Margaret is offered to you in two different formats ~ as a printed booklet and as an instant PDF download. Details of the PDF download can be found HERE.
Margaret is one of a pair of sister samplers and was stitched in 1854. Margaret finished her sampler at the age of 10 years in 1854 at Hoghton School. Her sister Charlotte finished her sampler in 1860. Using the clues that the two sisters recorded in cross stitches, we were able to locate the girls in family history records.
Margaret was born on December 23, 1843 and Charlotte in 1848. Their parents were Thomas Entwistle, a farmer and his wife Charlotte (née Whitehead). There were six children born to the couple between 1841 and 1848. Their mother certainly had her hands full!
When Thomas and Charlotte (senior) married on December 23, 1839 in St James, Thomas was an agricultural labourer. In the 1851 census return, Thomas farmed 36 acres at Top o’th Lane in Brindle, Lancashire. The school at Hoghton was some 2.5 miles from the farm.
The Entwistle family prospered and in the 1861 census return, Thomas had a holding of some 115 acres at Top o’th Lane. Thomas was appointed a governor of the Brindle Workhouse in the November of 1866. We have also found a reference to Thomas holding the positions of market inspector and trustee of the Shuttlingfields Charity and funds for the poor. He was a respected member of the community.
Charlotte died 4 years after she stitched her sampler, on March 31, 1864 just short of her 16th birthday. She was buried in the churchyard of St James, the Anglican church in Brindle. Eventually, her parents, Margaret and two of her brothers were buried with her.
Margaret never married. At the time of her death on August 4, 1896, she resided at 22 Park Road, Chorley. The 1891 census return records that she was living on her own means and her brother William was lodging with her.
We are so grateful that Charlotte and Margaret’s samplers were kept together by their siblings’ descendants and are now in our safekeeping. We hope that you enjoy stitching both sisters. Charlotte’s sampler can be found HERE.
The design is suitable for needleworkers of all abilities. The stitches used are mainly cross stitch over 2 threads of linen with only the name and age being in cross stitch over 1 thread of linen.
The reproduction of Margaret’s sampler has been a team effort. Her sampler has been painstakingly charted by Sandra Moffitt, her booklet produced by Nicola Parkman, and the model lovingly stitched by Robert Harris.
