would be taught to write, a skill called “penmanship,” followed by arithmetic, to be used in the professions and trade. Girls, however, had no need to learn those skills and were instead taught to read and sew. Reading was taught orally; it was not necessary to be able to write in order to read. The Hester Elting sampler is an example of the new function of needlework: a young girl would be taught her alphabet and numbers by way of embroidery, learning to stitch at the same time. Since household linens were precious, a wife would “mark” them with initials and numbers so that each item was indentifiable and could be rotated for even wear. This skill was also taught to girls for use in domestic service employment.

Hester Elting married Thomas W. Deyo on February 20, 1819; she was 20 years old. She gave birth to a son, baptized Mauritius Deyo, on December 24, 1819. Hester died a week after her son’s birth on December 31, 1819 — barely 21 years old. The risk of childbirth remained acute until the late 19th century. Women had many children because the rate of childhood mortality was high: nearly one-third of children would die before reaching the age of 21. Every woman could expect to lose one or more of her children. “Maternal mortality,” death from complications of childbirth, was very common. Bacterial infections and phlebitis contracted during childbirth caused death for as many as one-sixth of the women who died during childbearing years. As many as 1 in 8 women would die in childbirth!

PROVENANCE:

Hester Elting Deyo had only one child, Mauritius Deyo. Mauritius Deyo was married to Mary Jane Winfield. They had 4 sons as of the 1875 New York State Census, residing in Hyde Park, New York. The rudimentary homespun sampler stitched by nine-year-old Hester Elting in 1808 was significant enough to be saved and passed down through the generations. The sampler was passed from Mauritius, to his son Ernest, to his son Alfred, to his son John Winfield Deyo. In 1989, the piece was donated to the collection of Historic Huguenot Street by John Winfield Deyo, along with many other documents from family archives. Portraits of Mauritius Deyo and Mary Jane Winfield Deyo currently hang in the “Deyo House” on Huguenot Street.

REFERENCES:

Friedland, Anne. Dutchess County Historical Society Yearbook, Vol. 79 (1994), 22-36. Poughkeepsie, NY: Dutchess County Historical Society. Print.

Heidgerd, William. A History of New Paltz, Bulletins No. 4 and 5. New Paltz, NY: Elting Memorial Library Haviland Collection. n.d. Print.

Larkin, Jack. “’No Force Can Death Resist‘: Reflections on Child and Infant Mortality in American History.” Sturbridge, MA: Olde Sturbridge Village, Inc. (2000). Web. 5 Apr. 2013.

Monaghan, E. Jennifer. “Literacy Instruction and Gender in Colonial New England.” American Quarterly, Vol. 40, No. 1 (1988). Web. 30 Mar. 2013.

New York State Census, 1875 (image of original document). Familysearch.org. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.

Peck, Amerlia. “American Needlework in the Eighteenth Century.” Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000 –. Web. 5 Mar. 2013.

The Deyo (Deyoe) Family. New Paltz, NY: The Deyo Family Association, Huguenot Historical Society (2003). Print.

[There are a total of 41 images for the final submission of this object.]

CAPTION: This “Home Economics Workbook” was created by Miss Jennie Lee Dann as a student at the New Paltz Normal School. The piece includes samples of sewing techniques, along with instructions for executing each technique. It serves as a record of course work, as well as a manual for teaching sewing skills to future students.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: The workbook was created with 8 1/2″ x 11″ unruled paper, which has become very fragile over time. The cover page contains a pencil inscription: “J. L. Dann, N. P. N. Class of ’09.” As the pages are turned, on the left, a fabric sample of a specific sewing technique is glued to the paper. On the right is a description of the materials used, the size, and step by step instructions for executing the technique. The book includes eighteen stitching samples, called ‘models.’ Each sample contains a small label with Jennie Lee’s name and the grade received for that item. Flannel skirt Model XV includes a fold-out tracing paper pattern which could be used to duplicate the sample.

PROVENANCE: This object is located in Special Collections of the Sojourner Truth Library, SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz, New York. Presumably the workbook was donated by Jennie Lee Dann to the New Paltz Normal School during her period of employment there (1917-1946.) [I have an appointment with Morgan Gwenwald to check further on this Tuesday afternoon.]

