Students Home or Keltonburg, Smith [later DeKalb] Co.

Sally Johnson Durham (1817-1949) was one of eight children born to Thomas Durham and his second wife Elizabeth Chiles Johnson. Thomas Durham was a founder of DeKalb Co. and served as the county’s first surveyor.

Sally’s sampler is very simple, much less elaborate than the sampler worked by her younger sister Jerusha. The inclusion of drawn thread embroidery is unusual in Tennessee samplers.

Photograph courtesy of the owner.