Family record (2003.12)

Family record needlework, green silk thread on linen ground. Two concentric rows of cross-stitch form a border inside which is a list of the maker's name and her three siblings' names and their birth dates, followed by the death dates of the three siblings. At the bottom is the maker's name, age, town, and date of completion.

Provenance Narrative Meria/Maria Jordan made this sampler commemorating her siblings. At the time, her stated home of Dorchester was a separate town, but it is now a part of Boston.

The four birth dates (three siblings and herself) are listed followed by the death dates of the other three. Nathaniel (b. 1794) died in 1816 at the age of 22. Charles (b.1800) died in 1806 at the age of 6. Emeline (b.1818) died at the age of 9 in 1818. Meria (b.1798) was the only survivor of the four, and the date of her sampler is only four months after the death of the youngest child Emeline Jordan.

This family record was submitted at an unknown date as part of an application for DAR membership. Maker Meria/Maria Jordon [1798-1881] lists her siblings but not her parents, Nathaniel Jordan [c1769-1842] and Hannah Freeman [c1767-1842]. She married 1st David Lewis Morse [c1804-1842] and had one child. She married 2nd Jonathan Whitney [1781-1864]. She lived in Dorchester Massachusetts.

Place Made United States MASSACHUSETTS Boston Dorchester

Signatures/Marks Nathaniel Jordan Born August 9 1794 Meria Jordan Born Sept'r 19 1798 Charles Jordan Born October 15 1800 Emeline Jordan Born January 8 1809 Charles Jordan Died October 4 1805 Nathaniel Jordan Died October 1 1816 Emeline Jordan Died February 6 1818 Meria Jordan aged 19 years Dorchester June 16, 1818