William was launched at Kingston upon Hull in 1811. She made 19 complete voyages to Davis Strait and Greenland in the British northern whale fishery, but was lost to ice on her 20th. Her loss gave rise to an interesting case in claims for salvage.
Career William first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in the volume for 1811.LR (1811), Supple. pages "W", Seq.No.W8.
Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes 1811 T.Orton Marshall Hull–Davis Strait LR 1812 T.OrtonKelah Marshall Hull–Davis Strait LR
The whaling data below is from Coltish, augmented with press reports.
Year Master Where Whales Tuns whale oil 1811 [Andrew Marvel] Orton Davis Strait 12 174 1812 [Robert] Keilah Davis Strait 17 235 1813 Keilah Greenland 19 162 1814 [James] Gawthorpe Greenland 16 141 1815 Gawthorpe Greenland 4 70 1816 Gawthorpe Greenland 5 62 1817 Gawthorpe Davis Strait 8 86 1818 [John] Barchard Davis Strait 8 94 1819 Barchard Davis Strait 0 0
Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes 1820 BarchardHawkins Coopers Hull–Davis Strait LR; repairs 1819 & thorough repair 1820
Year Master Where Whales Tuns whale oil 1820 [Thomas] Hawkins Davis Strait 18 245 1821 Hawkins Greenland 12 129 1822 Hawkins Davis Strait 3 40 1823 Hawkins Davis Strait 32 260 1824 Hawkins Davis Strait 9 100 1825 Hawkins Davis Strait 2 23 1826 Hawkins Davis Strait 7 102 1827 Hawkins Davis Strait n/a 52 1828 [William] North Davis Strait 14 188 1829 North Davis Strait 8 112 1830 North Davis Strait 0 0
Fate On 2 July 1830 William became trapped in ice at Davis Strait, leading her crew to abandon her and join other whaling vessels in the area. The crews of and worked for 48 hours to clear her of ice. They then set fire to the upper part of William, lightening her and causing her to rise. When she rose to the point that the beams above the casks of blubber she had collected were exposed, they set fire to them too. When the casks appeared, the crews put out the fire. When Williams master would not sign over her blubber and whale fins to the crews, Zephyr sailed away. Traveller took on 70 butts of blubber and one ton of whale fins. Captain George Simpson took them back with him and sold them, keeping the proceeds for himself and his men. Williams owners sued for the proceeds, but Simpson argued that it was a long-standing custom of the whaling trade that salvaged cargo belonged to the men who had salvaged it. The jury found for the plaintiffs, who had estimated the value of the lost whale products at £500, and awarded them £392."Whale Fishery", Nautical Magazine (1833), pp.89−92. Although all but one witness, all of whom were masters of whaling ships, testified for the defendant, the jury found for the plaintiff.
Captain William North died a few days after the loss of William, and so was not in a position to testify in the case.
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