"Samplers reflected female education in the south and how those views changed over time. The majority of samplers documented by Jennifer Core and Janet Hasson are from the 1830s through the 1850s and feature a signature band including the maker's name and the date of completion. They reflect Tennessee's three grand divisions as well. For instance, the samplers of East Tennessee bear a striking resemblance to Virginia's samplers while West Tennessee's samplers are fewer in number and vary in size and format, reflecting the less settled region. Core and Hasson argue that this snapshot of Tennessee as seen through girl's education and craft informs our understanding of women's history prior to the Civil War as, after all, if an unmarried woman died prior to 1850, her sampler may have been the only proof of her existence"--