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George
Henry Chell
was born in
Belper, Derbyshire in 1868, only son of an iron foundry millwright
William Chell and his wife Harriet. As a young man, George followed his
father into the foundry trade, and in the 1891 Census described himself
as a pattern maker. A year later, he married Alberta Susannah
Morrell at Belper; they had two children, Clarence William in 1893 and
Gladys in 1895. By the time of the 1901 Census, They had
moved to
Eccleshall Bierlow, near Sheffield, where George had become a foundry
foreman. Several cabinet cards by G.H. Chell of Belper, probably taken in the late 1890s, are known. The George Henry Chell described above is the only candidate found, and it seems likely that he spent a short time working as a photographer in Belper in the mid- to late 1890s, before moving to Sheffield. Trade directories for 1895 and 1899 show his father William Chell working as a picture frame maker. In 1881, the Chell family had lived next door to chemist and druggist named William Burkinshaw, whose son Harold also became a photographer in Belper in the late 1890s. It is possible, although speculative, that George Chell and Harold Birkinshaw worked together. Alternatively, one or both of them may have worked at another Belper studio, run by Norman J. McAuslan (1861-1905). |
Portfolio |
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Unidentified
young boy by G.H. Chell of Belper Undated, but probably taken in the late 1890s Format: Cabinet Card Image © & courtesy of Cynthia Maddock Notes: It is possible that this
photograph is a copy |
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Unidentified child by G.H. Chell of Belper Undated, but probably taken in the late 1890s Format: Cabinet Card Image © & courtesy of Cynthia Maddock Notes: |
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Unidentified family group,
woman, child and man by G. Chell of Brook Terrace, Belper Undated, but probably taken in the late 1890s Format: Cabinet Card Image ©
& courtesy
of Adrian Farmer Notes: |
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Unidentified group of women,
possibly dressed in Mikado costumes by G. Chell of Brook Terrace, Belper Undated, but probably taken in the late 1890s Format: Cabinet Card Image © & courtesy of Cynthia Maddock Notes: |
References
Images kindly provided by Adrian Farmer and Cynthia Maddock 1841-1901 UK Census - online from Ancestry.com FreeBMD Anon (1891) Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland & Nottinghamshire, Kelly & Co., London. University of Leicester's Digital Library of Historical Directories Anon (1895) Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, Kelly & Co. Limited, London. Anon (1895) History, Topography, and Directory of Derbyshire, T. Bulmer & Co. - by kind courtesy of Sonia Addis-Smith Anon (1899) Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland & Nottinghamshire, Kelly & Co., London. University of Leicester's Digital Library of Historical Directories Anon (1912) Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire 1912, Kelly's Directories Ltd., London. |
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