Virtue Leads and Grace Reveals: Embroideries and Education in Antebellum South Carolina presents an intriguing and previously unexplored perspective on the role of women in the early history of the Carolina piedmont as it originates with their instruction in academic and polite subjects, as well as proper social graces and pursuits. Strong kinship and religious ties of the Presbyterian Scotch-Irish underlie this study of embroideries and education in the Southern piedmont. Female academies, students and their teachers will be the topic of lectures and discussions. Some evidence of the roles of enslaved African Americans in female academies will be included. This symposium and accompanying exhibit will appeal to textile historians, scholars of women's and Southern history and needle arts enthusiasts. The exhibit of over twenty samplers, many on display for the first time, date from the early to the mid-nineteenth century. Exhibition components include panels on needlework and needlework tools, a furnished schoolroom with objects associated with schooling, samplers and accompanying text on teachers and academies. A catalog will be published of the exhibit.

The symposium runs April 4-6, 2003 in Rock Hill, SC at the Museum of York County, with lectures on April 5. Symposim brochures of the program schedule and fees may be obtained by mail or on the web after December 9, 2002. Registration is limited. Early registration deadline, Feb. 15, 2003.