Re: Sir William Gell
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In reply to:
Sir William Gell
Michael Hudson 7/24/04
Hello Michael Hudson, I have a Gell 'pedigree' next to me and can't find any Mary Gell who fits the bill. No doubt, this document made by Philip Lyttleton Gell in 1907 is incomplete, through lack of information and, I suspect, because the gentleman left out those he didn't consider important. Sir William Gell is of course there. I may be telling you what you already know, but according to this huge piece of paper which traces the male line back to 1404, William was the son of Philip Gell of Hopton Hall. Born 1723 and buried at Wirksworth in 1795. He married Dorothy Milnes born 1758, died 1808. They had Philip, 1775 to 1842, William (Sir) 1777 to 1836, Henry and Isabella who died in infancy, and Mary 1780 to 1841. Mary married John Collen of Ottery St Mary in Devon and is buried there. Only the first born, Philip appears to have had children and none of these children had any offspring. The document clearly states 'the extinction' of this side of the family. It amuses me to reflect that not many years before William was knocking about with Byron and his mates in Italy, on a very different level of activity, Williams uncle, Admiral ('Fighting', as he was known)Gell, was involved in deeds of daring do capturing French ships in Genoa just up the coast. There is a painting by Reynolds of the Admiral (as he became) in the Maritime Museum at Greenwich UK which you can find at www.nmm.ac.uk/mag/pages/mnuExplore/paintingDetail.cfm?ID=BHC2708
Tim