Mary Gell was the daughter of Thomas Gell of The Gatehouse in Wirksworth and Cassandra Lowe. 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. She was christened on 21 Oct 1720.

Mary married Francis Hurt Sr. (son of Charles Hurt Sr. and Catherine Rossell) on 17 Aug 1751 in Derby, England. 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. So Mary was Lady of the Manor of Alderwasley during this time also.

Her husband preceded her in death. When Mary died in 1801 at age 81, her remains were placed in the family vault in Wirksworth Church.

http://www.wirksworth.org.uk/Y078.htm
http://www.wirksworth.org.uk/Y079.htm

MARY'S WILL:

"In the name of God, Amen I, Mary Hurt, of Wirksworth in the county of Derby, widow, do make this my last will in manner and form following -

I give to my three daughters, Catherine Holcombe, Mary Moore & Catherine Edge all I die possessed of to be equally divided amongst them and I appoint them executrixes of this my will 29 11 1785.

Proved at London 2 June 1801."

Sources:

"The Hurts of Derbyshire" by Derek Wain

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alderwasley
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ancestral File

name: Mary GELL
gender: Female
birth: 1720
Wirksworth, Derby, England
death: 6 Mar 1801
afn: 15FZ-17B
Parents
father: Thomas GELL (AFN: 15FZ-15W )
Marriages (1)
spouse: Francis HURT (AFN: 15FZ-1C5 )
marriage: 17 Aug 1751
, Derby, England
children (7)

child 1: Charles HURT (AFN: 15FZ-113 )
gender: Male
birth 5 Oct 1758
Wirksworth, Derby, England
death 30 Aug 1834

child 2: Mary HURT (AFN: 15FZ-129 )
gender: Female
birth Abt 1759/1760
Alderwasley, Derby, England
death 23 Feb 1823

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

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

child 5: Catherine HURT (AFN: 15FZ-0ZP )
gender: Female
birth Abt 1755
Wirksworth, Derby, England
death 3 Apr 1841

child 6: Cassandra HURT (AFN: 15FZ-10V )
gender: Female
birth Abt 1757
Alderwasley, Derby, England
death 14 Nov 1776

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

Submitters (2)
submitter: jrprince1288346
submitter: dwchurt2672617

Source Citation
"Ancestral File v4.19," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/MZM1-8YP : accessed 20 July 2012), entry for Mary GELL.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pedigree Resource File

name: Mary Gell
gender: Female
christening: 15 JUL 1737
,Wirksworth,Derbyshire,England
afn: 3B60-NBW
Parents
father: Thomas Gell (AFN: 3B60-QM4 )
Marriages (1)
spouse: Francis Hurt (AFN: 3B60-LGD )
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: CHR/BAPT-END-SP> Derby/by extraction; IGI: MARR/SS: IGI> Derby/by extraction;

Source Citation
"Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/93SX-5G2 : accessed 19 September 2012), entry for Mary Gell.