Sampler

This beautiful sampler speaks to the level of embroidery mastery that was expected of a ten-year-old girl such as Caroline M.O. Emanuel. Its scale and elaborate design are proof that it was made at a private school for girls, and the motifs found within the sampler, such as the strawberry border, baskets of fruit, and sprigs of flowers are classic designs found on New York City samplers. These designs are recognizable as those traditionally taught by Quaker women and show the outsized influence of Quaker teachers in New York City. (See related sampler made at Quaker Female Association School 2009.413). The sampler also reveals the still relevant story of immigration and acculturation in New York City. Caroline’s paternal grandparents, Michael Emanuel (1750-1801) and Flora Levy (1762-1817) were Sephardic Jews born in London who emigrated to Charleston, South Carolina, where they became members the congregation of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, (founded 1749). Caroline’s father was Michael Emanuel Jr., (1780-1842) who was born in London before the family emigrated, lived in Charleston with his parents for a time, but was in New York by 1809, when he married Caroline’s mother, Eleanor Kip (1784-1872). Eleanor Kip’s forebear in the America was Henrik Hendrickzen Kip (ca.1600-1685) who came to New Amsterdam in 1637 from the Netherlands. A tailor by trade, he also held various political offices in the colony. His descendant, Eleanor, born in Brooklyn in 1784, was baptized in the Dutch Reformed Church. While it isn’t known how Eleanor and Michael Jr. met, or why they married, it was unusual for a Protestant to marry a Jew in the early nineteenth century. Michael Jr. established a business as a grocer at 146 Front Street in Manhattan, and from official documents seems to have been quite prosperous.


When Caroline was born in 1825, she was the eighth of thirteen children born to her parents. Her middle names of Morris and Odgen are notable, since they undoubtedly reference two of New York City’s most prominent families. However, there isn’t an obvious relationship to the Morrises or Ogdens in the family lineage, and it doesn’t seem likely they were family friends of the Emanuels. In 1842, at age seventeen, Caroline married Samuel Rose (1810-1857), a sea captain who was fifteen years her senior. They had two children. Unfortunately, Samuel died in 1857 from a self-inflicted gun wound, which was labeled “accidental” at the time. He had written his will leaving everything to Caroline only a few weeks before his death. Caroline never remarried. At this time, it is not known how the sampler descended in the family, but it is probable that it was passed on initially to Caroline’s daughter, Caroline Amelia Rose (1844-1920).