Thomas Mitchell

Thomas Mitchell (1798–1871) was a Scottish merchant and ship owner in Glasgow.

He was born in Perth, Scotland, 24 May 1798, the eldest child of Stewart Mitchell and his wife Jean Jack. The family later moved to Glasgow where he lived at Kingston Place, Govan, and later Parkview, Pollokshields. Crew on the "Thomas Mitchell" are thought to have introduced the parasite Jiggers to West Africa from Brazil in 1872.

Ships built He was a ship owner, naming ships after his children or his wife. One of his ships, the barque Flora Kerr carried settlers to the Australian colony in the 1850s. She caught fire and was wrecked in 1858 with the crew rescued. The Jane Jack Mitchell was wrecked off Calcutta in 1866 with loss of some of the crew.

Date Name Builder Location Note1838 British Isle Archibald P McFarlane Jnr & Co DumbartonWood Sailing Vessel 3 Masted Barque 1840 Flora Kerr Hedderwick & Rankin GlasgowWood Sailing Vessel 3 masted Barque 1848 Robina Mitchell Archibald McMillan & Son DumbartonWood Sailing Vessel 3 Masted Ship 1851 Thomas Mitchell Archibald McMillan & SonDumbarton Wood Sailing Vessel 3 Masted Ship 1853 Margaret Mitchell Archibald McMillan & SonDumbarton Wood Sailing Vessel 3 Masted Ship 1855 Jane Jack Mitchell Archibald McMillan & SonDumbarton Wood Sailing Vessel 3 Masted Ship

Personal life On 9 October 1826 he married Florence 'Flora' Kerr the eldest child of Norman Kerr and Margaret Young, born 22 February 1798. They had three daughters: Margaret (1827–1885), Jane Jack (1829–1920) who married William McOnie, and Jemma (1831–1902). Flora died 3 November 1836 and was buried at Glasgow High Church. His second marriage on 1 November 1841 in Gorbals was to Robina Lochhead. He died 28 October 1871.