William Lee was launched in 1831 in Hull as a whaler in the British northern whale fishery. She made six whaling voyages. In 1833, she participated in the rescue of the explorer John Ross, and his crew. After the collapse of the whale fishery, her owners sold her in 1836. Under new ownership, she traded more widely, to Russia, Calcutta, and North America. She was wrecked in December 1847.
In 1833, William Lee and Isabella spent the season in company and stayed on in the region after the other vessels there had left. Isabella and William Lee sailed about 100 miles further into Lancaster Sound than any other whaler had ever gone. There Isabella rescued John Ross, whose ship Victory had become beset by ice on Ross's second Arctic expedition.[6] Ross stated that Humphreys was looking for Ross, expecting to find that Ross and his men had been lost.[7][8] Humphreys disputed Ross's claim, stating that he, Humphreys, had been looking for whales. William Lee was still in company when Ross's boats reached Isabella.[9] After Humphreys rescued Ross, Isabella continued whaling for about another month.[7] Some of Ross's crew were transferred to William Lee.
William Lee, in four positions, in the Arctic, by John Ward.[a]
Although 1833 was a good year for the Northern Whale Fishery, after 1834 whaling collapsed.[10] After two disappointing seasons of whale hunting, William Lee's owners offered William Lee for sale on 5 December 1836.
Year
Ships
Ships lost
Tons of whale oil
1833
27
1
5024
1834
8
6
225
1835
2
0
51
1836
2
0
23.5
Between 1835 and 1836, several other whalers from Hull, such as Andrew Marvel, Jane, and Cumbrian left the whaling trade.
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 Petersburg. 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.[11]
The opening in 1836 of the Hull Flax and Cotton Mill subsequently led her owners to send William Lee on several voyages to Calcutta.[14][15] However, Joseph Rylands, the manager of Hull Flax and Cotton Mill, developed an associated fleet of sailing ships.
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,[16] with a cargo of deals, lathes, and battens. The crew were saved.[17]
She was refloated on 10 December and taken in to "Egvaag".[18]
Postscript
The William Lee was featured in the series "Ships of Hull" by Arthur Credland, published in the Hull Daily Mail on 23 February 1980.[19]
Notes
^Richard Hill, master of William Lee, commissioned the painting.[1]
^William Lee, Sheppard, master, sailed from Hull on 22 or 23 March 1838 and returned on 22 January 1839 to an enthusiastic reception from the people of Hull.[12] As she returned she was flying the red and white striped pennant of Joseph Gee, agent.[13]
Barrow, John, Sir (1846). Voyages of Discovery and Research Within the Arctic Regions, from the Year 1818 to the Present Time: Under the Command of the Several Naval Officers Employed by Sea and Land in Search of a North-west Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific; with Two Attempts to Reach the North Pole. Abridged and Arranged from the Official Narratives, with Occasional Remarks. J. Murray.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Huish, Robert (1835). The Last Voyage of Capt. Sir John Ross, R. N. to the Arctic Regions; for the Discovery of a North West Passage; Performed in the Years 1829-30-31-32 and 33; to which is Prefixed an Abridgement of the Former Voyages of Captns. Ross, Parry & Other Celebrated Navigators to the Northern Latitudes Compiled from Authentic Information and Original Documents, Transmitted by William Light, Purser's Steward to the Expedition; Illustrated by Engravings from Drawings Taken on the Spot. J. Saunders.
Lubbock, Basil (1937). Arctic Whalers. Glasgow: Brown, Son & Ferguson.
