Martha Mortimer Starr
Middletown, CT dated 1791
Martha Mortimer Starr stitched a lively and exuberant sampler in 1791 when she was fourteen years old. Her
unknown teacher most likely designed the sampler with an overall stitched central panel displaying a large two-story,
center-hall house with a pond in the foreground, animals grazing and a boy fishing. The meandering floral swag
border with bow-ties is similar in style to samplers that were made in Wethersfield in the early 19th century and
perhaps was borrowed from this design.
Martha Mortimer Starr (1777-1848) was born April 24, 1777, daughter of George Starr (1740-1820) and Ann Catharine
Carnall. Her mother's uncle, Philip Mortimer and his wife Martha (for whom Martha was named), were wealthy Irish
merchants and it was thought that Ann would inherit their fortune. However, that was not the case and Philip left
his fortune to Ann's son George, Martha's brother. According to his will his slaves were to be freed upon his
death. George contested and succeeded in overturning the will and the slaves and the fortune were transferred
to him. It later prompted an attempt on his life by two of the slaves and one was imprisoned for life at Newgate
a prison near Middletown. In 1822, Martha Mortimer Starr's house was burned to the ground by one of the others
who was imprisoned for five years, also at Newgate. Martha married John Lawrence Lewis, September 23, 1799, and
later divorced.
Virtue's the chiefest beauty of the mind/ The noblest ornament of human kind/ Virtue's our safeguard and our guiding
star/ That stirs up reason when our senses err/ Martha Mortimer Starr Middletown 1791
Silk on linen; 16" x 15"sight.
Illustrated in the exhibition and book With Needle and Brush: Schoolgirl Embroidery From the Connecticut River
Valley by Carol and Stephen Huber
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STEPHEN & CAROL HUBER
(860) 388-6809
Hubers@AntiqueSamplers.com
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