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Region: East Tennessee
1848 Isabella McNutt Baker
Mariah McAnally, Teacher
East Tennessee Female Institute
Knoxville, Knox Co.

2314"V x 2414"H © TSS 192
fibers: silk
ground: 26 V/28 H ct. linen
Biography:
Isabella McNutt Baker (1836-1913), who sometimes called Belle, was the daughter of Caleb Hodnett Baker and his second wife, Mary Lawson White, and the great-granddaughter of Gen. James White, the founder of Knoxville. The family attended the First Presbyterian Church in Knoxville. Isabella married Benjamin J. Stephenson in 1856. Isabella and Benjamin had four children – two boys and two girls. The family lived at 156 Main St. in Knoxville. Isabella died in 1913 and is buried in Old Gray Cemetery, Knoxville, Knox County.
Description:
Isabella was listed as a sophomore in the 1848-49 Catalog of the East Tennessee Female Institute, the successor of the Knoxville Female Academy. As she was not listed in the catalog for 1847-48, it is not certain that she completed her sampler there. However, if she did, her embroidery teacher would have been Mrs. Mariah McAnally, wife of Rev. David R. McAnally, principal of the school.

Photograph courtesy of Case Antiques, Knoxville.