William Ashton

 Official Number
none

The William Ashton was a full-rigged ship, built by Mr.Brockbank at Lancaster and launched on Thursday, 5th April 1810. She was 366 tons, and had been built for Messr.Burrow and Nottage, Lancaster merchants, and intended for the West India trade. She was to be commanded by Capt.Thomas Greenwood, and she cleared from Lancaster on the 2nd May, 1810, bound for St.Croix on her first voyage. She docked at Lancaster on the 3rd September, her return cargo being ""565 hhds, 17 tees, 23 bls sugar, 55 bales cotton, 1246 pces fustic, 2 boxes succades, 1m staves". She also reported an encounter with a French privateer:

"Extract of a letter from Capt.Greenwood, dated Lancaster, Sept.2; I am happy to inform you of our safe arrival here this day, after a narrow escape from capture. We left St.Croix the 27th July, single ship, and on the 22nd ult. at day light, fell in with a strange sail on our weather quarter, which, on perceiving us, bore down upon us; at half-past seven, we fired a gun, and shewed our colours, which she took no notice of; at eight, we fired a shot, when she hoisted French colours; we made ready as quick as possible, took in studding sails, &c and waited to receive her; found her to be a long, low ship, pierced for 20 guns, yellow sides, and white figure head, but did not appear to have guns in the two bow ports. She commenced action with musketry, and then her great guns, but did not do us any very material damage; after this we begun, and continued engaging an hour and little more, and, through God's assistance and our utmost exertions, we beat her off; after the second broadside, she wore round, with intent to rake us; we did the same, and passed under her lee, giving her the other broadside; we passed each other on different tacks twice, still within musket-shot, and we must have done him some material damage with our grape shot, or he would not have wore round and left us so soon, as he might perceive what we were. A little after ten, we lying to, a ship was passing us to windward, at which we fired a shot, and he came down, hoisting Spanish colours; as the privateer was then in sight, and in the direction she was steering, she would have been taken in half an hour, but for our protection; she proved to be the Gerona, from Liverpool for New York, and the captain was very thankful for his escape, and kept company with us till evening, when he stood to the Southward. On examining our damage, we found our fore top-mast badly wounded by a large shot, but it stood till we got it fished and another made; we had another shot between wind and water, which we secured as well as we could, but we were so leaky as to require pumping every hour; our rigging and sails a good deal cut, principally by musket shot, but providentially not a man or boy hurt: we were only 25 in number altogether."

This was Capt.Greenwood's only voyage in the William Ashton, which made her next trip to St.Croix under the command of Capt.Dawson. Capt.Greenwood was presented with a plate, valued at 100 guineas,  to commemorate his victory, inscribed as follows:

" Presented to Captain Thomas Greenwood, of Lancaster, by the Underwriters at Lloyd's, as a testimony of respect for his services, having commanded, with success, during 32 voyages to the West Indies, The Ships, Comet, Molly, Chatsworth, Aurora, Mars, Harriet, Pusey Hall, and William Ashton, all of Lancaster; and having in the last-mentioned vessel, mounting 16 9-pounders, and 25 men, on the 22nd August, 1810, Engaged and beat off a French corvette, of 18 18-pounders, and 125 men, after an action of an hour."

On the 26th February 1830 the William Ashton, Capt.Storer, arrived at St.John's, New Brunswick, from Bermuda. She returned to Ireland, and picked up passengers at Dublin, departing on the 6th July for Quebec. On the 18th July she was spoken at 49N, 23W, and at 2 am. on the 9th August she was wrecked at Lance Cove, three miles from Bay Chaleur, Newfoundland. The crew and passengers, a total of 63 people, abandoned the wreck in the ship's boats, and were safely landed. Reuben and Sarah Samms provided them with food and shelter until they could make their way onwards to Quebec. A Protestant missionary, describing the wreck, claimed that it had been"occasioned by intemperance".

Name
Year Built
Gross Tons
Length (feet)
Breadth (feet)
Depth (feet)
Masts
Figurehead
Stern
Lloyd's Classn.
William Ashton
1810
366 
 
 
 
3 
 
 
 

Sources :

  1. Launch reported in the Lancaster Gazette, Saturday, 7th April 1810.
  2. Details of first voyage and encounter with privateer from Lancaster Gazette, 5th May, 8th Sept., 3rd Nov., 1810. The Aberdeen Journal, 19th September 1810, reported that Capt.Greenwood loaded his cannon with "glass bottles full of small shot".
  3. Presentation of plate to Capt.Greenwood from the same newspaper, 2nd March 1811.
  4. Lloyd's Register of Shipping (Shipowners' Red Book) 1812-13: William Ashton, ship, 366 tons, coppered in 1810, built at Lancaster in 1810, armed with 8 x 6-pounder cannon and 6 x 14-pounder carronades, owned by Burrows & Co., master Capt.J.Dawson, voyage Lo - St.Croix (Lo, for London, is probably a mistake, and should read La, for Lancaster).
  5. Movements in 1830 from the Newcastle Courant, 10th April, the Morning Post, 31st July and 14th August,.
  6. Wreck reported in the Morning Post, 18th September 1830 (names place as Fortune's Bay). The Belfast New-Letter, 9th November 1830, reported the wreck, and that the vessel sailed from Dublin on the 6th July, and that among the passengers was Capt.Stoyte of the 24th Foot, his lady, child and servant.
  7. Wreck also reported in "Six Months of a Newfoundland Missionary's Journal, from February to August, 1835" by Archdeacon Edward Wix, 2nd edition (London), pub.Smith, Elder and Co., 1836.