Rachel Harpur (c1829-1904)

Rachel Harpur was born in Glencormick, Wick in approximately 1829, a child of William Harpur and Jane Clarke. Her parents married in Bray in 1829, so it is likely that she was their eldest child. She had two siblings that we are aware of - Robert and William - but more research is required to determine if there were others. There are a large number of people with the surname Harpur buried in St. Paul's Church Yard, Bray in Wicklow who may be connected to this family in some way.

Travel to Australia
At age 21, Rachel decided to immigrate to Australia. She boarded the ship "Joseph Soames' a 774 ton barque which left London on 12th August 1850 and Plymouth on 22nd August 1850, with 270 Government emigrants on board. Rachel travelled on her own as a single woman, and was listed as a domestic servant. The ship arrived in Port Adelaide on 23rd November 1850.

Marriage
Rachel married a former sailor name Thomas Underdown in Adelaide on 30/8/1851. He had originated from Devon in England. It is uncertain where the couple lived during the first few years of the marriage, but their early married life appears to have been unsettled due to Thomas travelling back and forth from the Victorian Goldfields. There is a record of a T Underdown traveling from Melbourne to Adelaide on the ship BROOKSBY on 10/12/1852 and a Thos Underdown on the ship PHANTOM on 29/12/1852. This would explain why the couple's first child was not born until early 1854, some two and a half years after the marriage. Rachel is likely to have stayed behind in Adelaide until Thomas took over to Victoria with him.

It is uncertain how successful Thomas was on the goldfields, but the family lived there for approximately 10 years. In that time, they lost 3 children in infancy. They were located in the Bendigo area around Iron Bark Gully, First White Hills and Bullock Creek.

Port Adelaide
The family moved back to South Australia between 1863 and 1867, where their son Robert is recorded as being born at Portland Estate (part of Port Adelaide). What he did while there is uncertain, but it is noted that he may have been involved in carting and farming.

Tuberculosis
Rachel was hospitalised for tuberculosis on the 20/10/1869 in the Adelaide hospital. Unlike others of the time, she managed to survivie the condition, and was dishcarged only a few weeks later on 8/11/1869.

In 1874, she returned to hospital, when she was suffering from ulcered legs.

Later years
Thomas died when his youngest daughter was only 4 years old, of 'softening of the brain' in 1876. He was buried at Alberton.

Rachel continued to live at Portland Estate after her husband's death. She was hospitalised two more times for ulcered legs, once in 1887 and again in 1895.

Rachel died in December 1904 of heart disease (several years), cerebral embolism (2 days) and coma (1 day). She was buried next to Thomas at Alberton Cemetery.

She was fondly remembered by her children, who placed memorium notices for her in the Advertiser newspaper for several years after her death.

Children

 * colspan="3" bgcolor="#FFfce0" style="color: #000000;" |Children of Thomas & Rachel Underdown
 * colspan="3" bgcolor="#FFfce0" style="color: #000000;" |Children of Thomas & Rachel Underdown