Francis was the eighth child of twelve children born to Charles Hurt and Catherine Rossell. He was born at Alderwasley Hall. Francis married Mary Gell on 17 Aug 1751
in Derby, England, who was the daughter of Thomas Gell of the Gatehouse in Wirksworth. The Gell's were an old established Derbyshire family who originated from Hopton and they too had ventured into business and commerce from an aristocratic base. Francis is said to have famously declared:

"'No one knows, and no one can tell,
How well I love Miss Mary Gell.'
Mary is said to have replied:
'As it may happen, and as it may fall,
I may be Lady of Alderwasley Hall.'"

They began their married life in Wirksworth, but Mary's prediction did indeed come about; she did become the Lady of the Manor of Alderwasley. Francis' other brothers probably had all died, leaving him the heir when he was in his forties. Francis and Mary had seven children:

Francis Jr.
Catherine
Cassandra
Mary
Mercy
Charles
Elizabeth

Francis was Lord of the Manor from 1767 to 1783. He extended the Alderwasley Estate even further with brilliant maneuvers in coal and fuel supply negotiations when he discovered that there were coal deposits within the estate.

He preceded his wife in death. When Mary died in 1801, her remains were placed in the family vault in Wirksworth Church.

Sources:

"The Hurts of Derbyshire" by Derek Wain
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ancestral File

name: Francis HURT
gender: Male
birth: Abt 1722
Alderwasley, Castern, Derby, England
christening: Wirksworth, Castern, Derby, England
death: 7 Aug 1783
afn: 15FZ-1C5
Parents
father: Charles HURT (AFN: 15FZ-1KD )
mother: Catherine ROSELL (AFN: 15FZ-1GR )
Marriages (1)
spouse: Mary GELL (AFN: 15FZ-17B )
marriage: 17 Aug 1751
, Derby, England
children (7)

child 1: Mary HURT (AFN: 15FZ-129 )
gender: Female
birth Abt 1759/1760
Alderwasley, Derby, England
death 23 Feb 1823

child 2: Charles HURT (AFN: 15FZ-113 )
gender: Male
birth 5 Oct 1758
Wirksworth, Derby, England
death 30 Aug 1834

child 3: Elizabeth HURT (AFN: 15FZ-14P )
gender: Female
birth Abt 1764/1765
Alderwasley, Derby, England
death 7 May 1803

child 4: Mercy HURT (AFN: 15FZ-13H )
gender: Female
birth Abt 1762/1763
Alderwasley, Derby, England

child 5: Cassandra HURT (AFN: 15FZ-10V )
gender: Female
birth Abt 1757
Alderwasley, Derby, England
death 14 Nov 1776

child 6: Catherine HURT (AFN: 15FZ-0ZP )
gender: Female
birth Abt 1755
Wirksworth, Derby, England
death 3 Apr 1841

child 7: Francis HURT (AFN: 15FZ-0XH )
gender: Male
birth 3 Sep 1753
Alderwasley, Castern, Derby, England
death 5 Jan 1801

Submitters (2)
submitter: jrprince1288346
submitter: dwchurt2672617

Source Citation
"Ancestral File v4.19," database, FamilySearch , entry for Francis HURT.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pedigree Resource File

name: Francis Hurt
gender: Male
birth: ABT 1725
of,Alderwasley,Derbyshire,England
afn: 3B60-LGD
Marriages (1)
spouse: Mary Gell (AFN: 3B60-NBW )
marriage: 17 AUG 1750
,Atlow,Derbyshire,England
children (1)

child 1: Charles Hurt (AFN: 3B58-9T4 )
gender: Male
birth 5 OCT 1758
christening 8 NOV 1758
,Wirksworth,Derbyshire,England
death 30 AUG 1834
,Wirksworth,Derbyshire,England

Submission
submitter: lgentry2710812
submitter: mfunit2710714
submission date: 30 Sep 1999
submission id: MM9R-PJ5
person count: 15,219

Notes
#506 England & Wales Visitation Notes-v7-p2ped*, (FHL 942 D23hn); !IGI: MARR/SS Derby/by extraction;

Source Citation
"Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch, entry for Francis Hurt.