Mary Wills c.1750 pattern

Mary Wills c.1750

It is always a thrill to discover a Quaker band sampler and particularly so when the young girl who created the sampler can be identified. Between the linen and the backing board of the framed sampler there had been recorded a name and an address “Waterfall, Gore House, Bradpole” and that Mary Wills was the daughter of Mary Wilson and John Wills and the year “1738.” We had a puzzle to be solved, i.e. what linked the two pieces of information?

The records of the Friends Meeting House of Warwickshire Middle provided a rich source of information about our Mary and we tell her story over four pages in the booklet. The sampler was worked in the City of Coventry, England. Coventry has been an important centre of Quaker activity since the middle of the 17th century, and Quakers have been highly influential in the region’s social, economic, philanthropic and political development.

Stitch Count: 273w x 357h