[1][2] He was born in Perth, Scotland, 24 May 1798, the eldest child of Stewart Mitchell and his wife Jean Jack.
[3] The family later moved to Glasgow where he lived at Kingston Place, Govan,[4] and later Parkview, Pollokshields.
[5] Crew on the "Thomas Mitchell" are thought to have introduced the parasite Jiggers to West Africa from Brazil in 1872.
One of his ships, the barque Flora Kerr carried settlers to the Australian colony in the 1850s.
[21][22] They had three daughters: Margaret (1827–1885),[23] Jane Jack (1829–1920) who married William McOnie, and Jemma (1831–1902).