DATE OR CREATION: During Jennie Lee Dann’s student term at the New Paltz Normal School, 1905-1909.

NARRATIVE: Toward the end of the nineteenth century, sewing, cooking and other related domestic topics were taught as part of a new field known as ‘home economics’ or ‘domestic science.’ Girls were expected to become proficient in domestic skills even if they excelled at classical academics. Jennie Lee Dann demonstrated her expertise in hand sewing in her workbook, yet she continued her education and professional development beyond the level sought by most of her female peers.

Jennie Lee Dann was born in Monticello, Sullivan County, New York on November 16, 1886, daughter of George Dann and Minerva Cook Nelson Dann. She attended the New Paltz Normal School, class of 1909. The normal school system of education began in Massachusetts in 1837 and quickly spread to other states. Its purpose was to teach norms, or standards, of education in order to train professional teachers. Prior to this time, the training of teachers was not standardized and requirements were left up to local schools. Normal schools included actual classrooms in which to practice teaching at elementary and secondary school levels.

The New Paltz Academy was a classical college established in 1828 by descendants of founding French Huguenot families. In 1885, the New Paltz Academy became the New Paltz Normal School. In contracting with the state of New York, the school trustees insisted that a classical academic program be offered in addition to the teaching curriculum, unlike most normal schools, resulting in the availability of three distinct degrees at New Paltz requiring two, three or four years for completion. At that time, many universities did not admit women as students. A normal school education provided women with the opportunity to enter the field of teaching, or continue their education, as Jennie Lee did.

After graduation, Jennie Lee taught music in Monticello and Yonkers, and went on to receive her bachelor’s degree in music from Cornell University. In 1917, she joined the faculty at New Paltz Normal school where she taught vocal music and acted as advisor to the Senior Glee Club. She advanced to become head of the music department, and remained at the college until retiring in June 1946.

Jennie Lee became the librarian for the Elting Library in 1948, serving there for nine years. The New Paltz newspaper reported her retirement in November 1957, mentioning that she was also an accomplished painter who had served as president of the local art association. In the article, it states that the Elting Library “Board feels sure the members of the community will want to join in thanking Miss Dann for her outstanding contribution to the betterment of our Town.” A resident of New Paltz for most of her life, Jennie Lee Dann died at the age of 97 on February 11, 1983.

SOURCES:
Cheek, Karen. University of Notre Dame. “The Normal School.” Web 15 Mar. 2013.

Eltinglibrary.org. “About Elting: History of Elting Memorial Library.” Web 15 Mar. 2013.

Familysearch.org. Federal and New York State census records, 1910 through 1940. Web 27 Feb. 2013.

Haviland-Heidgerd Historical Collection at Elting Memorial Library, 93 Main Street, New Paltz, New York. (1) Obituary collection: Huguenot Herald, February 17, 1983. (2) Elting Library collection: Huguenot Herald, November 27, 1957.

Madigan, Jennifer C. “The Education of Girls and Women in the United States: A Historical Perspective.” Advances in Gender and Education, Vol. 1 (2009). Web 9 Mar. 2013.

Newpaltz.edu. “History: 175 Years.” Web 15 Mar. 2013.

Repulican Watchman, Vol. 120, No. 9219, June 7, 1946. Web 27 Feb. 2013.

The Paltzonian, New Paltz Normal School yearbook, 1918 through 1946. Special Collections, Sojourner Truth Library, New Paltz, New York.

As I began to read the introduction to this book, I admit to being quite skeptical. Historically, scholars from the Western world have analyzed other cultures incorrectly by making assumptions based on Western understanding. To project meaning onto objects from a foreign society and create a historical narrative based on our own interpretation is dangerous, which the author admits.

Reading on, I found several concepts discussed which helped bolster the author’s authority in studying objects from other cultures. First, a quantity of items lends credence to an analysis. The discovery of numerous pottery shards on the east coast of Africa as a group was evidence of trade throughout the Indian Ocean; it would have been impossible to reach this conclusion with only one item, or with several shards from different time periods.

The use of new technology in reinterpretting an object is also significant. DNA evidence is being analyzed to identify mummified bodies by scientists today to glean historical information about the ancient world. The identification of the exact boulder in Italy from which an axe found in England was made is a fascinating example of how an object can convey information about early trade routes among diverse societies.

