Vital Statistics
William Pinsent: 1757 – 1835 GRO1173 (Merchant, Port de Grave, Newfoundland)
Amy Richards: xxxx – 1841
Married: 1798: Port de Grave
Children by Amy Richards:
William Pinsent: 1818 – 1840
Family Branch: Hennock
PinsentID: GRO1173
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William Pinsent was the second to eldest surviving son of John and Susanna (née Pooke). He was born in Wolborough (Newton Abbot) where his father was a “merchant” (probably a “stapler” or wool merchant) who may also have had links to the Newfoundland cod fishery. Even if he did not, he would have known men who did – as Newton Abbot was a major supply and recruitment centre for sailors and fishermen working in the fishery (“Soe longe as there comes noe women,” W. Gordon Handcock, 1989).
William was brought up and educated in Newton Abbot but he was still a teenager when his parents died in 1772. He seems to have hired on as an “agent” for the firm of “Newman and Roope” in Port de Grave – a small settlement near the head of Conception Bay – and worked for the firm throughout the “American War of Independence” (1776 – 1783) while, at the same time, also building up a business of his own.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Dr. Keith Matthews studied the rise and fall of the Newfoundland fishery and built up a large, paper-based, “Name File” that is now in the “Maritime History Archive” at Memorial University, in St. John’s. It contains numerous references to William (and his brother John and, later, his nephew Robert John Pinsent). The references are in snippet form and come from the “Conception Bay Plantations Books,” “Lloyd’s Owners Registers” and other sources. There are abbreviations galore but they are, for the most part, intelligible. Together, they track William’s life both as a merchant and a ship-owner. However, it is worth noting that they contain occasional references to other Williams and Johns – so each entry needs to be taken in context.
The snippets show that William inherited a shore-side property or “plantation” in Port de Grave from an “uncle”, William Carnell (?) in 1775. Who Mr. Carnell was I do not know! William may also have acquired three plantations at Ship Harbour, Port de Grave from “a merchant called Campbell” that same year (1775) (Encyclopaedia of Newfoundland and Labrador: Volume 5: p163). Perhaps they were one and the same.
William lived at Hussey’s Cove near Port de Grave and developed his business throughout the 1770s with Peter Ezekiel as his principal “agent.” They did well together, and William leased a second plantation (#50) at Hussey’s Cove at a cost of £14 per annum in 1777. The lease came, interestingly, from his future father-in-law, Isaac Richards! Ten years later, he bought a third plantation in Port de Grave from Philip Voisey for £18, and two years after that he acquired still more land from John Hussey for £2. His holdings were reported to include a substantial duplex house, several stores and a wharf in Hussey’s Cove. By the end of the 1780s William was a well established “Merchant of Port de Grave, Newfoundland.”
The business must have benefited from the growth in population that occurred in Newfoundland during and immediately after the Napoleonic wars (1799 – 1815). During the war, few fishermen were willing to attempt the annual migration from England to and from the fishing grounds and the era of seasonal fishing convoys came to an end. After the war, fishermen (and their wives) settled in the out-ports (Handcock, 1989) and needed goods that local merchants supplied on credit. In the spring they gave local fishermen whatever they needed for the summer cod and salmon fisheries and took cash or fish back in return in the autumn.
By the early 1800s, the fishery was either conducted from “bankers” – larger vessels that took bye-boatmen out to the “Grand Banks”, or from smaller vessels that fished near shore. In either case the fish were gutted and split, washed, slightly salted and left to dry on flat platforms called “flakes” before being taken back to Europe in the autumn. In the early 1800s, the industry relied on sail; however, in William’s nephew Robert John and his son’s time – later in the same century – the larger boats (particularly any that also took part in the seal hunt) were, at least in part, powered by steam. By 1910, nearly all the bigger vessels were “steamers.” Coal was, by then, king.
After the merchants had balanced their books, they supplied the fisherman’s needs for the seal hunt – and for his family’s subsistence over the winter. The fisherman’s accounts were adjusted accordingly. This “truck” system of payments worked well during good years (such as during the war) when fish prices were high, but it was, of course, open to abuse. When the cod and/or seal “fisheries” were poor, there could be considerable tension between a near destitute fisherman and his merchant – who was not infrequently himself in debt to one of the larger banks. A listing of the 154 households in Port de Grave on 27th September 1817 shows that W. Pinsent supplied at least 30 relatively “well off” families. It was a tenuous business. Prices could fall – even in the good times – and ships could sink during a storm or fall victim to the French in time of war. The “truck” system contributed to the Colony’s economy crash in 1894 (see Charles Speare Pinsent).
