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ABOUT ANN
On this page I will share with you the research I’ve conducted based on Ann Gilmour’s sampler. As this research is ongoing, certain details might get updated or adjusted in the future. Currently I am trying to present only the facts that I managed to find with regards to Ann and her life in Scotland. If you have any information on the Gilmour family, or if you have any suggestions for this page, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me!
Ann Gilmour was born to James Gilmour and Jean Jackson on October 1st 1818 in the parish of Beith, Ayrshire, in Scotland. Her father James earned his living as a proprietor and farming 13 acres some miles to the south-east of Beith, close to the town of Dunlop.
Ann was from a large family: she had a total of 5 brothers, and 5 sisters. On various census records the Gilmour family is said to have lived at “Gree”, “High Gree”, “13 Gree” and “Gree Farm”. According to Ordnance Survey maps from 1856, Gree was a farm just off Lochlibo road, about 2 miles north-west of the town of Dunlop. There, Gree farm lies peacefully in the green Ayrshire landscape, right next to Lugton Water, a tributary of the river Garnock. I found that, though now modernised, all of the gree farms still exist in their original position, and that when driving down Lochlibo road, you can see the names of the farms on little signs.
The map shows the Grees farms between Beith and Dunlop.
For centuries, education has been important to Scottish society. Boys and girls alike had to attend school, where they were to read and write. These schools, although ahead of their time, would often focus heavily on domestic education for girls. With many girls finding jobs in the world of domestic service, it did made sense for them to be taught these skills, but sadly also perpetuated the cycle of female servitude.
Sampler making was a great way for young girls to practice their reading and writing skills, and at the same time develop their needle skills. Looking at Ann’s sampler, I think she had a lot of fun deciding on what she was going to stitch, and where place all the little animals she stitched.
Aged 20, Ann married Maxwell Frame in Dunlop on the 5th of July 1839. Her husband made cheese, and had a shop selling cheese in Dunlop. She gave birth to four daughters and one boy.
Then, in 1857, Ann catches TB. After battling the deadly disease for a year, she passed away on the 18th of November 1858 at her Dunlop home.
THE ANN GILMOUR SAMPLER
Ann stitched her sampler age 11, which would mean she stitched her design in either 1829 or 1830. Living on a farm along a stream, she would have seen many of the birds, dogs, rabbits, deer, and other animals that she stitched. She gave a place of honour to the very colourful kingfisher, perched on a branch or a rock, with a little fish in its mouth. She also stitched a bride & groom, perhaps representing her father and mother. The peacock in the middle of the sampler just above the top of the roof is typical for Scottish samplers of this time. Scattered around the sampler are the numbers 2, 3, and 5. The remains of the number 1 can be seen between the remains of a crown and the head of the kingfisher.
At the top of the sampler Ann stitched an alphabet in alternating red and green threads. Following the alphabets she stitched a series of alphabets. They represent her siblings, with the last AW*A still being a mystery. Perhaps AW was her teacher?
JG: John Gilmour (1805 – 1881)
JG: Jean Gilmour (1807 – ????)
JG: James Gilmour (1809 – 1859?)
WG: William Gilmour (1811 – 1893)
MG: Margaret Gilmour (1814 – 1892)
IG: Isabell Gilmour (1827 – 1861)
EG: Elizabeth Gilmour (1816 – 1885)
MG: Mary Gilmour (1820 – ????)
DG: David Gilmour (1822 – ????)
JG: Janet Gilmour (1827 – ????)
AW*A: Unknown
At the bottom of her sampler she stitched a lovely big home with two wings. Traces on the original sampler suggest she might have planned to fill in the house with red, something she did not finish.
The large initials at the bottom of the sampler are the initials of her father and mother. Scottish women kept their maiden names after marriage, so her mother would have been known as Jean Jackson, and not as Jean Gilmour.
The sampler is stitched on linen, with a selvedge at the top and bottom of the sampler. The sides are hemmed. Ann stitched her sampler with a variety of threads, some cotton (possibly silk), whilst a lot of the threads are wool. The sampler measures 22.5 cm in width and 42.5 cm in height. The linen has approximately 30 threads per inch.
THE REPRODUCTION SAMPLER
For the reproduction sampler I faced several challenges. The first was that many of the wool threads were in a very bad shape, with some parts of the design largely missing. However, based on other similar designs, I was able to reproduce elements such as the tree, the crown, and several of the animals. Elsewhere, due to the repetition of stitches I could simply fill in the blanks (as in the little tree in the middle and parts of the house and wave border for instance).
The alphabet was missing many letters, but due to the traditional nature of these alphabets I could restore that to its former glory, with nearly 100% certainty.
The colours I have tried to reproduce as faithfully as possible to the original design. Looking at the back of the sampler, I noticed that some colours had changed significantly since Ann stitched her sampler – however, most of the colours were still surprisingly bright. One colour that faded significantly were the initials JG, MG and AW, which on the sampler look grey with a blue hue, but were in fact originally a deep purple hue. My guess is that this was wool dyed with logwood – a dye which gives beautiful deep purples, but is very fleeting in daylight, and turns to hues of grey rather quickly.
Colours were matched using Weeks Dye Works floss, as they have, in my opinion, the most beautiful subtle variegation, but also the largest colour assortment on the market today. However, you can use the suggested colours and replace them with your favourite floss colours. One possibility is to stitch with two DMC strands, and use two slightly different shades, so that when stitching a subtle variegation appears in your work.
You can find the Ann Gilmour sampler in my shop, here.