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Rare Needlework Sampler, Hannah Douglass, Baltimore or Virginia, Dated 1805
Description
Provenance
Hannah Travilla Douglass (1799-1872);
Emily C. Brannan (1839-1902);
John Henry Saunders (1880-1940);
John Henry Saunders, Jr. (1907-1993);
to the consignor.
The Sampler was made by Hannah Travilla Douglass probably in Virginia. Hannah was born March 4, 1899. She was the youngest of twelve children born to William Douglass (1744–1839) and his wife Hannah Travilla (1748–). William Douglass was descended from Lord Archibald Douglass who migrated to America from Scotland about 1725.
Hannah married the Quaker David Saunders (1789–1869) in Cincinnati in 1818 when she was nineteen years old.
David and Hannah Travilla Saunders had three sons. The eldest, William Hartshorne Saunders, was a medical graduate from the University of Pennsylvania who died mysteriously in Nicaragua in 1857. He had married Hannah S. Bradley of the prominent Bradley family in Washington DC and Maryland. The middle son John graduated in law from the University of Virginia in 1843 and moved to San Francisco in 1850 where he established a successful law firm, was the City and County Attorney for several years and was elected a State senator for two sessions. He was never married and died in 1885. The youngest son, James Douglass Saunders, moved from Washington DC to San Francisco in 1855. He was a professional musician.
David and Hannah Travilla Saunders left Washington DC for San Francisco in 1863 traveling via clipper around the Horn of South America with all their worldly possessions, including the Sampler.
When David died in 1869 the Sampler was inherited by James Douglass Saunders who was born August 10, 1829 in Washington DC. He married Emily C. Brannan in 1867 in Napa, California. She was niece of the colorful San Francisco identity Sam Brannan.
James Douglass and Emily Saunders had three sons. The eldest, William Hartshorne Saunders was born in 1868 and graduated in law from the University of Virginia in 1894. He died young in 1897 and was unmarried. Their middle son James Douglass Saunders Jr was born in 1894 and at age sixteen was enrolled at the Virginia Military Institute. He died there of Typhoid Fever in 1890.
When James Douglass Saunders died in 1903 the Sampler was inherited by their youngest son, John Henry Saunders, who was born in 1880 in San Francisco. He married Lillian Frances Chinn in 1905. They divorced in 1925 after he went to live in Australia. Much of the Saunders family memorabilia, including the Sampler was left in the care of his ex-wife who kept it in safe-keeping for their only son John Henry Saunders Jr who was born September 29, 1907.
John Henry Saunders Jr migrated to Australia in 1930 after graduating from Stanford University. He married Maureen Frances Meagher in 1935 in Sydney. When America entered WWII he enlisted in the US Army and served in New Guinea. After the war, as an expatriate ex-serviceman he was entitled to terminal leave with his family in his home state. During 1946, John with his wife and two children, Graeme and Robert, spent six months in San Francisco, sailing there and back on the S.S.Monterey.
On the return journey he brought back with him much of the family memorabilia including the Sampler.
John and Maureen Saunders had two sons. The elder, John Graeme Saunders was born December 7, 1936. He died of Motor Neurone (Lou Gehrig’s) disease in 1978. The younger son Robert Brian Saunders was born July 27, 1941.
John Saunders died in 1993. Some years before his death he passed on to his son Robert all the family memorabilia, including the Sampler. Robert Saunders had it mounted in an airtight frame by professional conservators.
For a detailed outline of the people concerned with the ownership of the Sampler cover visit www.saundersfamilyhistory.com.
Condition
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.