Edward Snell (engineer)

Edward Snell
Edward Snell in his later years
Born	27 November 1820 Barnstaple, Devon
Died	13 March 1880(1880-03-13) (aged 59) Saltash, Cornwall
Nationality	English
Spouse(s)	Charlotte Elizabeth Bayley (married Geelong 23 June 1853)
Children	Emily Charlotte, born March 1854, Little Scotland, Geelong, Victoria; died 10 April 1854, Newtown, Geelong; buried Eastern Cemetery, Geelong; George Stothert SNELL, born 11 July 1855, Newtown, Geelong; baptised 2 September 1855, St Paul's Church of England, Geelong; Edward Lisle SNELL, born 29 November 1856, Newtown, Geelong; baptised 30 December 1856, St Paul's Church of England, Geelong; Henry Bayley SNELL, born December quarter 1858, Richmond, Yorkshire, England; Arthur Bartrum SNELL, born March quarter 1860, Saltash, Cornwall, England; Charles Scott SNELL, born September quarter 1862, Saltash, Cornwall, England; Alfred Cannan SNELL, born December quarter 1863, Saltash, Cornwall, England; Kate Emily SNELL, born 3 May 1865, Saltash, Cornwall, England; married Harold William READ, 1893, St Germans, Cornwall; Frederick Allibon SNELL, born March quarter 1868, Saltash, Cornwall, England; .
Parent(s)	Edward Snell and Elizabeth, née Stothert
Engineering career
Discipline	civil engineer
Practice name	Snell & Kawerau; Snell and Prowse
Projects	Geelong Melbourne railway line Victoria

Emily Charlotte, born March 1854, Little Scotland, Geelong, Victoria; died 10 April 1854, Newtown, Geelong; buried Eastern Cemetery, Geelong; George Stothert SNELL, born 11 July 1855, Newtown, Geelong; baptised 2 September 1855, St Paul's Church of England, Geelong; Edward Lisle SNELL, born 29 November 1856, Newtown, Geelong; baptised 30 December 1856, St Paul's Church of England, Geelong; Henry Bayley SNELL, born December quarter 1858, Richmond, Yorkshire, England; Arthur Bartrum SNELL, born March quarter 1860, Saltash, Cornwall, England; Charles Scott SNELL, born September quarter 1862, Saltash, Cornwall, England; Alfred Cannan SNELL, born December quarter 1863, Saltash, Cornwall, England; Kate Emily SNELL, born 3 May 1865, Saltash, Cornwall, England; married Harold William READ, 1893, St Germans, Cornwall; Frederick Allibon SNELL, born March quarter 1868, Saltash, Cornwall, England;

Edward Snell (1820–1880) was a diarist, artist, civil engineer and surveyor, responsible for the design of the Geelong – Melbourne Railway for the Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company.

Snell was born 27 November 1820, in Barnstaple, Devon, grandson of William Snell, a serge manufacturer of Crediton, Devon and the son of Edward Snell, a silversmith, jeweler, watch and clockmaker in High Street Barnstable, and Elizabeth, née Stothert.

Snell was the eldest of four children, having three sisters, Rose Emily (known as Emily), Emma and Elizabeth (known as Lizzie). His father died in 1827 at age 33, when Snell was only aged six, leaving their mother to raise them in financial difficulty despite the ₤1500 realized from the sale of the family business, High Street shop and house above it. Snell's maternal grandfather, Abel Stothert, was a cutler from Shaftesbury, whose brother was George Stothert, who established the Stothert ironmongery business in Bath around 1785, and his son George junior (1786-1858) who established the Horse Street Foundry in 1815, which subsequently grew into the important British engineering firm Stothert & Pitt. George Stothert played an important role in encouraging and helping his young cousin Edward Snell in his engineering career.

At the age of 14 he was apprenticed as an engineer and millwright to the Stothert's Bath foundry in the renamed Newark Street under George's younger half-brother Henry Stothert, completing his indenture on 16 March 1842. Most of his work was on projects around Bath, but sometimes extending as far as Newbury. Henry arranged for him to take up a position at the Avonside Ironworks in Bristol in May 1842, which had been established by Henry in 1837. He was not happy here, however, and gave notice after just three weeks, complaining of the low wages (20 shillings per week) and the tyrannical regime in the workshop.