Early 19th Century Ferre Family Samplers & Bible

Samplers are always special items, a connection to the past, though many are difficult to trace. It is a pleasure to acquire pieces with a great deal of documented family history as these samplers have, including the 1815 Bible of the Ferre (Ferry) family of West Springfield, MA, now known as Agawam.

First is a sampler made by Esther R. Fisher of Humphreysville, CT. In the first half of the 19th century Humphreysville ( a section of Derby) was the site of one of the earliest planned factory villages. It was named after General David Humphreys who among other things had been a personal aide to George Washington. He founded Humphreysville in an attempt to revolutionize the production of wool, an endeavor in which he was quite successful.

This sampler records the births of the children of Ebenezer and Elizabeth (Betsey) Fisher from 1808 to 1812 as follows.

Esther R. Fisher's Sampler
HumphreysVille Connecticut
Family Record
Births of the Children of Ebenezer and Elizabeth Fisher
Major H. Fisher born Dec 12 1808
James Fisher born April 3rd 1816
Emily M Fisher born March 29 1812

Along with this sampler is a typed genealogy of Betsey's family which records their children's marriages. Their son James was married to Charlotte Newcome and they had four children. Their daughter Fanny (Fannie, Fanney), born October 12 1844, was married to Charles Ferre, the son of James Hanmer Ferry and Emily Porter.  Charles and Fanny were married on May 1, 1867. Charles was listed as an armorer which would have either been someone who manufactured weapons, especially firearms, or an enlisted person in charge of maintenance an repair of small arms for a military unit.

The second sampler was made by Julia Ferre at age 11. It is a smaller alphabet sampler with three different alphabets. It is dated at the bottom but Julia ran out of room and the last number was left off. We know from the record in the Ferre family Bible that Julia was born to Jonathan and Lydia Ferre on June 30, 1809, so this sampler would have been worked in 1820. Julia was the sister of James Ferre and aunt to Charles.

Both samplers have been framed in contemporary but appropriate frames. The are in very good condition with minimal fading and no apparent thread losses. The smaller sampler worked by Julia has a small cut in the fabric along the top edge. It measures approximately 6.5" by 7.75" with the frame measuring 9.5" by 10.25"

The larger sampler of the Fisher family has one small hole as pictured, noted on the lower right side. Some of the thread is approximately the same color as the ground on which it was worked. This does not appear to have faded but the ground fabric may have actually darkened with age making these areas more difficult to read. This sampler measures approximately 15" by 16.25" with the frame measuring 17.5" by 18.75".

The family Bible does have some wear to the binding as shown but is in remarkably good condition and has remained remarkably intact with these samplers. The family record begins in 1753 with Jonathan Easton's marriage to Jerusha Cole. It was their daughter Jerusha Easton who married Moses Ferre in 1780. It was Moses and Jerusha who moved the family from the Hartford, CT area to Springfield, MA in 1800.  The final entry appears to be about 1875.

It is interesting to note that this record also details the baptism of Jonathan and Lydia Ferre into the Baptist Church in 1826 and their expulsion from the same in 1833 when they "Became recievers of the Doctrines of The New Jerusalem Church".

We think you'll agree that this collection is not only fascinating but historically important today.

Other items currently offered from the Ferre estate are the wedding shoes of Emily Porter as well as the 1830s Berlin work made for Emily.