Towel, Hand

Object Name:

Towel, Hand

Object ID:

2022.017.03

Place of Origin:

Strafford, NH

Date:

circa 1840

Description:

Hand towel, homespun linen. Made by Sarah Waldron Foss (1802-1884), Strafford, NH, c. 1840. Printed calling card was pinned to towel: "Mrs. Eugene A. Watson" in script. Handwritten in ink on back of card: "This towel was woven by / My Grandmother / Sarah Waldron Foss / at Strafford, N.H. and / is now over 75 years / old. Mar. 1st. 1914 / Effie Shaw Watson".

Material:

Textile
Linen

Dimensions:

W-20.5 L-32.5 inches

Provenance:

Printed paper label was also attached to towel: "The calling card pinned to this hand woven towel reads 'Mrs. Eugene A. Watson' on one side and 'This towel was woven by my grandmother, Sarah Waldron Foss at Strafford, N.H. and is now over 75 years old. Mar. 1st 1914. Effie Shaw Watson' on the back of the card. Research reveals: Sarah Waldron Foss was born in either 1797 or 1802 in Strafford, N.H. She married James Babb Foss in 1824. They had 7 children. Sarah died in 1884. The 6th child, Mary Abby Foss, who married Gilbert Shaw in 1852, appears to be the mother of Effie Shaw Watson, writer of the note and the last family owner of this towel. Effie Shaw married Eugene Watson in 1902."

Sarah Waldron Foss was born in 1802 in Barrington, NH..

Purchased by vendor from a Concord, NH, dealer in 2020.

Credit Line:

New Hampshire Historical Society Purchase, Katharine Prentis Murphy Fund

People:

Foss, Sarah Waldron (1802-1884)

Subjects:

Linen, Towels