Needlework on Paper
INSCRIPTION: Paper label on the back of modern frame “Worked by Mrs. Otho B. Beall/ when she was 12 years old/ 1792.”
MAKER: Mary Berry (1780-1853) was the daughter of Zachariah (1749-1845), a planter, and Mary (Williams) Berry of “Concord”, Prince George’s County, Maryland. Mary married her cousin, Otho Berry Beall (1790-1853), son of Samuel Brook Beall (1762- 1842) and his wife Elinor (Berry) Beall. Mary and Otho Beall lived at “Westphalia,” also known as “White House Place,” on White House Road near Ritchie in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Mary and Otho had three children: William Zachariah Beall (1815-1858), Washington Jeremiah Beall (1818-1895), and Zachariah Berry Beall (1825-1859).
RELATED OBJECTS: The MESDA Collection includes portraits of Mary and Otho Berry Beall painted by the artist Lewis Clephan around 1825 (MESDA Acc. 4347.2 & 3).