This week in Relics of CNY we look at a cross stitch sampler from a 9-year-old girl in Utica back in 1852. 

A needlework sampler is an example of someone's embroidery or cross stitch ability. It would include the alphabet, numbers, motifs, decorative borders, the name of the person who embroidered it and the date.

Stitching Sampler
Cindy McMullen/TSM
loading...

The story goes that this sampler was made by a family member of 'Wild Bill' Hickok. Wikipedia calls him a folk hero of the American Old West, known for his work across

I've never found anything like this tied to the Utica area.

the frontier as a drover, wagon master, soldier, spy, scout, lawman, gunfighter, gambler, showman, and actor. The 1883 History of Greene County, Missouri described him as "by nature a ruffian... a drunken, swaggering fellow, who delighted when 'on a spree' to frighten nervous men and timid women."

Don and Nancy Hartman owners of The Potting Shed Antiques in Whitesboro say there's no proof of this story, and it doesn't add to the value of the sampler, but it sure is fun to tell.

Don has been chasing samplers for 50 years and say's "I've never found anything like this tied to the Utica area." This is an item is not for sale and is displayed in his home.


Bonus Video:

More From 96.1 The Eagle