NEEDLEWORK MARKETPLACE: Rachel De La Rue 1825 by Cross Stitch Antiques

From the designer —

Rachel tells us she was eleven years old when she finished her sampler in 1825 making her birth year 1813 or 1814. The antique dealer indicates she was from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. With this information in mind, an ancestry search reveals a Rachel born in this time frame, living in Saint Martin, Guernsey, who married Nicholas Tourtel and had a daughter named Henriette, born January 1, 1849, and at least two other children, Nicholas and Eleanor. One of Rachel’s ancestors was Thomas de la Rue, most likely an uncle, (1793-1866), who became famous and whose company name lives on to this day.