William’s youngest brother Joseph seems to have acted as one of his early “fish buyers” and/or “brokers” before setting himself up as a London “shipping agent” in his own right. William set up a more formal business arrangement with his elder brother John, the “baker” of Portman Square, in London. In 1791, John Pinsent of Edward Street, Portman Square advertised a “brig” [MARY JEMIMA, 88 tons] for sale in Dartmouth. Would-be purchasers were invited to “contact him, the master, Captain Thomas Silly or a Mister Gilbert Doke of Newton Abbot”. Whether John spent time at sea I am not sure. A John Pinsent is reported to have captained a newly acquired “brig” called the FERDINAND in 1793 and 1794, so he may have. There are a few years unaccounted for on John’s resume – between the likely end of his apprenticeship as a baker and his settling in London – so he may have played an active role in the business.
William acted as an “agent” for “Newman and Roope” once again in 1793. However, his own operation in Port de Grave had grown substantially since then and the brothers needed more land. They purchased and cleared “Lot #182” at a place called Cupids (on the other side of Conception bay from Port de Grave) – where the conditions were better suited for handling larger ships. The Cupids establishment included a farm and a seal factory, and the brothers built some of their own ships there. The Cupids site eventually outgrew their original operation at Hussey’s Cove. The “plantation” map shows that they added still more land in 1804.
The firm of “J. and W. Pinsent, Merchants, Edward Street, Portman Square, London” operated throughout the 1790s and early 1800s and its activities are well documented in Colonial Records, Newman’s Journal, Lloyds Register of (Ship) Owners and other sources abstracted by the late Dr. Keith Matthews of the Maritime History Archive of Memorial University, Newfoundland. Between them, they show that John and William Pinsent purchased the ‘brig” FERDINAND [1793-1794] (approximately 127 tons, 11ft draught, built at Cowes (Isle of Wight) in 1790) in 1793 and used it to transport 3,000 quintals of fish (one quintal is approximately 50 kilograms) from Harbour Grace to “Leghorn” (Livorno, Italy) in the Mediterranean. John Pinsent is described as captain; however, as he was a “baker” by trade it is not clear if he went to sea. He was certainly the ship’s owner. At other times, Thomas Silly is described as the ship’s captain. In 1794, the two brothers acquired the ADVENTURE, [1794-1804] “brig” (40 tons, 8ft draught, built in Newfoundland in 1794). It was captained by Thomas Ryshe and used to trade with England.
Business during the Napoleonic wars (1799 – 1815) was predictably unpredictable and West Country English and Newfoundland merchants frequently lost ships to France and Spain as they attempted to land fish in Europe. Prior to 1811, most of the Colony’s catch (salted and dried cod) entered through Oporto, in Portugal, so the French blockaded it. In 1798, twenty-three Newfoundland ships and crew were lost off Oporto Bar! To make matters worse for both merchants and sailors, even if the French did not capture and eventually ransom the ship’s crews, the Royal Navy had a nasty habit of pressing them into the service of the Crown.
Several Newfoundland merchants and countless fishermen were bankrupted by the war and Newfoundland Court Records show that William Pinsent sued Elias Antle, Simon Sparacklin and John Partridge for non-payment of debts in the fall of 1796. That same year, the court appointed William to examine the accounts of Bartholomew Corban and Edward French, who had also been bankrupted.
Whether the FERDINAND survived until 1797 is uncertain. However, the brothers retained the ADVENTURE through to 1804. Over much of its life it was captained either by John Newell or by xxxx Winsboro. William and John acquired the ELIZABETH, [1797-1800] a ship, (345 tons, 15ft draught, built in Hull, 1789) in 1797 and sailed it between London and Martinique under the command of Captain xxxx Matthews. Armament was definitely needed in those days! it was fitted with nine four-pound guns. The brothers may also have owned the EXPERIMENT [1797-1798] “schooner” (91 tons, 9ft draught, built in Nova Scotia in 1790) captained by J. Worth and used for trade between London and Newfoundland. However, the latter ship could have belonged to Andrew and William Pinson of Dartmouth who also owned a considerable fleet around then. It is sometimes difficult to sort out which ships belonged to which of the two family firms. Surnames were not not always spelt consistently!
The two brothers certainly owned the AMEY [1798], captained by John Newell. It was one of the ships caught off Oporto Bar in 1798. It was taken into Bayonne with 25,000 quintals of fish as a prize. The following year the brothers added the DILIGENCE [1799-1804] “snow-brig”, (150 tons, 12ft draught, built in Sweden). It was captained by J. Pike and used on the London run. The WILLIAM AND JOHN [1800] was almost certainly another of their ships. Sadly, it was driven onto flats at Sandwich in a gale on 23rd January 1800. It was wrecked and filled with water (Lloyd’s List: 28th January 1800). Clearly, there was weather to deal with, as well as the French!
