Fortier Embroidery Sampler
A 200-year-old piece of needlework by a young student at the Ursuline Convent sheds light on the lives of Catholic Creole girls in early 19th-century Louisiana.
Embroidery samplers that show off basic competence of stitching and literacy were educational tools of girls’ schools in the 18th and 19th centuries. Samplers were more common in the English, Protestant educational systems of the eastern United States, but this one, completed by a young pupil of the Ursuline nuns in early 19th-century New Orleans, has distinctive features unique to its Louisiana origins. Unlike the outdoor scenes and alphabet rows commonly seen on samplers in England’s 13 colonies, this one represents the French language and Catholic religion of Creole society.
The border of the sampler contains the alphabet and the maker’s signature in French, which translates to, “Made by Pauline Fortier at Convent of New Orleans, December 1815, aged 10 years.” The body of the work shows off Pauline’s convent education and her understanding of Catholic iconography, with an altar decorated with flowers and candlesticks at the center. The Eucharist, which Catholics believe to be the body and blood of Christ, is displayed for adoration in a monstrance. Other liturgical paraphernalia are visible on the sides, including an incense censer, a bell, cruets, and a large cross. Pauline began stitching her initials above the altar, but, like many projects of 10-year-olds, the sampler was left unfinished and ultimately folded up in the bottom of the family armoire.
The early New Orleans Ursulines earned a large portion of their operating budget by boarding and teaching the daughters of well-off families, including free people of color. The Ursulines’ focus on teaching young women was an innovative mission for an order of nuns. They wanted Louisiana families to be led by good Catholic wives and mothers, and so they made sure girls like Pauline were well-informed in their faith. Thanks to the Ursulines’ teaching, colonial New Orleans enjoyed a high female literacy rate for its time.
Pauline (1805–1877) was the daughter of a wealthy St. Charles Parish sugarcane planter, Jacques Fortier. As noted by scholar Lily HigginsOpens in new tab, Pauline likely was young enough to still be at home when the largest slave rebellion in US history, the 1811 German Coast UprisingOpens in new tab, met its violent end on her father’s property. Following Pauline’s education in New Orleans, she went on to become Pauline Fortier Sarpy, marrying Lestang Sarpy in 1825 at age 20 and having six children. Her son Leon Sarpy (1838–1888) owned three plantations in St. Charles Parish, becoming a king of Rex and a prominent member of New Orleans high society.
By Sarah Duggan, Decorative Arts of the Gulf South project manager, and Lydia Blackmore, curator of decorative arts
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