Samuel Hoyt Elbert

Samuel Hoyt Elbert (1907-1997), Ethelind Austin's older brother, was an Asian and Pacific linguistic. He was an expert of multiple Pacific languages and Japanese. Since 1949, Prof.Elbert was employed by the University of Hawaii at Manoa, taught Hawaiian languages and linguistic courses. In 1980s and 1990s, he did research on Polynesian and Japananese, and also helped publish the Hawaiian-Japanese pocket dictionary. According to Sue Ricketts (daughter of Holcombe and Ethelind Austin), the embroidery was given to Prof. Elbert, who later gave it to the Austins as a present in late 1950s or early 1960s. Although Ms.Rickett couldn't recall the exact year, she mentioned that Prof.Elbert was a traveler and did not keep long-term collections. Therefore it is possible that Prof.Elbert gave the damask to the Austins right after his received it either in Japan or Hawaii. However, so far there is not enough information indicates when and where did Prof. Elbert acquired this embroidery.

Text Sources:

Hawkins, Emily. “In Memoriam: Samuel Hoyt Elbert, 1907-1997.” Oceanic Linguistics 36, no. 2 (1997).http://0-  www.jstor.org.helin.uri.edu/stable/3622982

Sue Ricketts, email message to Leah Niederstadt, February 6, 2014.

Ward, Jack H. “Samuel H. Elbert: An Update to the 1976 Bibliography.” Oceanic Linguistics 36, no. 2 (1997). http://www.jstor.org/stable/3622984

Image Source:

Ancerstry.com. U.S. School Yearbooks [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2010