In 1800, John and William Pinsent fitted out a new, locally built, privateer, the ship WILLIAM [1800-1804] of 283 tons and mounting twelve cannonades. It was captained by William Hill and had a crew of 25 men. It received “letters of marque” against France, Spain and the United Provinces (D’Alberti Papers, Vol. 11, 1800). This meant that it could act aggressively against enemy ships and not just defensively.
It is not clear how it fared, but the brothers seem to have done reasonably well during the war. In 1800, William Hill was the captain of their brig ROEHAMPTON [1800], (106 tons and 11ft draught fitted with six three-pound guns). It could have been a war prize as it had been built in America in 1792. It was also used on the London – Newfoundland run. The same year, the brothers also owned the DOLPHIN [1800-1804], a “schooner” captained by J. Ford (102 tons and 9ft draught, built in France). Presumably it too was a prize. It may have been cheaper to buy prizes than to build new ships.
In 1804, William Pinsent purchased and cleared yet another plantation (Lot #181) at Cupids and doubled the size of his fishery operation. The brothers were doing well in the early 1800s. They were reported to have had eight ships. In addition to the ADVENTURE, DILIGENCE, DOLPHIN and WILLIAM, they either owned or co-owned the “brig” (?) JOHN AND WILLIAM [1804] (237 tons and 15ft draught, built in Newfoundland), captained by John Packby; the “brig” (?) BROTHERS [1804-1810], (95 tons and 9ft draught, built at Cupids in 1801) captained by J. Jefferies; the “brig” MINERVA [1804] (150 tons and 12 ft draught, built in America in 1795) captained by John Seager; and the “brig” (?) ARETHUSA [1804], (284 tons and 15ft draught) which had been was built in Spain in 1794. Its captain was J. H. Allard. John Seager may be the same man who co-owned with William Long and Joseph Pinsent – William and John’s younger brother – the “brig” RESOLUTION (126 tons, taken from the Dutch). Regrettably, it was captured by, the French, in 1796.
The brothers’ sailed their ships from Newfoundland to Dartmouth; from London to Leghorn (Livorno); from London to the Azores; from Bristol to Carder (?); from London to Surinam and – of course – from London to Newfoundland. They also sailed from Cork to Demerara. The routes reflect the usual pattern of trade for merchants in those days. They took materiel from England to Newfoundland, cod into the Mediterranean, assorted goods in casks to the Caribbean and – from there – brought molasses and rum north to Newfoundland. The only difference between William and John and their peers was that they operated out of London – as opposed to one of the West Country ports (Dartmouth, Bristol, etc.). Over time, trade with Ireland increased and in the 1800s transportation of emigrants became an important part of the business.
The two brothers seem to have hit a bad patch towards the end of the first decade of the 1800s. They appear to have cut back to two vessels. In 1807, they owned the “brig” (?) BROTHERS [1804-1810] and the “schooner” DART [1807-1821] (64 tons and 9ft draught). The former was used to trade with Ireland. The latter was built at Cupids in 1804 and it continued to carry fish into the Mediterranean. They were captained, interchangeably, by Thomas Silly, William Ellis, Thomas Owen, and others. The Newfoundland fishing industry, which had done surprisingly well early in the Napoleonic wars, suffered from over-supply and lower prices later on, and William and John had to sue their neighbours in the “Harbour Grace Surrogate Court” to recover the money they were owed. The brothers were involved in at least fifteen court cases between 1813 and 1821. For instance, the archives show that William and John sued Thomas Moore for £7 19s 9d in December 1920 (Box 005 Harbour Grave 1820 -1821). Still, they survived.
One outcome of the war was that the centre of gravity of the fishery moved to Newfoundland. There was less to do in London and when John died there in 1821 his son, Robert John, wound up the London end of the business and moved out to Port de Grave to help his then aging uncle. The firm then went under the name of “Wm. and R. J. Pinsent”.
In 1820 William and John appear to have replaced the original ship BROTHERS with another of the same name. The latter BROTHERS [1820-1830], (115 tons, built at Cupids) and captained by Richard Heath was, after John died, owned by William Pinsent of Ebford/Wolborough, merchant, and his niece, John’s daughter Mary Speare Pinsent of Collumpton, spinster, who administered her father’s estate. Sadly, the vessel was lost in 1830.
According to “The Story of Port de Grave” by Gerald W. Andrews, William and Robert John Pinsent owned a “schooner” called the ELIZABETH (84 tons) captained by John Hussey between 1828 and 1830 and a “schooner” known as the SUCCESS (56 tons) mastered by William King in 1832.
In 1833, John Warford of Cupids mortgaged a fishing plantation at Cupids that he had recently inherited to William and Robert John Pinsent for £99, to be paid back in annual payments of £33. Whether he repaid the mortgage or not, I do not know (members.fortunecity.com/dawefamilytree/transcriptionsofwills). Cupids, which was on a small but deep water bay near Port de Grave, was the site chosen by John Guy in 1610 for the first (admittedly unsuccessful) attempt at colonization of Newfoundland: hence the postage stamp!