Most important, in my opinion, is the author’s idea of interpreting past cultures through the eyes of people living in the same places today, such as the feather helmet found in Hawaii by British Captain Cook. Asking native islanders about the object’s meaning and significance can shed more light on the truth than any Western interpretation.

Reading the introduction makes me want to read the rest of the book, and since I found it in my local library system, I’ll be able to do so. I think that knowing how these 100 objects were analyzed will help with the remaining work in this class.

This post will focus on the needle case as an example of a shift in our culture. My original object was a handmade needle case dated 1898, which was a cherished object. The stitching was meticulous, the materials special and it was significant enough to the maker for her to bequeath it to her grandneice.

The photo above is a “roll-up” needle case from the same Victorian era. This case was sewn by machine out of fine silk, velvet and leather, with hand-embroidered embellishment. The velvet ends serve as pin cushions; pin heads are visible in the photo. The unknown maker of this object took pride in her sewing skills, as did Ruth Broadwell. She made a practical item to hold pins and needles, but one that would be beautiful and a pleasure to hold and handle.

Some women could afford to purchase sewing tools, as the 19th century industrial age ushered in a manufacturing boom. The two photos above show needle cases from the same time period as the homemade ones. Wood, silver and bone are the materials used; the beauty of the items are as significant as the function. I had thought that the hole in the bone needle case was for hanging on a cord, but found out while researching for this assignment that it originally housed a “stanhope,” unfortunately now missing. A stanhope is a miniature magnifying glass with an image inside. While fetching a needle for her project, the seamstress could pause and enjoy the image, wondering at it’s miniscule size, stopping to smell the roses.

The photo above is a 20th century paper needle book c. 1950. Needles were purchased in these, and they replaced the earlier elaborate needle cases to store needles in the home. I found images online of paper needle books with advertising and commemoration of special events. These objects would not have been considered precious in their day, but purely functional. They are now collected as examples of “retro” advertising art.

All of the above needle cases originated as practical tools to hold sewing needles for everyday use, but their function has changed to that of collector’s items. Today, I keep them in a drawer, occasionally to handle and admire. I am a sewer, but don’t use these antiques to house my own needles because I consider them too precious.

Finally, above is the needle case I use today; it is made from cardboard and plastic. The plastic cover has an opening on the edge which allows a needle to be removed by rotating it, keeping the other needles in place. When it is empty, it will promptly be thrown in the trash. The evolution of the needle case from precious and beautiful, to cheap and functional, to ugly and disposable (sadly) represents a corresponding shift in our culture. It makes me think of a shift in communication from the handwritten letter, in beautiful flowing penmanship, to the telephone call, to the text message. Progress.

The first assignment has led me on a fascinating quest for information in two directions: my own family history, as well as the history of needlework and its significance. This post will focus on the people involved with my Victorian needle case. Prof. Mulready raised an interesting possibility that perhaps the needle case was made as a gift for Ruth Broadwell, rather than made by her; in modern times, it’s common to have a gift engraved with the recipient’s name. However, in my experience collecting antique needlework items, the most common inscription is the maker’s name and a date, frequently found on a quilt or embroidered sampler. In “1898” Ruth would have been 78 years old, and “Vern’s oldest daughter” (my grandmother Nellie) was about nine years old. According to rootsweb.com, Ruth died in 1910, and so wrote the bequeathal note when Nellie was between the ages of 9 and 21. My grandmother was proficient in sewing, knitting, crochet, embroidery and tatting. It makes sense that her great-aunt would leave her this precious item. I just wish I knew where it was that Ruth was going — a trip? a hospital stay? “If I don’t come back…” That may remain a mystery forever.

The photo above includes my great-great-grandmother Amanda Lee Howe, seated on the right, with her sister Ruth Lee Broadwell seated on the left and her brother Spencer Lee, standing with his wife Mary. The photograph was taken in Iowa where Spencer lived. It was common to have photographs taken during rare family visits. Amanda lived in Potter County, PA — remember, no automobiles! A long-distance visit was a special occasion. I found a note from my third cousin Karen, with whom I corresponded via email during our joint family history search in 2003. She speculates that the visit may have taken place after the death of my great-great-grandfather Simeon Powers Buck Howe in 1873, which is backed-up by other photographs I have of Amanda. If so, this photo precedes the making of the needle case by Ruth, but is the only picture I have of her.

