McMinnville, Warren Co.

Tennessee State Museum, Nashville

Laura Caroline Norwood was the third of seven children born to St. Clair Norwood and Catherine Jane Hoodenpyl. Her father was a farmer in the lumber business. Laura made her sampler at the age of fifteen or sixteen in 1865, the same year that her father was elected as a magistrate in McMinnville, Warren County. Laura married Dr. John Randolph Paine in 1869. The couple lived in McMinnville where they had three children. Both Laura and her husband are buried in Riverside Cemetery, McMinnville, Warren County.

Laura's simple but well-balanced sampler uses a range of bright wool fibers. Her ground is penelope canvas, one which every fifth thread is colored blue. The blue threads aid with counting.