# Three Williams (1796 ship)

Three Williams was launched in Holland in 1786, probably under another name. The British captured her in 1796. Thereafter she was a merchantman, primarily a West Indiaman, until 1804 when she made the first of two voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. After she delivered captives to Jamaica on her second such voyage, she disappeared from records. Her fate is currently obscure.

## Career

Three Williams first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1797.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
| 1797 | Compleman | Walker & Co. | Hull–Petersburg | LR; repairs 1797 |
| 1798 | Compleman S.Conner | Walker & Co. Tethernton | Hull–Baltic Liverpool–Demerara | LR; good repair 1797 |
| 1799 | S.Conner Coppinger | Tetherington | Liverpool–Demerara | LR; good repair 1797 |
| 1801 | J.Williams | Tetherington | Liverpool–Demerara | LR; good repair 1797 |
| 1802 | J.Williams J.Murray | Fotherington | Demerara–Cork Liverpool–Demerara | LR; good repair 1797 |
There was a report in early 1802 that Three Brothers had run down and sunk Three Williams on 6 March near Rathlin Island while Three Williams was on her way to Demerara from London. However, Three Williams put into Campbeltown having sustained slight damage, and that more from weather than any collision.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
| 1803 | J.Murray | Fotherington | Liverpool–Demerara London–Liverpool | LR; good repair 1797 |
| 1804 | J.Murray J.Smith | Fotherington Atherton | London–Liverpool Liverpool–Africa | LR; good repair 1797 & large repair 1803 |
1st voyage transporting enslaved people (1804–1805): Captain John Smith, Jr., acquired a letter of marque on 16 April 1804. He sailed from Liverpool on 5 May. Three Williams stopped at Demerara and then sailed for Jamaica on 25 January 1805. She arrived at Kingston on 10 February 1805, with 261 captives. She arrived back at Liverpool on 14 October. She had brought back a cargo of sugar, coffee, rum, hides, cotton, ginger, tortoise shell, wine, and 74 logs of barwood.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
| 1807 | J.Smith J.M.M'Clune | Atherton | Liverpool–Africa | LR; good repair 1797, large repair 1803, and new deck and repairs 1807 |
2nd voyage transporting enslaved people (1807): Captain McClune sailed from Liverpool on 23 March 1807. He started acquiring captives on 12 June, first at Anomabu, and then at Cape Coast Castle. On 12 July, Three Williams was at Cape Coast, on her way to "Langos". On 8 December, she arrived at Kingston with 185 captives.

## Fate

Although Lloyd's Register and the Register of Shipping continued to carry Three Williams for many more years after 1807, the data was stale. She did not appear in Lloyd's List's or other newspapers' ship arrival and departure notices. It is currently unclear what became of her after she arrived at Kingston.
The Slave Trade Act 1807 had ended British participation in the trans-Atlantic slave trade; no British vessels could initiate a slave trading voyage after 1 May 1807. Three Williams may therefore have been sold, with new owners renaming her.

## Citations

* 1 2 3 LR (1797), Seq.No.T147.
* 1 2 3 4 "Letter of Marque, p.89 – Retrieved 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
* ↑ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 4239. 19 March 1802. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
* ↑ "SHIP NEWS". 31 March 1802,Aberdeen Journal, issue: 2829.
* ↑ Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Three Williams voyage #83804.
* ↑ Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Three Williams voyage #83805.