Rachel Trueman
| First name | Rachel |
|---|---|
| Last name | Trueman |
| Country of Origin | England |
| Date of Birth | 25th February 1816 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1844 |
| Submitted by | Margaret Wendelin |
Story
Rachel was born in Achworth, Yorkshire. Her family had been in that area for generations. She had two children before marrying Thomas Milthorpe, a ‘farming servant’ in 1837. Neither Rachel nor her husband could sign their names on the church record of their marriage. They went on to have three children before they set out for a new start on board the “Lord William Bentick”.
The family arrived in Port Phillip on 22nd of August, 1844. Life on board must have been difficult with five children (David, Jane, Thomas Edwin, George and Hannah) aged 10, 7, 5, 2 and 1.
The Milthorpes didn’t go far and settled at Nilimbik, now called Diamond Creek an outer Melbourne suburb. They went on to have another six children (Frederic, Forrest, Sophia, Eliza Rachel, Charles and Elfreda). They farmed in the area until their deaths in 1881 (Rachel) and 1886 (Thomas). They are both buried in the Diamond Creek cemetery. The descendants of Rachel and Thomas in Australia numbered over 600 in 1993, they are still in the Melbourne area and in Western New South Wales.