Hargers in Settle: Samplers

Samplers: Mary (1820) and Nancy (1824) Harger

In autumn 2020, two more Harger samplers came to light and images were received. Both samplers used the same four lines of poetry (by Mary Mollineux, a Quaker poet from Lancashire, 1651?-1696. "Fruits of retirement: or Miscellaneous poems, moral and divine"). There was reportedly a third sampler, allegedly by a Sarah Harger, but the item is not available any more. The samplers are signed:

Mary Harger aged 7 1820
Nancy Harger aged 8 1824

Based on the names and ages (and the same text used in both), it is tentatively suggested that Nancy and Mary were sisters, and children of Joseph Harger (1780-1848) and Ellen née Holden (1784-1863) who married 19 Oct 1805; a list of their children is below.

Sampler Mary Harger aged 7 1820

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Sampler Nancy Harger aged 8 1824

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Children of Joseph Harger (1780-1848) and Ellen née Holden (1784-1863) married 19 Oct 1805

Name Date of christening Date of Death Notes

Joseph 25 Dec 1807 30 Nov 1869 Royal Oak, Settle, then Oxton; spirit merchant; died & buried Settle, no marriage or children

William 09 Jun 1811 04 Oct 1851 Buried Settle

Mary 18 Jul 1813 24 Oct 1864 Married John Johnson Hartley in 1839, no children, buried Settle

Nancy 10 Sep 1815 19 May 1883 Spinster at death. Died & buried Settle

Richard 19 Apr 1818 19 Dec 1866 Farmer. Fairford Asylum 1848-1866. Died Fairford as a bachelor

Sarah 01 Oct 1820 29 Feb 1896 Died Liverpool, spinster; buried Settle

John 10 Nov 1822 05 Dec 1872 Farmer. Buried Settle

Robert 09 Oct 1825 26 Apr 1904 Wine & spirit dealer; property owner, Liverpool. Married Mary Ann née Preston in 1867; 6 children

Eli 28 Dec 1828 26 May 1834 Commemorated Settle headstone, buried Giggleswick

Of the above 9 children

Many are buried or commemorated in two plots with prominent headstones close to the main entrance door of Settle Parish church. More details are available on the headstones page).
Several went to Liverpool for varying amounts of time (William, Sarah, Robert, Joseph)
It would seem that only one (Robert) produced offspring
you can read about the family in Sarah Lister's article on the Hargers at https://www.dalescommunityarchives.org.uk/

The four lines of poetry are from "Fruits of retirement: or Miscellaneous poems, moral and divine" by Mary Mollineux, a Quaker poet from Lancashire, 1651?-1696.

There's no abiding City here;
Seek one that shall remain :
To Wisdom's Counsel lend an Ear;
True Godliness is Gain :

More information on the work and the poet may be found at:

Paul makes the following observations about the samplers by Mary and Nancy:

Nancy appears to have been copying from her sister’s work as both have an additional “Y” on the second row after the “Z”.
Mary runs out of space for the date – hence 1820.
Nancy however finds space to embroider 1-14 on the third row
Nancy doesn’t do apostrophes
Mary’s pictures are of a dog, a flower, a crown, a tree and a beehive
Nancy’s pictures are of a flower, a bee hive, a tree (that might have started life as a crown), a dog and a tree.

Many thanks are due to Paul Wiltshire for finding, sharing and recognising the value of the samplers, and providing images, and permission to use them.