Fundo - C.W. Kellock & Co. collection

C.W. Kellock & Co. was one of the leading merchant firms and ship brokers in Liverpool and London in the mid-nineteenth century. The company had its origins in a firm established in Liverpool by Daniel Tonge (1788-1848) in 1820. Tonge was a master mariner and shipowner in Liverpool who established himself as a merchant and agent for the sale of ships. By 1846, his son Percival had joined him to form Daniel Tonge and Son. Two years later, Henry Curry (d. 1865) was taken into the partnership, which was renamed Tonge, Curry & Co.

In 1850, Charles Walford Kellock (d. 1897), the son of Henry Gray Kellock, joined the firm as partner with Henry Curry and Percival Tonge. Five years later, the partnership was dissolved, with Percival Tonge continuing under the name of Tonge & Co. and Charles W. Kellock remaining with Henry Curry to form Curry, Kellock & Co. In October 1864, that partnership was dissolved and two companies emerged: H.F. Curry & Co. and C.W. Kellock & Co. H.F. Curry & Co. ceased operations in 1866, the year after Henry Curry's death.

After 1864 C.W. Kellock greatly expanded his business and opened an office in London under the management of his brother W.B. Kellock. In 1885, the management of the London office was taken over by George Kay, a partner of C.W. Kellock. In the mid-1800s, Kellock's two eldest sons, William Walter Kellock (d. 1929) and Henry Gray Kellock (d. 1926), joined the company and later became partners. Charles W. Kellock retired from the company and died in 1897. The company continued to operate under the partnership of his two sons. Upon their deaths, the management of the company was taken over by various senior partners within the firm. The Liverpool office was closed in 1972, but the London office is still active.