Eighteenth-century Boston was the center of needlework instruction and coats of arms were significant achievements of the daughters of New England’s growing merchant class.  With the help of their teachers, such as Susanna Condy and Jannette Day, and the city’s heraldic craftsmen, such as Thomas Johnston and John Gore, these schoolgirls created some of the most complex and costly examples of American embroidery.  The use of materials and skilled execution of coats of arms show the schoolgirl’s role in tracing and solidifying her family’s status.