Family Record

This early American family record lists births, marriages, and deaths in the Raymond family. It pays special tribute to George Raymond; a poem stitched in the lower-right column suggests that he died as a child. The work was sewn by Harriot Augusta Raymond—who may have been George’s sibling—when she was 11 years old.

The fine black thread used to stitch early family records is often the first material to deteriorate. The iron in the black dyes reacts strongly to light and environmental conditions. As a result, the dates, names, and verses for which samplers are known and cherished slowly disappear.