The British Government did what it could to limit settlement in Newfoundland in the 17th and 18th Centuries (“Soe longe as there comes noe women” by W. Gordon Hancock, 1989), as it saw the annual migration to and from Newfoundland as a useful way of training-up sailors it would need at time of war. It had abandoned the policy by 1791 and the population thereafter kept growing.
William Pinsent married Amy Richards, the daughter of Isaac Richards, another Port de Grave merchant, in 1803. He was over 40 years old and may have had an earlier marriage that I do not know about. If so, there were no living children from it. William and Amy had a son in 1818 “the first pledge of their conjugal affection after fifteen years happy union” (according to the Newfoundland Mercantile Journal) – a statement that gives the lie to any thought that Robert John might have been his son.
William “senior’s” son, William Pinsent “junior,” was still a boy when his father retired to East Teignmouth in Devon in 1828 and William was getting on in year, so he appointed his wife, Amy, and a Newfoundland merchant as executrix and executor of his will. In it, he left one half of his fishing and shipping business in Port de Grave in trust for his wife and the other for his under-age son (Estate Duty Office Wills [1078/IRW/P913 – Date: 1835]). William died in Teignmouth on 16th April 1835 and was buried in Wolborough Churchyard. The local newspapers referred to the death of William Pinsent “Merchant of Teignmouth, late of Port de Grave, Newfoundland” (Exeter Flying Post: Thursday, April 23rd, 1835).
William’s widow, Amy and William’s nephew Robert John Pinsent ran the business for a few years – presumably in expectation that Amy’s son, William, would take over when he came of age and had enough experience. Sadly, it was not to be. William “junior” died in 1840, aged 22 years (Bristol Mercury: Saturday 16th January 1841). Amy and Robert John sold their Ship’s Cove business in 1839, and part of Cupids went the following year.
Amy died in 1841, aged 64, and left the rest of the family property to her nephew, Robert John Pinsent, who was, by then, a magistrate in Brigus: “I give and bequeath to Robert John Pinsent, esquire, of Brigus, Magistrate, his heirs and assigns all that part of the rooms and premises formerly belonging to my late husband and his brother John (under the firm of John and William Pinsent) situated at Port de Grave and Cupids, Newfoundland, which I possess or to which I have or may have any claim or title whatsoever. And, whereas there are some unsettled accounts existing between the said Robert John Pinsent and myself and my late husband and my lately deceased son, I will and declare that I fully acquit and discharge him the said Robert John Pinsent, his heirs, executors and administrators from all claims and demands whatsoever on account of the same” (Newfoundland Probate Office).
Robert John was soon to be appointed a “Stipendiary Magistrate” in Harbour Grace, so he leased out and eventually sold: “A very commodious House, Shop, Stores and Mercantile Premises, situate at Port de Grave and Cupids formerly occupied by the subscriber, and very recently by the late Mr. William Pinsent. These premises are now advertised for lease in consequence of the decease of Mr. William Pinsent in November last. A most eligible opportunity is offered to any respectable person inclined to engage in a moderate-sized mercantile business, in a desirable Outport, as the dealers and other connections in the trade of the late occupant are still available to a successor, and the whole Premises as also the necessary utensils of business, are in perfect good order and condition. Further particulars may be obtained by application to Messrs. McBride & Kerr, and the Rev. Charles Blackman, St. John’s, or to the Subscriber at Brigus: Robert John Pinsent: (Public Ledger: 16th April 1841). His life is described elsewhere.
Family Tree
Grandparents
Grandfather: Thomas Pinsent: 1691 – 1777
Grandmother: Mary Gale: 1690 – 1774
Parents
Father: John Pinsent: 1728 – 1772
Mother: Susanna Pooke: 1730 – 1772
Father’s Siblings (Aunts, Uncles)
Urith Pinsent: 1714 – 1751
Thomas Pinsent: 1717 – 1802
Julian Pinsent: 1719 – 1721
Robert Pinsent: 1721 – 1783
Gilbert Pinsent: 1724 – 1794
Julian Pinsent: 1726 – xxxx
John Pinsent: 1728 – 1772 ✔️
Mary Pinsent: 1731 – xxxx
Male Siblings (Brothers)
John Pinsent: 1751 – 1753
John Pinsent: 1753 – 1821
Robert Pinsent: 1753 – 1787
Thomas Pinsent: 1754 – 1785
William Pinsent: 1757 – 1835 ✔️
Gilbert Pinsent: 1758 – 1835
Charles Pinsent: 1765 – 1765
Charles Pinsent: 1766 – 1826
Samuel Pinsent: 1767 – 1775
Joseph Pinsent: 1770 – 1835
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