Guide to the Papers of the Gell and Franklin families (as filmed by the AJCP), 1800-1961

Summary

Collection number:

M377-M380, M390

Creator:

Franklin Family (Hobart), Gell Family (London), Franklin, John, Sir, Gell, nee Franklin, Eleanor Isabella, and Gell, John Phillip, Rev

Extent:

31 items

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example:M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-987654321)

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The papers of Rev. J.P. Gell and his wife include letters to Eleanor Isabella from Sir John and Lady Franklin, and both original correspondence and copies of correspondence and papers about the Queen's School and Christ's College.

Correspondents include Ronald C. Gunn of Hobart. There are also notebooks and diaries, including a diary describing Gell's voyage to Van Diemen's Land on the convict ship Runnymede in 1839-40.

Besides the letters from Franklin to his daughter, there are papers of both Sir John and Lady Franklin. These include a few drafts of official letters written by Franklin while Governor of Van Diemen's Land and some of his private and official correspondence. Among letters to Franklin is one from Matthew Flinders 1812. Includes a series of letters from Franklin to Dr John Richardson, surgeon and naturalist. The original Franklin papers are supplemented by a collection of copies of letters, some handwritten and some typescript, chiefly from Franklin. The copies include typescripts of letters written by Franklin aboard the Investigator.

Reel M390: Phyllis Mander Jones (AJCP Offier). Notes about the Gell Archives compiled by the Historical Manuscripts Commission, with special reference to papers of Australian interest, 23 February 1961. (3pp)

Biographical / Historical:

Sir John Franklin (1786-1847) was born at Spilsby, Lincolnshire. He entered the Royal Navy in 1800. He served as a midshipman under Matthew Flinders, his uncle by marriage, on the exploring voyage of HMS Investigator in 1801-4. In 1805 he took part in the Battle of Trafalgar. In 1818 he was second-in-command of an expedition searching for the North-West Passage and he led expeditions to the Arctic regions of North America in 1819-22 and 1824-28. He was knighted in 1829. In 1830-33 he commanded HMS Rainbow off the coast of Greece. In 1836 he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land and he arrived in Hobart in January 1837. As a result of a dispute with the Colonial Secretary, John Montagu, whom he dismissed, he was recalled by Lord Stanley in 1843. In 1845 he was given command of HMS Erebus on another expedition in search of the North-West Passage. The expedition was last seen by Europeans in July 1845 and it was later found that Franklin had died at Beechey Island in June 1847.

Jane Franklin nee Griffin (1791-1875) was born in London, the daughter of a silk weaver. She married John Franklin in 1828, his first wife having died in 1825. She accompanied her husband to Van Diemen's Land in 1836 and played a conspicuous role in the life of the colony. She was an energetic traveller and was the first woman to travel overland from Port Phillip to Sydney and from Hobart to Macquarie Harbour. Following the disappearance of HMS Erebus and Terror in 1846, she spent many years pressing for and supporting search expeditions. She had no children, but in her later years she was accompanied on her numerous overseas journeys by Sir John Franklin's niece, Sophia Cracroft (1816-1892).

John Philip Gell (1816-1898) was born in Matlock, Derbyshire, the eldest son of Reverend Philip Gell. He was educated at Rugby, under the headmaster Thomas Arnold, and at Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1839 he sailed to Van Diemen's Land with the intention of establishing a college of higher education on Arnoldian principles. Soon after his arrival in Hobart he opened the Queen's School in Hobart, but he had a long struggle before Christ's College was finally opened at Bishopsbourne in 1846. Gell was ordained a priest in 1845 and was Warden of Christ's College. He returned to England in 1849 and was given a curacy in London. He was the vicar of St John's Church, Notting Hill, from 1854 to 1878 and the Rector of Buxted, Sussex, from 1878 until his death.

Eleanor Isabella Franklin (1824-1860) was the daughter of Sir John Franklin and his first wife Eleanor Franklin nee Porden. In 1836 she accompanied her father, step-mother and cousin, Sophia Cracroft, to Van Diemen's Land. While living in Hobart she became engaged to John Gell, but they did not marry until 1849. They had seven children.

Arthur Daniel Gell (1822-1848) was the youngest son of Rev. Philip and Elizabeth Gell. In 1838 he sailed to South Australia where he was the private secretary of the Governor, Colonel George Gawler. When Gawler was recalled in 1841, Gell remained in the colony and worked as a clerk in the Colonial Secretary's Department. In 1848 Edward J. Eyre, who had been appointed lieutenant-governor of New Zealand, selected him as his private secretary. Gell drowned when the ship Calypso was wrecked on the voyage from Sydney to New Zealand.

Philip Lyttelton Gell (1852-1926) was the second son of John and Eleanor Gell. He was educated at Kings College, University of London, and Balliol College, Oxford, and his early career was spent in publishing. He was secretary to the Oxford University Press. He was later active in business and was chairman of the British South Africa Company and a director of the Rhodesian Lands Company, the Rhodesia Trading Company and British Exploration of Australasia Ltd.

Custodial History:

The letters to Sir John Franklin were re-filmed at the end of reel M380.

Related

Existence and Location of Copies:

The original AJCP microfilm of the records filmed from this collection is available at the National Library of Australia [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1870666] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.

Existence and Location of Originals:

Colonel P.V.W. GellWirksworth, Derbyshire

Conditions Governing Access:

Available for access.

Conditions Governing Use:

Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example:M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-987654321)

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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