Elizabeth (Tewlett) Minchin (1795 - 1862)

Born 1795 in Petersfield, Hampshire, England

Wife of James Minchin Jr. — married 15 Jan 1821 (to Jul 1837) in Petersfield, Hampshire, England

Wife of Jonathon Woollard — married 7 May 1838 in Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Descendants

Died Apr 1862 at about age 67 in Kyneton, Victoria, Australia

Caroline 1829

Biography

Elizabeth was born in 1795.

She married James Minchin on 15 January 1821 at Petersfield, Hampshire, England.^[1] Elizabeth was four years his senior and a servant girl. Their first son James arrived six months after their wedding.

They moved out of the Minchin family home at No. 2 High Street, four doors down to No 10. High Street. Here her husband set up his bakery and carried on with his carpentry at the same time.

Swan River Colony 1832 Census #571

James (aged 30) and Elizabeth (aged 34) emigrated, along with their five children James (8), Andrew (7), Eliza (6), Alfred (4) and Esther (1), from England to the Swan River Settlement of Western Australia, Australia, arriving on 12 October 1829 on the ship Caroline (just over four months after the first settlers arrived there on the Parmelia).

The Caroline encountered many a violet storm on the voyage; in one such storm her young son Alfred (aged about 4) was washed overboard but was saved by crew members.

Tragically her husband James died suddenly in 1837 at the age of 38. He was buried on the riverbank.

Her three sons stepped up overnight into the responsibility of young men. They worked as labourers on neighbouring farms. Elizabeth was listed as a "Laundress" in the census.

By the mid 1850's two of her sons, James and Andrew, succumbed to gold fever and made their way to the state of Victoria. Elizabeth went with them and never returned to Western Australia.

She died in 1862 and was buried in Kyneton Cemetery. Her grave is unmarked but she is memorialised on an inscription on a boulder:

This plaque (and monument) is dedicated

To the memory of all interred in the Kyneton Cemetery

In unmarked graves

Commemorating their lives on this earth

This plaque attached is a reminder that

They are not forgotten

"Thou art not dead but sleeping here"

Another plaque at Kyneton Cemetery has the inscription:

ELIZABETH MINCHIN (NEE TEWLETT)

1795 - 1862

Of Petersfield, Hampshire, England

Wife of James Minchin (1799 - 1837)

A Pioneer of the Swan River Colony, WA (1829)

and Carlsruhe, Victoria (1855)

Her descendants honour her faithfulness to family, determination

and resilience in the face of challenging :circumstances^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NFP9-X9Z : 10 February 2018), James Minchin and Elizabeth Tewlett, 15 Jan 1821; citing Petersfield, Hampshire, England, reference item 6 p 24, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 1,596,258.
2. ↑ https://billiongraves.com/grave/Elizabeth-Tewlett-Minchin/21450870

• The Peerage

• https://perthdps.com/shipping/wa-0011.htm