William Yeo

Official Number 42947

The William Yeo was a ship built by James Yeo jnr. at Port Hill, Prince Edward Island, Canada, in 1862. She was initially owned by James Yeo snr., the main shipowner on Prince Edward Island, and was registered at Charlottetown. In December 1872 her registry was transferred to Barrow-in-Furness and in 1874 J.F.Fowlie of Barrow was her owner. The William Yeo was converted to barque rig in 1879 and by 1882 was owned by another Barrow shipowner, J.Hunter.

This painting of the William Yeo, by Joseph Semple, shows her requesting a pilot at the entrance to the Mersey estuary. The vessel is identified by the Commercial Code hoist (TLWC) at the mizzen masthead. The Yeo houseflag at the main masthead shows that the vessel was operating for William Yeo of Appledore, Devon, brother of the shipbuilder.

The William Yeo was sold to Norwegian owners at Arendal. She was renamed Gordon, her signal letters being changed to HVNQ. In October 1896 the barque was "abandoned leaking" in the North Atlantic, on passage from Miramichi to London with a timber cargo.

Sources :

1. Photo of painting provided by Sam Davidson, with acknowledgement to the Omell Gallery.
2. Canadian Ship Heritage Database
3. Mercantile Navy List 1868: William Yeo, 786 tons, official number 42947, signal letters TLWC, registered at Prince Edward Island, owned by William Yeo, of Appledore, Devon.
4. Mercantile Navy List 1876: William Yeo, ship, 786 tons, built at Prince Edward Island in 1862, official number 42947, signal letters TLWC, registered at Barrow, owned by James Fraser Fowlie, of Barrow, Lancashire.
5. Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1896-7: Gordon (ex-William Yeo), wooden barque, 739 grt, 693 nrt, built 1862 by Yeo, jun., at P.E.Island, owned by Jürgen Larsen (Nils Christensen), registered at Arendal, master Capt.J.Larsen - annotated "Abandoned 10, 96".
   
6. Wreck details from Capt.Beard's List, Archives Dept., Merseyside Maritime Museum.

• HOME
• Contents
• Ship Index - Furness & Duddon
• Bibliography