Elizabeth Huston
American, 1795 – 1828
American, Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky
Sampler, 1807
Linen, silk
22 5/8 × 18 7/8 in. (57.5 × 47.9 cm.)
From the Noe Collection, Gift of Bob and Norma Noe, Lancaster, Kentucky 2011.9.19

Schoolgirl Work
Elizabeth Huston of Lexington used her sampler to immortalize her family and testify to her Methodist piety (the sampler’s inscription comes from a Methodist hymn). Like many young women from better-off families, she learned her needle skills at a young girls’ school. In this case, the school was run by Ann Walsh of Lexington. Walsh established her school by 1793 and taught spelling, reading, arithmetic, drawing, and needlework.