Cloverdale Seminary

Vanleer, Dickson Co.

Lucy Tillman Brown (1837-1913) was one of nine children born to Alexander Youree Brown and Rebecca Harris. Her father emigrated from Ireland in 1812, joined the US Army, and fought with Andrew Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans. The family lived in Dickson County. Lucy stitched her sampler in 1851 at the Cloverdale Seminary in what is now Vanleer, Dickson County. She became the second wife of John James Henry and had six children in addition to her step-son. Her husband was a farmer in Ashland City, Cheatham County.

Lucy’s sampler has been cut into sections and the top and bottom have been sewn together. The seam can be clearly seen above her signature line. Elizabeth Chelly Zilpah Garrett’s sampler (TSS 112) of 1846 has the same alphabets on it. Perhaps Lucy’s sampler once featured a house or other impressive decorative motifs.