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Family Register
Family Register

Family Register

EmbroidererProbably embroidered by Eliza Talcott American, 1795 - 1829
EmbroidererPossibly embroidered by Mary Talcott American, 1806 - 1893
Original OwnerOriginally owned by Samuel Talcott III American, 1765 - 1839
Original OwnerOriginally owned by Abigail Pantry Hooker American, 1770 - 1854
Dateabout 1815
MediumEmbroidery; silk thread on a plain-woven, undyed linen ground
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions: 13 7/8 x 12 3/8in. (35.2 x 31.4cm)
ClassificationsTextiles
Credit LineGift of Helen Mitchell
DescriptionFamily register worked in black, medium green, cream and light brown silk threads on a plain-weave linen ground using cross over two threads and other stitches. The register is rectangular, oriented vertically. It is laid out with eight rows of three alphabets and the numbers 1 through 10, over nine rows of Talcott family details. Certain lines of alphabets are separated by straight horizontal lines. After the last alphabet, are one diamond, a crown, and a star. The register has a four-sided sawtooth border.

The register has a 3/16-inch double-turned hem on the top and the sides, and a selvedge on the bottom. It is not framed or mounted.

Letters and Numbers: There are three alphabets and the numbers 1-10. The letters are uppercase script in alphabet 1, uppercase block in alphabet 2, and lowercase block in alphabet 3. The letters J and U are present in all alphabets. Two letters are repeated twice in the second alphabet: AW. Each number "0" is diamond-shaped.

Stitches: The principal stitch on the register is cross over two; it also includes cross (over one) and Algerian eye (over eight) stitches.

Condition: The register has minimal fading. It is not framed or mounted.
Object number1989.159.1
MarkingsTranscription of text lines: "ABCDEFGHIJ/ KLMNOPQR/ STUVWXYZ/ AABCDEFGHIJKLM/ NOPQRSTUVWWX/ YZ 12345678910/ abcdefghijklmnopqrstu/ vwxyz &/ Samuel Talcott was born August 12th 1764/ Abigail F Hooker was born Janry 23rd 1770/ they were married Janry 25th 1795/ Eliza was born Novbr 7th 1795. Samuel was/ born March 20th 1798. Seth was born March/ 7th 1801. Mary was born April 22nd 1806/ John was born Janry 21 1811. Henry was born/ May 10 1815. my dear little brother John died/ Oct 17 1815 aged 4 years and 9 months".NotesDate Note: If the date of 1815 is correct, the embroiderer is most likely Mary Talcott. Mary would be a more approriate age for creating a needlework of this type. (DePauw 4/4/2014)
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