Family Registers and Family Legends

Considered a genteel accomplishment, needlework was an important component of female education in colonial and federal America. Family register samplers,  such as this late 18th century example worked by twelve-year-old Alicia Lawrence (1787–1866) of Hartford, Connecticut, were frequently made during the later phase of girls’ needlework training, and were a popular way of documenting and preserving family histories.