Many women in Bristol and beyond made samplers

Many local antique buffs eagerly seek after samplers, especially if they were made by persons living in this area and are signed and dated.
Usually, the term “sampler” refers to early decorative needlework, often with designs wrought on a linen background using various colors of silk thread.
Most were made by young students, usually girls. They may contain letters of the alphabet, numbers, the name of the maker and date, and sometimes a bit of decorative work.
As students became more capable, the complexity of their work increased accordingly.
Recently, my friend and co-producer of this column, Bob White, had the good fortune to obtain two samplers that pertain to an early Bristol lady.
These were made when she was 12 years old and a student of Palestine Academy. (I do not know the exact location of this academy but am aware of an early voting district called Palestine, also a church and former Masonic lodge of that name).
Her name was Martha Ryburn Buchanan. She was a daughter of James and Nancy Ryburn Buchanan and was reared on a farm that is now part of Bristol, Va. It lay northwest of what is now downtown Bristol in the general vicinity of Randolph Street and Spurgeon Lane.
The old Buchanan cemetery, that is located in what is now the 200 block of Randolph Street, was on this Buchanan farm. It was destroyed several years ago.
Martha was born on Jan. 20, 1826. When 21 years old, she married Dr. Benjamin Frederick Zimmerman who was born in 1821, a son of Abram and Mary Montgomery Zimmerman. He had set up a medical practice in Abingdon, Va., about a year before his marriage to Martha Buchanan.
This marriage was performed by the Rev. James King on May 12, 1847 in the south parlor of the King home located at what is now 54 King St. in Bristol, Va. This couple stood before the same mantel where about two years before stood J. R. Anderson and Malinda King when they were married.
The room was demolished in 1892, but the fine mantel was saved and is now in the music room of the former Margaret Mitchell house that is now owned by King College.
In August 1852, as the original town of Bristol was being surveyed, J. R. Anderson persuaded Dr. Zimmerman to settle in the new town. He sold him lots 151 and 154 in the original Bristol, Va., and upon these the Zimmerman home was erected. This was the first home erected in Bristol, Va.
Martha Buchanan Zimmerman bore four children.
The first died as a baby. B. F. Zimmerman, Jr. died at the age of 3. Two girls survived. Mary (1849-1917) married Bruce D. Spurgeon. Nancy (Nannie) (1850-1937) married Dr. A. M. Carter.
Dr. Zimmerman died on Nov. 11, 1854. Martha then married John Keys.
In 1858, the former Dr. Zimmerman office that stood in the home yard, was rented to the noted Col. John S. Mosby. This became his first office and home in Bristol.
Martha was very kind and helpful to Mosby. She provided him with the table that became his first desk, and she also provided a chair to go with it. She patiently bore with him when he did not meet his rent payments on time. His rent was $75 per year.
Martha grew old in this Zimmerman home. Then, on Oct. 8, 1900, she died on the same bed as had her first husband some 40-odd years before.
She and her first husband are buried in Section 3 in our historic East Hill Cemetery.
Martha kept her samplers through her lifetime. At her death, they passed to her daughter, Mary Spurgeon. Apparently, they came into the hands of Mary’s grandson.
At his death, his personal property was sold at auction, and his property included several Zimmerman articles.
Local antique dealers bought some of the property. Finally, Bob White bought the samplers and returned them to the city where Martha lived so long.

BUD PHILLIPS is a local historian and author. He can be reached at (276) 466-6435. For more about Bristol’s history, visit www.bristolhistoricalassociation.com.