Fell family - further papers, 1847-1975

MLMSS 1114 ADD-ON 2032

fonds

1847-1975

Textual Records, Graphic Materials, Clippings, Photographs

87974

3 boxes - 0.54 Meters
Textual Records
Textual Records - (carbon)
Clippings
Textual Records - (printed)
Photographs

John Wilson Fell (b. 1820) was a ship broker in Glasgow with the company J.W. Fell & Son. James Walter Fell (1847-1882), son of John Wilson Fell and his first wife Mary Fraser, became an engineer with the Australian Gas Light Company. In ca.1870, he married Helen ('Nell') Wilson Thomson (1849-1935), daughter of Rev. Adam Thomson and Helen Ritchie Thomson (nee Wilson). In 1875 he conceived the idea of introducing gas to the North Shore of Sydney. The project was completed in 1877 and led to the formation of the North Shore Gas Company Ltd. He planned the shale oil works at Joadja, N.S.W. in 1877 for the Australian Kerosene Oil and Shale Company and remained a consulting engineer for the Company until 1881. John ('Jack') Walter Fell (1872-1891), only son of James Walter Fell and Helen Wilson Fell, attended the Cooerwull Academy (boarding school) at Bowenfels, N.S.W. James and Helen Fell also had two daughters, Helen ('May') Mary Old and Catherine ('Katie' or 'Kit') Isabella Wood.

1847-1874; John Wilson Fell - correspondence and other papers. Correspondents include James Walter Fell (son), Western Kerosene Oil Company (Ltd), and New South Wales Shale and Oil Company. Also letter from Mary Fell (first wife) to her brother Peter Fraser, and a Court summons (1872) (Call No.: ML MSS 1114, ADD ON 2032/1/1)
1867-1881; James Walter Fell - correspondence. Correspondents include John Wilson Fell (father), John Wilson Fraser Fell (brother), Rev. Adam Thomson, New South Wales Shale and Oil Company (employer), and Australian Gas Light Company (employer). (Call No.: ML MSS 1114, ADD ON 2032/1/2)
1863-1881; James Walter Fell - papers, including academic reference, machinery diagrams, and legal documents (Call No.: ML MSS 1114, ADD ON 2032/1/3)
1882-1975; Papers relating to James Walter Fell and his work, including photographs (8) of the Joadja shale works and house, burial documents, statement of affairs of his estate (1900), newscuttings, journal article, notes by Helen Wilson Fell, and letters from the North Shore Gas Company Limited (Call No.: ML MSS 1114, ADD ON 2032/1/4)
1883; John ('Jack') Walter Fell - diary, mainly describing voyage to Australia from England on the SS Parramatta (Call No.: ML MSS 1114, ADD ON 2032/1/5)
1873-1891; John ('Jack') Walter Fell - letters received mainly from Helen Wilson Fell and Rev. Adam Thomson, including typed transcripts of 3 letters (Call No.: ML MSS 1114, ADD ON 2032/1/6)
1868-ca.1920; Photographs (5) of James Walter Fell, Helen Wilson Fell, Jack Fell and Bertie Wilson. (Call No.: ML MSS 1114, ADD ON 2032/1/7)
1927-1935; Helen Wilson Fell - diaries, written in 7 carbon letter books (Call No.: ML MSS 1114, ADD ON 2032/2/1-7)
1902-1934; Helen Wilson Fell (called 'Mith' or 'Da' by family) - letters received from Catherine ('Katie' or 'Kit') Wood and Rev. Fred Wood (Call No.: ML MSS 1114, ADD ON 2032/3/1)
1870-1935; Helen Wilson Fell - correspondence and papers. Correspondents include James Anderson (brother-in-law), Sir Henry Barraclough, Sir Edmund Barton, James Walter Fell, John ('Jack') Walter Fell, James Hogg (brother-in-law), Robert Ormondy Hogg (nephew), Helen Mary Old, Charles Parbury, G.H. Reid, Sir Granville Ryrie, Rev. Adam Thomson, and Annie Thomson (step-sister). Also includes some letters between other family members, 2 newscuttings and an article on India (written by Helen W. Fell?) (Call No.: ML MSS 1114, ADD ON 2032/3/2)

Chronological within series

See also related collections: Thomson family papers at ML MSS 5955 and Wood family papers at ML MSS 5962.