The Story Behind Ada Davies' 1852 Welsh Sampler

When thirteen-year-old Ada Davies carefully stitched her sampler in 1852, she could not have imagined that more than 170 years later someone would still be admiring her work and searching for the story behind the young girl whose name she stitched so proudly into the linen.

Although many details of Ada's childhood remain to be discovered, surviving records allow us to follow her from schoolgirl to wife, mother, and grandmother, offering a glimpse into an ordinary life preserved through extraordinary needlework.

(Original Sampler and reproduction)

A Sampler Stitched at Thirteen

Ada completed her sampler in 1852 at the age of thirteen.

Like many Welsh schoolgirl samplers of the mid-nineteenth century, her work combines alphabets, decorative motifs, and a religious verse that reflects the educational traditions of the period. Such verses were commonly included on schoolgirl samplers throughout Britain and often echoed familiar hymns or moral instruction taught in both schools and religious communities.

Her verse reads:

"'Tis religion that can give
Sweetest pleasures while we live;
'Tis religion must supply
Solid comfort when we die."

Originally written by Mary Masters in the eighteenth century and later popularized in Welsh chapels through hymn collections, these familiar words would have been instantly recognizable to many Welsh families.

The sampler demonstrates careful instruction and considerable skill, suggesting that Ada received a good education in needlework, an accomplishment considered an important part of a young woman's upbringing.

Growing Up in Pembrokeshire

Ada Davies was born in 1839 in Pembroke Dock, Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales.

While she was still very young, her family moved to Narberth, where her father, John Davies, served as Master Miller at Narberth Town Mill. As Master Miller, John occupied an important position in the community, overseeing a business that served the surrounding farming district and formed an essential part of everyday life in Narberth. Contemporary directories place John Davies in this position during the 1840s, providing valuable insight into the family's early life. 

Working as a miller was a respected and responsible occupation. The town mill stood at the heart of the local agricultural community, grinding grain brought by surrounding farmers into flour and meal. As Master Miller, John oversaw the operation of the mill, making it an important part of everyday life in Narberth.

Narberth itself was a lively market town. Regular market days and livestock fairs drew farmers, merchants, and visitors from across Pembrokeshire, filling the streets with horses, wagons, livestock, and produce. Although no record tells us whether young Ada attended the famous Narberth Pig Fair, she almost certainly grew up in a community where these bustling gatherings were a familiar part of life. It is easy to imagine the excitement such occasions brought to a curious child living in the town.

(Although this photograph was taken many decades after Ada's childhood, the market tradition it captures had been part of Narberth life for generations and offers a glimpse of the lively community in which she grew up.)

It was during these formative years in Narberth that Ada learned the needlework skills that would eventually lead her to stitch her sampler in 1852.

Knowing that Ada spent her childhood at Narberth Town Mill also gives me a new appreciation for her sampler. The unusually large wheat sheaves, a prominent feature of her design, suddenly seem especially meaningful. I cannot help but wonder if the distinctive house she stitched was inspired by the mill itself or perhaps the miller's cottage where she grew up. While we can never know for certain, it is a delightful possibility that adds another personal layer to her remarkable work.

(The vast country Views Ada would have had as a child overlooking Narbeth)

Faith in Nineteenth-Century Wales

Religion played a central role in Welsh life during Ada's childhood.

Research into her family has uncovered evidence of connections with a Nonconformist congregation, reflecting the vibrant chapel tradition that flourished throughout nineteenth-century Wales. At the same time, later family records show that after Ada married, several of her children were christened in the parish church at Cosheston.

Rather than representing a contradiction, these records illustrate the complex religious landscape of Victorian Wales, where families sometimes maintained connections with both chapel and parish church across generations.

The religious verse on Ada's sampler reflects these deeply held Christian values and reminds us that samplers served not only as exercises in needlework but also as expressions of faith and moral instruction.

(Pembroke Street in Pembroke Dock)

Marriage and Family

Ada married Morris Griffiths around 1859.

Together they raised a large family in Pembrokeshire. Census records show Morris worked as a sawyer, a skilled occupation involving the cutting and preparation of timber, an important trade in a region closely connected with shipbuilding, construction, and local industry.

Their family included one son and six daughters, although they also experienced the heartbreak of losing an infant son before his first birthday, a sadly common tragedy in Victorian Britain.

A Life in Pembrokeshire

Ada spent her entire adult life in Pembrokeshire.

As the decades passed, she witnessed remarkable changes, including the expansion of Pembroke Dock as one of Britain's principal Royal Navy dockyards, advances in transportation and industry, and the social changes that transformed Victorian society.

Yet throughout these changes, everyday family life remained centered on home, work, church, and community, the same values reflected in the sampler she had stitched as a young girl.

Her Final Years

Ada died on 15 January 1917, having lived through nearly eight decades of extraordinary change.

Her husband Morris survived her by almost ten years, passing away on 11 October 1926.

Today they rest together in Llanion Cemetery, Pembroke Dock, where their family monument also commemorates their daughter Mary Obrey, who sadly died before either of her parents in 1905.

Standing before their gravestone, it is difficult not to think back to the thirteen-year-old girl who stitched her sampler in 1852. The threads she carefully placed into the linen have endured for generations, preserving her name long after those who knew her have passed from memory.

(Ada's Grave)

Why Her Sampler Matters

One of the greatest joys of researching antique samplers is discovering the life behind the stitches.

When Ada stitched her sampler in 1852, she was simply a thirteen-year-old girl learning an important skill. She could never have imagined that, more than 170 years later, someone would still be reading her name and piecing together the story of her life.

For me, that is the true gift of antique samplers. They preserve not only beautiful needlework, but also the lives of the young girls who created them, ensuring that their stories, like their stitches, continue to endure through time.

I hope you enjoyed this journey as much as I have.

Much love, 

Birgit

You can find Ada's Sampler and the Flosstube when she arrived here:

All Things Ada

**Research Notes
The stories behind antique samplers are rarely complete. As new records become available and additional research uncovers more of a stitcher's life, I will happily update this biography. Every new discovery helps preserve not only these beautiful works of needlework, but also the stories of the young girls who created them.