William Lee (1831 ship)

William Lee was launched in 1831 in Hull as a whaler in the Northern Whale Fishery. Her owners sold her in 1836 after six whaling voyages and she traded more widely, to Russia, Calcutta, and North America. She was wrecked in December 1847.

William Lee at the Mouth of the Humber Dock, Hull, a painting, by John Ward
History
United Kingdom
Name: William Lee
Namesake:
Builder: Dickes & Gibson, Kingston upon Hull[1]
Launched: 1831
Fate: Wrecked 5 December 1847
General characteristics [1]
Tons burthen: 367,[2] or 367​15⁄94 (bm)

Career

William Lee first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1831.[2]

Year Master Owner Trade Source
1831 R.Hill Lee & Co. Hull–Davis strait LR

William Lee then made six annual voyages to Davis Strait for her owners, Messrs. Lee and Tall, of Hull.[3] The following data is from Coltish:[4]

Year Master "Fish"
(Whales)		 Tuns whale oil
1831 Hill 3 45
1832 Hill 27 202
1833 Parker 28 199
1834 Parker 15 145
1835 Parker 3
1836 Lee 1
The William Lee in the Arctic

After two disappointing seasons of whale hunting, William Lee's owners offered William Lee for sale on 5 December 1836.

Year Master Owner Trade Source
1836 T.Hill
Shepherd		 Lee & Co.
Gee & Co.		 Hull–Davis Strait
Hull–Petersburg		 LR

In late 1837 William Lee took a cargo that included cotton from New Orleans and sailed for St Petersburh. She stopped at Elsinore where the Danish authorities insisted that the cotton go into quarantine for 40 days. The Danish Customs had received notice that yellow fever had broken out in New Orleans. Captain Shepherd presented documents that showed that the cotton had left New Orleans months before the notice, and that it had passed through Liverpool without incident. He left the cotton with Customs, which pocketed a fee of £1000 for the expense of holding it, and proceeded on to Petersburg. A vessel flying the Russian flag that also was carrying cotton from the same shipment from New Orleans was permitted to proceed. The newspaper report suggested that the difference in treatment was due to there being a Russian representative on the Danish customs board.[5]

The Return of the William Lee from Calcutta, 1839

The opening in 1836 of the Hull Flax and Cotton Mill subsequently led her owners to send William Lee on several voyages to Calcutta.[6][7]

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1838 Shepherd Gee & Co. Hull–Calcutta LR; small repairs 1838
1845 Shepherd
Bennett		 Gee & Co. Hull–Calcutta
Hull–St Johns		 LR; small repairs 1841, damages repaired 1843, & large repair 1846
1846 Bennett
T.Sykes		 Gee & Co. Hull–St Johns
Hull–New York		 LR; large repair 1846 & damages repaired 1847

Fate

William Lee, Captain Thomas Sykes, was driven ashore and damaged on 5 December 1847 on Öland, near Åkerby, Sweden. She was on a voyage from Saint Petersburg to Hull,[8] with a cargo of deals, lathes, and battens. The crew were saved.[9]

She was refloated on 10 December and taken in to "Egvaag".[10]

Citations & references

Citations

  1. Hull Packet; and East Riding Times (Hull, East Yorkshire, England), (23 Dec 1836), p.2.
  2. LR (1831), Supple. pages "W", Seq.No.W8.
  3. Hull Packet; and East Riding Times (Hull, East Yorkshire, England), 18 January 1831, p.3.
  4. Coltish (c. 1842).
  5. The Standard (London, Greater London, England), 30 January 1839, p.1.
  6. BHO: British History Online: Modern Hull.
  7. William Lee ship sailing notice.
  8. "Ship News". The Times (19739). London. 22 December 1847. col E, p. 7.
  9. Yorkshire Herald and the York Herald (York, North Yorkshire, England), 25 December 1847, p.3.
  10. "Shipping Intelligence". The Morning Chronicle (24400). London. 5 January 1848.

References

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