# William and Ann (1781 ship)

William and Ann was launched in 1781 at Whitby. From her launch until 1805 she alternated between being a transport and trading with the Baltic. In 1805 she became a whaler in the northern whale fishery . She wrecked in ice in 1830 in the Greenland fisheries on her 24th whaling voyage.

## Career

William and Ann first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1781. When she was launched Great Britain was still at war and her initial service was as a transport. After the war ended in 1783, William and Ann started trading with the Baltic. Thereafter, she interspersed trading with the Baltic and service as a transport.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
| 1781 | W.Bridekirk | W.Skinner | Whitby | LR |
| 1782 | W.Bridekirk | W.Skinner | London transport | LR |
| 1784 | W.Bridekirk | W.Skinner | London transport London–Petersburg | LR |
| 1789 | W.Bridekirk | W.Skinner W.Sims | London–Baltic | LR |
| 1790 | W.Bridekirk | W.Skinner St.Barbe | London–Baltic | LR; damage repaired 1789 |
| 1791 | W.Bridekirk | W.Skinner | Cork transport | LR; damage repaired 1789 |
| 1792 | W.Bridekirk | W.Skinner | London–Petersburg | LR; damage repaired 1789 |
| 1793 | W.Bridekirk | W.Skinner | London–Petersburg Cork transport | LR; damage repaired 1789 |
| 1797 | W.Bridekirk | W.Skinner | Cork transport London–Riga | LR; damage repaired 1789 & repairs 1797 |
| 1799 | W.Bridekirk | W.Skinner | Riga–Portsmouth London transport | LR; damage repaired 1789 & repairs 1797 |
| 1800 | W.Bridekirk | W.Skinner | London transport Liverpool–Rostock | LR; damage repaired 1789 & repairs 1797 |
| 1805 | W.Bridekirk | Skinner, Jr. | Cork | LR; damage repaired 1789 & repairs 1797 |
LR carried William and Ann until 1810 with data unchanged from the 1805 volume. However, William and Ann had become a whaler, something that the Register of Shipping (RS) had recorded.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
| 1806 | Johnson | Skinner | Whitby–Davis Strait | RS; repairs 1797, good repairs 1802, and small repairs 1804 and 1805 |
Some data exists on William and Ann's catches in the Northern Whale Fishery.
| Year | Master | Where | "Fish" (Whales) | Tuns blubber | Seals |
| 1805 | Johnston | Davis Strait | 8 | 111 | 0 |
| 1806 | | | 7 | 141 | 11 |
| 1807 | Johnston | Davis Strait | 6 | 100.75 | 0 |
| 1808 | | | 25 | 313.5 | 1 |
In 1809 William and Ann traded between London and Whitby rather than engaging in whaling.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
| 1810 | Stephens | Skinner | Whitby–London | RS; good repairs 1802, 1804, 1805, 1806, 1807, & 1888 |
| Year | Master | Where | "Fish" (Whales) | Tuns blubber | Tuns whale oil | Seals |
| 1810 | Stephens | Greenland | 11 | 184.5 | | 42 |
| 1811 | | | 19 | 192 | | 122 |
On 27 February 1812, William and Ann, Davidson, master, was leaving Leith for Davis Strait when she grounded at the end of the pier.
| Year | Master | Where | "Fish" (Whales) | Tuns blubber | Tuns whale oil | Seals |
| 1812 | | | 16 | 221 | | 166 |
| 1813 | | | 9 | 139.5 | | 0 |
| 1814 | Stephenson | Greenland | 31 or 32 | 250 | 180 or 190 | 157 |
| 1815 | Stephenson | Greenland | 4 | 91 | 67 | 171 |
| 1816 | Stephenson | Greenland | 3 | 68 | 49 | 22 |
| 1817 | Stephens | Greenland | 22 | | 200 | 1535 |
| 1818 | Stephens | Greenland | 8 | 115 | 89 | 1 |
| 1819 | Terry | Greenland | 1 | | 14 | |
| 1820 | Terry | Greenland | 12 | 189.5 | 136 | 7 |
| 1821 | Terry | Greenland | 9 | | 72 | |
| 1822 | Terry | | 6 | | 81 | |
| 1823 | Terry | | 25 | | 204 | |
| 1824 | Terry | | 13 | | 150 | |
| 1825 | Terry | | 3 | | 46 | |
| 1826 | Terry | | | | 23 | |
| 1827 | Terry | | 6 | | 70 | |
| 1828 | Terry | | 13 | | 149 | |
| 1829 | Terry | | 10 | | 115 | |

## Fate

The 1830 season was a disastrous one for the Northern Whale Fishery. Seven Scottish and five English ships were lost between 10 June and 10 September when beset by ice. William and Ann, of Whitby, Terry, master, was one of the vessels lost. She was one of the vessels that ice crushed on 26 June.
Captain Terry transferred to Eagle, along with the carpenter and 12 seamen.

## Citation

* ↑ Weatherill (1908), p. 87.
* ↑ LR (1781), Seq.No.W374.
* ↑ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 4644. 3 March 1812. hdl:2027/uc1.c2735025.
* ↑ Sanger (2012), p. 196.
* ↑ "Disastrous Intelligence From the Greenland Fisheries". Sheffield Independent. Vol. 11, no. 565. 16 October 1830. p. 2.
* 1 2 Lubbock (1937), p. 279.