| Administrative History | William Penny was born in Peterhead, the son of a whale skipper, and first went to sea when he was twelve years old. He was one of the first skippers to take command of a steam whaler and played a noted role in the search for Sir John Frankling in 1850. He was assigned charge of a separate expedition to the search conducted by the Royal Navy, and discovered some artefacts belonging to Franklin's crew before he returned to Scotland in 1851. He married Margaret Irvine in 1840 and died in Aberdeen in 1892. According to details given in MS 2295/7, William Penny, master of the barque St. Andrew of Aberdeen to whom these papers relate, was born at Peterhead in 1809; his wife was still alive in 1854. |
| Description | Accounts and other papers relating to shipping collected by, or relating to, Captain William Penny: accounts relating to the Barque St. Andrew, 1842; accounts between William Penny and James Anderson and Thomas Adam, 1842; account between owners of the St. Andrew and the Catto, 1843; crew list of the Barque St. Andrew, c. 1843; copy of charter between Thomas Adam, owner of the Neptune, and James Reid and Neil Smith, jr., to ship timber from Quebec, 1843; copy of ship's articles, 1843; account between William Penny and Thomas Adam, 1843 - 1844; account for coal, 1845, and verses of song, c. 1840; pew-rent card, 1844; letter to Mrs. Penny regarding damage to dykes and fences, 1854.
MS 2295/6 and 2295/9 each have two items on a double sheet. |