Having deduced that Nellie received the needle case between age 9 and 21, I include two photos of her, above. The first was taken in late 1893, when she was around age 4. Nellie is in the center, with older brother Clinton and younger sisters Louise and Mabel. My assumption as to Nellie’s age is based on the apparent age of her baby sister Mabel who was born in May 1893, and the absense of younger siblings not yet born. The second photo shows the whole family: Lavern Buck Howe (son of Amanda Lee), his second wife Mary Daniels Howe (sister of his first wife, my own great-grandmother Ella Estelle Daniels Howe who died from complications of childbirth) and five children. Nellie is standing in the center; her older brother Clinton is missing, having been married in 1904. Based on the apparent age of little brother Lavern (b. 1900), Nellie would be about 18 years old in this photo. Did she have the needle case yet?

Finally, this is a photograph of the Howe family farm. According to a published history of Potter County, PA, in 1832 Isaac Howe relocated his family from Lansing, Tompkins County, NY, to Bingham Township where the farm is located. Isaac’s son Simeon, would have been age 14. Family tradition holds that the farm in the photo was built by Simeon, and would have been occupied by him and wife Amanda Lee. (I hope to verify this someday by doing a deed search.) After Simeon’s death in 1873, Amanda married a neighbor Ebenezer Ryan. The farm was passed to her son Lavern Buck Howe, and later to his son Lavern Burdette Howe, the little boy in the family photo. It was in this farm house that the embroidered needle case resided after it came to Nellie.

My mother inherited a box of old family photos from her mother Nellie, including those posted here, and the velvet needle case. It now belongs to me, but next? I have two daughters and one granddaughter so far…

The object I have chosen to discuss is a Victorian needle case. This item was found about ten years ago in a box of old family photos belonging to my mother.

The case measures approximately 3 1/2″ across by 3/4″ thick. It was made from three hexagonal-shaped pieces of a rigid material (cardboard?) covered in burgundy velvet. Two of the pieces are sandwiched together with some type of soft material between, and edged in a strip of black velvet. A feather stitch pattern is embroidered along the edge in silk thread. The case in a closed position is shown in the first photo. On the back, there is a pocket made from black silk. It has a string gathering the top edge, with some type of bead on one side, as shown in the second photo.

The third hexagon is lined in off-white silk which is embroidered with green and pink flowers and the inscription: “Ruth Broadwell 1898” — obviously the signature of the maker. This section is stitched to the first double-hexagon piece along one edge, with three layers of fine wool fabric between the sections to hold needles; there are three needles and one straight pin still secured to the wool on the underside. Originally, there was a narrow black and red ribbon secured to both sections (which has frayed apart) so that the case would only open to the length of the ribbon.

The care in constructing this needle case indicates that it was a very special object; the stitches are nearly invisible, and the materials are fine velvet and silk, rather than muslin or homespun cotton. But by far the most intriguing aspect of the needle case is the small pencil note pinned to the wool swatches: “If I do not come back this is for Vern’s oldest daughter.” Vern is my great-grandfather, Lavern Buck Howe, and his oldest daughter is my grandmother, Nellie Estelle Howe. The fact that Ruth made the effort to bequeath this object to Nellie underscores the fact that this was, indeed, a precious item to her.

When I found the needle case, I was in the midst of a three-year obsessive genealogical search for my ancestry, and was aware that Ruth Broadwell was related in some way to my great-great grandmother, Amanda Lee Howe. When I chose the needle case for the first post assignment, I checked my database and Ruth was not included. I went online to rootsweb.com, and not only ascertained that Amanda and Ruth were sisters, but also discovered their parents and grandparents — and beyond — generations previously unknown to me! My research will continue for the next assignment in two directions: my own genealogy, as well as research into the history of needlework.

This assignment has reignited an interest in my own family history, a passion which has been on the back burner for ten years. In addition, I have decided to focus my BFA thesis on my ancestry/family tree and the significance of needlework as a connection between my foremothers and myself.