Record

D8760 - Gell family of Hopton Hall, Wirksworth - 1714-1994
- F - Family records of the extended Franklin family and the Gell family of Hopton Hall - 1714-1994
  - FEG - Records of Eleanor Isabella Gell nee Franklin, daughter of Sir John and Eleanor Franklin and wife of Reverend John Philip Gell - 1828-[early 20th cent]
    - 1 - Correspondence of Eleanor Isabella Gell nee Franklin - 1828-1859
      - 11 - Correspondence between Elizabeth Franklin and her niece Eleanor Isabella Franklin, later Gell - 1837-1849

Browse this collection	This entry describes an individual archive record or file. Click here to browse the full catalogue for this collection
Archive Reference / Library Class No.	D8760/F/FEG/1/11/2
Former Reference	D3287/31/8
Title	Letter from Eleanor Isabella Franklin to her aunt Elizabeth Franklin, during the latter's residence in Tasmania
Date	22 May 1838
Description	Because of her Aunt's 'always kindly encouragement' she is glad to write whenever she has the opportunity. It is long since she has heard from her Aunt and she hopes she has not been prevented from writing because of illness, and that before long she will have the pleasure of a letter from her. She thinks her Aunt by this time will have heard about the fever (spread throughout Hobart town) that her mother, Sophy and Mary have had. The fever's most notable feature being 'great weakness'; and although Mary is quite recovered, her Mama and Sophy remain weakened by it, though considerably better than they were. She writes that on the 24th it will be the Queen's birthday, so her Papa will hold a Levée and in the evening there is 'to be a large ball at this house, to which upwards of a thousand have been invited' at which her Mama hopes to be in attendance, but Sophy is not yet strong enough to attend. She tells of the British frigate Conway being in harbour, which has brought the Bishop of Australia, and of her father knowing the captain (Captain Bethune) , whom he had seen in Portsmouth (on the fitting out of the Rainbow). She goes on to write of how her father 'enjoys anything to do with shipping'. Major Smith who travelled with the Franklin family on the Fairlie has given Eleanor Isabella two tails of the Great Pheasant from Port Philip which she believes from her Aunt's description of the Lyre Bird to be one and the same, although she had not heard it called by that name. She describes the tail of the male bird as being in the shape of a lyre, about three quarters of a yard long; the female shorter 'and like the tail of any other bird', and though she has not seen the bird she thinks 'it must look very graceful'. She explains how Port Philip is in the South of Australia and that it is said to be very beautiful. They have recently seen a man 'who has lived thirty two years with the natives who treated him very kindly': he had been sent out to the Colonies as a prisoner.
Extent	1 sheet
Level	Item
Repository	Derbyshire Record Office
Sender	Eleanor Isabella Franklin
Sender Location	Government House, Hobart Town
Recipient	Eleanor Isabella Franklin
Recipient Location	Horncastle, Lincolnshire
Archive Creator	Eleanor Isabella Franklin, later Eleanor Gell (1824-1860)
Archive Creator	Gell family of Hopton Hall, Wirksworth
Term	Ethnic groups
	Colonialism
	British Empire
	Letters (documents)

Places

Place (click for further details)	Type
Australia
Tasmania

Add to My Items

George M. Woodward (1767-1809), cartoonist

Tweets by DRO

Strutt family of Belper

George M. Woodward (1767-1809), cartoonist

Florence Nightingale

Horace John Rylands (1886-1961) of Bakewell, First World War soldier

Collection Highlights

Record

Useful Links

See more Collection highlights