Mary Magdalene Lotspeich
American, about 1832 – 1904
Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky
Sampler, about 1842
Linen, silk thread
25 1/4 × 19 1/2 in. (64.1 × 49.5 cm.)
Given by Mr. and Mrs. Marshall T. (Mary Clay) Bassett and Mr. and Mrs. Richard H.C. (Elizabeth Flanders) Clay, in celebration of the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. (Sara Belle McPherson) Bassett Jr., Mr. and Mrs. James Clifford (Margaret Collier) Clay, James Clay Bassett, and the heritage they share in Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky  2014.4

Could You Do This…
…when you were eleven years old? Imagine sitting for hours, using a needle and thread to make the hundreds of stitches needed to create this sampler. You could work during daylight hours and by candle or lamplight after dark. If you made a mistake, you had to pull out the offending stitches and rework them. And Mary Lotspeich, this sampler’s maker, worked under the supervision of her mother, Nancy. Did that make Mary’s job harder or easier?