The American fashion for embroidered Washington memorials followed an English precedent for honoring patrons, historical figures (particularly Shakespeare), and fictional heroes. However, where English girls confined their tributes to national figures, American girls applied this genre to honor family members as well, including those whose death was far removed in time. The framer's label on the reverse tells us that this embroidery in memory of Daniel Rollins, who died on June 4th, 1795 at age 36, was probably finished and framed approximately eleven years after Rollins' death. Thus, mourning embroideries served not only as true expressions of grief, but also as fashionable family records or household decorations.