Region: Middle Tennessee
1831 Alethia Saunders (Sanders)
Saunders Ferry, Sumner Co.
Historic Rock Castle, Hendersonville
161⁄4"V x 161⁄2"H
© TSS 094
fibers: silk
ground: 24 V/20 H ct. linen
fibers: silk
ground: 24 V/20 H ct. linen
Biography:
Alethia Saunders (Sanders) (1820-1898) was the daughter of James Saunders and Mary Ann Michie Smith Donelson, the widow of Samuel Donelson. A lawyer, James Saunders was so interested in education for his daughters that he sent Alethia’s half-sister all the way to the Salem Female Academy in 1805. She was the first girl from Tennessee to be admitted.
Description:
The floral border on Alethia's sampler is also found on a group of samplers from the Carolinas. Pat Veasey's article, "Samplers of the Carolina Piedmont: The Presbyterian Connection and the Bethel Group," published in the Journal of Early Southern Decorative Arts describes this group and their connection to Tennessee.