I love it when the girls add the town they are from to their sampler. It makes research much easier and more accurate. Sarah's sampler was a true rescue as it was falling appart in many places. The threads surviving better than the linen used to stitch on.

Sarah’s History

When Sarah was born in Sibsey, Lincolnshire, England, her father, William Flear, and her mother Ann Kirkham, who has an extensive ancestral history going back centuries, were both age 36. Sarah was christened on March 11th, 1792, so her birth could have been late 1791 or early 1792. It would have made her about 14 when she stitched her sampler. Sibsey was a tiny village as in 1801 the population was 948 with no schools listed.

Sarah was the second youngest of 7 children. She had an older sister, also named Sarah that passed away at age 2. She also had two brothers, both named William, of which one passed away in infancy.

Sarah married Joseph Neal on 11 June 1818, in Benington, Lincolnshire, England. The town of Benington was closer to the coast but even smaller than Sibsey at the time. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 5 daughters. Sarah passed away at age 83  on 1 August 1874 in Benington. She was buried in the All-Saints Churchyard in Benington next her husband Joseph. Sarah was 5 years older than Joseph.

I imagine that Sarah’s life was not an easy one considering she gave birth to 9 children. The last one was her daughter Maria born in 1849, (Sarah was already 57!). This was also the same year her husband passed away. Oddly, Sarah named her third daughter also Sarah. This sweet little thing passed away at age 2, (this is not a good name it seems for the family). She later named another daughter Sarah, who lived with her mother until she died.

The three ladies were listed as living in the house in 1861. Sarah (69, listed as a land owner), and her daughter Sarah 28, listed as a dress maker. In the 1871 census her granddaughter Elizabeth, (14, scholar), was also listed as living in the same house. Sarah the daughter, was now listed as a “farmer’s daughter”.
Over the years there have been several different addresses for Sarah but all were right close to where she married and spent her later years. Her birthplace, Sibsey was only 10 minutes away from where she married.

 The original Sampler

 The Reproduction

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