James Sutherland Mitchell (1819-1893)

James Mitchell emigrated from the Orkney Islands to Tasmania in his early 20s. His eventual joint ownership of the Tooth Brewery in Sydney made him a very wealthy man; 151 on the list of Australia's all time richest men. He died in 1893 aged 74 and was survived by his second wife and eight of his ten children.

Eliza Mitchell 1846-1923 Eliza never married; she was just 22 when her mother died. With her widowed father and his seven surviving children she moved into his newly built mansion Etham House, overlooking Darling Harbour and for the next 25 years she helped to raise her siblings. Edith eventually moved to England and died a spinster in London aged 77. She lived in Flat 15, 169 Queen's Gate and her sister Edith was the executor of her Will when she left £1,600 (£97,000 in 2020 values). She was buried in the churchyard at St Mary the Virgin in the village of Hutton, Somerset. Hutton Court was where her sister Edith lived with her husband Thomas Bisdee.

William Broadfoot Mitchell - 1850-1899 At the age of 28 he went to England and spent 5 years learning the brewing trade. He then returned to Australia and join his father in the management of Tooth Brewery in Sydney. He took an interest in a wide variety of sports including cricket and was also vice-president of the Sydney Gun Club, a member of the Australian Jockey Club, a member of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron and of the Prince Alfred Yacht Club. He owned and raced several prize winning boats but had to stop sailing due to failing health. He died aged 49 leaving a wife and two young children. His son William Gore Sutherland Mitchell went on to become an Air Marshal in the RAF.

Edith Sutherland Mitchell - 1854-1926 Edith married Thomas Gamaliel Bisdee, the son of a wealthy Tasmanian landowner. She and Thomas had ten children and moved back to live at Hutton Court near Weston super Mare, an estate inherited from Thomas' father

James Graham Mitchell 1855-1930 James married Kate Forbes (daughter of Judge Forbes) and moved to Tasmania where they bought a large estate called Ellesmere near the town of Jericho. He lived near his sister Edith Bisdee before she moved with to England with her family. James was involved with the Royal Hobart Golf Club and the Hobart Yacht Club. James and Kate were generous supporters of the Red Cross during the First World War and made Ellesmere House available as a convalescent home for returned sailors and soldiers. James and Kate did not have any children and she died in 1947.

Frank Sutherland Mitchell 1857-1920 Frank bought the Boscobel Stud farm at Sutton Forest in the countryside South of Sydney. He spent WW1 in England as part of 'Queen Mary's Carpenters' carving wooden legs for amputees, using skills inherited from his father. He died aged 63 on what was meant to be a brief return visit to Australia, having left his English born wife in London. They had no children.

Theresa Mary Mitchell 1859-1955 Theresa married Edward Andree Wylde a Royal Marine officer who was stationed in Sydney and they had three daughters (Helen, Maud and Mary). They lived in various parts of England following Edward's career in the Royal Marines and he eventually achieved the rank of full General. Whilst visiting their daughter Helen and her German husband in New Guinea in 1914 Theresa and Edward were put under house arrest by the Germans at the outbreak of WW1. Theresa died aged 96 in Sawbridgeworth where she had been living near her daughter Mary.

Maud Laidley Mitchell 1860-1947 when aged 21 Maud married Graham Bower the son of Admiral J Bower. They had three children. He was a senior colonial administrator and Secretary to the Governor of Cape Province (South Africa). He resigned after the controversy of the Jameson Raid and was posted to Mauritius. They retired to England and Maud died in 1947 whilst living at Meadow Bank, Bassenthwaite Lake, Cockermouth. She left £18,800 (£740,000 in 2020 values)

Dorothy Mary Sutherland Mitchell 1885-1971 The only child of James's second wife, born at Etham, Darling Point, Sydney. Her father died when she was 8 and her mother when she was 15. She was then brought up by her half sister Edith. She was educated in Australia and England and aged 22 she married Harry Rawson (Royal Navy) son of Admiral Henry Rawson the Governor of New South Wales. Dorothy died at Flat 4 48 Sloane Square London SW1 7 Sept 1971 left £43,400 (£600,000 in 2020 values).

Grandson of James Sutherland Mitchell:

Air Chief Marshal, Sir William Gore Sutherland Mitchell KCB CBE DSO MC AFC 1888-1944

William was born in Woollahra, New South Wales, Australia on 8 March 1888 the son of William Broadfoot Mitchell and his wife Edith Gore.

He was the only grandchild of James Sutherland Mitchell to bear the Mitchell surname. William was educated in England at Wellington College (1902-6) where he played in the rugby fifteen. He joined the British Army in 1909 transferring to the Royal Flying Corps in 1913. He fought through WW1 and remained in the Royal Air Force, serving in Aden, Egypt and India and eventually rising to the rank of Air Chief Marshal. In 1919 he married Essy Hingston; their only child died in infancy in 1920.

He was Inspector General of the RAF from 1940 to 1941. When he retired he was appointed Black Rod in the House of Lords, the first officer of the RAF to be appointed to that post. He died in August 1944. His funeral was attended, amongst many others by his widow Lady Essy Mitchell, his sister Isabelle and her husband Graeme Robertson, his first cousin James Sutherland Mitchell Bisdee and his first cousin Mary and her husband Colonel Harold Ozanne.