Nancy Ellis Ault was born in rural Knox County, Tennessee, and educated at the school operated by Mary Ann Hutsell, the wife of a Methodist circuit rider. Four years after completing her sampler, Nancy married Samuel T. Atkin, a successful merchant and alderman of Knoxville.


Sampler June 2, 1841 Nancy Ellis Ault Knox County, Tennessee Cotton and linen HOA: 18"; WOA: 17"


From the collection of Namuni Hale Young


Jug 1826–1860


Originally published by Roddy Moore in his groundbreaking Antiques Magazine article on Great Road pottery, this monumental jug is a masterpiece of the manganese, splotch- decorated wares made along the Tennessee-southwest Virginia border. It is evocatively inscribed in the clay, “John Wolfe”, “1826”, and “True Blue.”


Attributed to the Cain family of potters Sullivan County, Tennessee Lead-glazed earthenware


HOA: 15 3/4"; DIA: 7 1/2"; Circumference: 37 1/2”


This portrait of four charming, but as-yet unidentified children was painted by East Tennessee’s leading painter of the antebellum period. Trained as a lawyer, Samuel Shaver abandoned the practice of law to pursue an artistic career. A train station with a train in the background hails the arrival of the new railroad transportation system that transformed the continent, making both travel and the shipment of goods easier and faster.


Portrait of Tennessee Family c. 1850–1860 Samuel Moore Shaver Knox County, Tennessee Oil on canvas Unframed: HOA: 42"; WOA: 42" Framed: HOA: 47 7/8"; WOA: 48" Loan from Mary Jo Case


Robert A. Leath is Chief Curator and Vice President of Collections & Research at Old Salem Museums & Gardens.


Spring/Summer 2010 21


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