Vital Statistics
William Pinsent: 1837 – 1881 GRO1409 (Master mariner, Teignmouth Devon and St. John’s Newfoundland)
Susanna Rebecca Harvey: 1844 – 1917
Married: 1867: St. John’s, Newfoundland
Children by Susanna Rebecca Harvey:
Indissa Melissa Pinsent: 1869 – xxxx (Married Unknown, Strong, xxxx, xxxx, xxxx)
Mary Elizabeth Pinsent: 1870 – 1894 (Married Unknown, Shambler, xxxx, xxxx, xxxx)
William Mitchelmore Pinsent: 1872 – 1953 (Married Grace E. Hibbert, xxxx, xxxx, 1905)
Maud Harvey Pinsent: 1875 – 1892
Susan Pinsent: 1877 – 1964 (Married William H. E. Nichols, 1899, xxxx, xxxx)
Family Branch: Teignmouth
PinsentID: GRO1409
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William Pinsent was the third son of John Pinsent and Susanna (née Morrish). He was born around 1837; however, it was into a non-conformist family and I have yet to locate his birth record. His eldest brother (Joseph Pinsent) died in 1840 and another brother (John L. Pinsent) may also have died relatively young, so he seems to have grown up with one brother and James Pinsent) and three sisters.
William’s father was a “baker” who became a “school teacher” who got into financial trouble in the early 1850s. The Census in 1851 shows that he was lodged in the “Sheriffs Ward for Debtors” on Cowick Street in St. Thomas Parish in Exeter. William and some of his siblings, including his brother John, were living with his mother in the nearby village of Exminster. Susanna and John were “gardeners.” William’s elder sisters were away from home. They were probably both “in service.” William was a fourteen years old “scholar.”
When he left school, William took to the sea and became a “sailor” who was issued a “Second Mate’s Certificate” in Teignmouth (U.K. and Ireland, Master and Mates Certificates: 1850-1927: Ancestry.com) in 1860. It reads as follows: “By the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade: Certificate of Competency: to William Pinsent: Whereas it has been reported to us that you have been found duly qualified to fulfill the duties of Second Mate in the Merchant Service, we do hereby, in pursuance of the Merchant Shipping Act 1854 grant you this Certificate of Competency: Given under the Seal of the Board of Trade this Twenty Second day of June, 1860: By the Board Registered [Signature] Officers of the Naval Department: Entered at the General Register and Record of the Office of Seamen on the 23rd day of June 1860.” Unfortunately, the certificate does not specify William’s parish of birth and there is another possible candidate: However, the latter William Pinsent seems to have joined the “Royal Navy” by then. He belongs to the BOVEY TRACEY Branch of the family and his life is described elsewhere.
Our William settled in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and joined the “United Grand Lodge of England” Freemasons. Their Membership Registers (1751 – 1921) refer to a 25-years old “mariner” called William Pinsent who joined the “United Grand Lodge of England” on 18th January 1863 and paid a single payment of 7s 6d to the “Avalon Lodge” in March 1863. Whether he continued on in the lodge I do not know. William does not seem to have been attached to any specific ship; instead he seems to have signed on for one or more passages across the Atlantic, between St. John’s and Liverpool. For instance, “foreign crew” engagement lists preservedl in the “Maritime History Archive” in St. John’s show that: “William Pinsent, aged 27, born in Teignmouth, previously served on Volant of St. John’s, left it in April in Liverpool: Joined Neva 4th May in Liverpool as Mate [22604], 31st July, for St. Johns where he was discharged. Ability and Conduct considered Very Good.” That was in 1867.
William sailed out of St. John’s Newfoundland but frequently made runs from South American ports to Liverpool. For instance, the “Neva” (242 tons) “from Pernambuco and Aracuju” (in Brazil) brought 1,000 bags of sugar, 1,200 bails of cotton and 20 bags of castor oil seed into George’s Dock in Liverpool in June 1871 (Liverpool Mercantile Gazette and Myer’s Weekly Advertiser: Monday 19th June 1871). Later, William was to work for “Goodfellow and Co.” as the captain of the “Eudoia,” which transported fish to England and brought other (presumably manufactured) items back in return. His ship loaded freight in London for a return trip to St. John’s in September 1880 (Shipping and Mercantile Gazette: Tuesday 28th September 1880). It reappears intermittently in the shipping records until it leaves Oporto in December 1881 (Evening Telegram: 20th December 1881). It likely got caught in a winter storm as his wife’s obituary (written in 1918) tells us that William was “lost at sea” in 1881 (Evening Telegram: 7th January 1918).
William Pinsent married Susanna Rebecca Harvey in St. John’s, Newfoundland (St. John’s Marriages: 1830 – 1893: Vol. 30) shortly after he arrived. There was no shortage of William Pinsents living in Newfoundland in those days; however the evidence strongly suggests that he was the man. For instance, William and Susanna had a son the called William Mitchelmore Pinsent – which has to be a nod to his affluent uncle Philip Mitchelmore, the draper of Newton Abbot who was then keeping a watchful eye over his sister, Mary Pinsent. Also, there are some American documents that refer to William Mitchelmore Pinsent – who moved to Swampscott in Massachusetts (see elsewhere)- and tell us that his father was a “master mariner” who had come from England.
Susanna Rebecca was a Newfoundlander and the couple lived in St. John’s. In addition to their son (William Mitchelmore – above) they had four daughters (Indissa Melissa, Mary Elizabeth, Maud Harvey and Susan). They were baptized in St. Thomas’s Parish Church in St. John’s East between 1869 and 1875 (Newfoundland Vital Statistics: 1753 – 1893).
Susanna Rebecca had a relatively young family when her husband was “lost at sea” and she took them to live in Swampscott, in Essex County in Massachusetts in 1887. They stayed on there and the 1910 U.S. Federal Census taken tells us that she was living in Swampscott with her daughter Susan and the latter’s husband of eleven years, William H. E. Nichols. Mr. Nichols was a fellow Newfoundlander who settled in Massachusetts in 1894. The census shows that Susanna was a widow and mother of five, of whom three (Indissa, William and (of course) Susan), were then still living. She was financially independent. Susanna died in December 1917. She was buried in a family plot with her son and his family (Findagrave.com). Indissa Melissa married, as did William Mitchelmore Pinsent. His life is discussed elsewhere.
Family Tree
Grandparents
Grandfather: John Pinsent: 1773 – xxxx
Grandmother: Sarah Hill: xxxx – 1839
Parents
Father: John Pinsent: 1799 – 1878
Mother: Susanna Morrish: 1799 – 1875
Father’s Siblings (Aunts, Uncles)
John Pinsent: 1799 – 1878
Joseph Pinsent: 1800 – xxxx
Elizabeth Pinsent: 1804 – 1851
Mary Pinsent: 1807 – 1854
Male Siblings (Brothers)
Joseph Pinsent: 1830 – 1840
John L. Pinsent: 1833 – xxxx
William Pinsent: 1837 – xxxx
James Pinsent: 1839 – 1905
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