Sarah May Horwell Massoletti

Sarah May Horwell

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Sarah May Horwell was born Feb 7, 1799 in Alexandria, Virginia. She was the eldest daughter of Richard Horwell and Ann May who emigrated to Alexandria, Virginia from England.

Sarah was taught the skills of needlework as a young girl and a sampler of her alphabet done at age 8 has been featured in Columbia’s Daughters by Gloria Seaman Allen and in The Magazine Antiques.

Ann May and Richard Horwell

Ann May was daughter of Edward May, a merchant in Alexandria. Ann opened a school in her father’s house in 1797 and taught reading and needlework to young girls in Alexandria.

One of Ann’s early samplers is documented in American Samplers by Ethel Stanwood Bolton and Eva Johnston Coe. At the time the book was published, the sampler was in the possession of Frances Massoletti, her great-granddaughter. It is currently in the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s Collection. It is believed to be in celebration of her marriage to Richard Horwell and includes the initials of A, R and H and dated 1798. 

Ann and Richard had 5 daughters: Sarah, Lucinda L., Amanda Maria, Nancy E, and Emily Malvinia.

Ann May died Dec 22, 1814.

Richard Horwell was born in Cornwall, England around 1777. Richard was a tailor. and manufacturer of clothing and suspenders in Alexandria, Virginia. His wife, Ann May, died in 1814 leaving him with 5 daughters. He remarried in 1817 to Susan Sleigh. He had a patent for men’s suspenders as well as one for women’s suspenders.  He ran many advertisements in the local newspaper for his business. Alexandria records show several business partnerships throughout the years. Unfortunately, his business and home was severely impacted by the great fire of Alexandria in 1827. He rebuilt his business and had a long and successful business in Alexandria. He was living with his daughter, Sarah May Massoletti in the 1850 census in Washington DC. Richard died in 1856.