The grave of Cpt William Penny churchyard of the Kirk of St Nicholas, Aberdeen
He was born on 12 July 1809 in Peterhead. He went to sea at the age of 12 his first trip being on the whaler Alert on a trip to Greenland under the command of his father. In 1832 he served as mate on the whaler Traveller under Captain George Simpson in Lancaster Sound and Baffin Bay. On the latter trip in 1833 he was the first known European to see Exeter Sound.[2]
By 1839 he was master of the whaler Neptune and was again in Baffin Bay searching for a whale-rich inlet called Tenudiakbeek, eventually locating in July and renaming it Hogarth's Sound. In fact he had rediscovered Cumberland Sound. After a three year break in Aberdeen he returned to Cumberland Sound in 1844. In 1847 he commanded the whaler St Andrew in Baffin Bay and began a search for the Franklin's lost expedition but failed to get through Lancaster Sound. He returned for a second search in 1849 on the Advice but was again turned back by ice.[2][3]
In 1850/51, with the financial support of Lady Franklin, he returned in a more official capacity, searching in the Jones Sound and Wellington Channel and beyond Cape Walker. He was in charge of two brigs: HMS Lady Franklin and HMS Sophia. On this trip he joined forces with Captain Horatio Thomas Austin at Beechey Island.[4] Here they found three graves from 1846 proving Franklin's presence.[5]
They wintered at Assistance Bay on Cornwallis Island being joined by Sir John Ross. In spring Penny was charged with exploring the Wellington Channel. During this period he became the first European to see the Queens Channel and gave his name to the Penny Strait there. However, following a dispute with Austin he was forced to return to Scotland and took no further part in the search.[6]
In 1852, he founded the "Royal Arctic Company" (later renamed the "Aberdeen Arctic Company") and was permitted to buy the Lady Franklin and Sophia for the company. He made the first ever winter whaling trip in the Arctic (1853/54) and introduced the practice of floe whaling, which allowed an earlier start to the season.[2]
In 1857, he took the first Christian missionary (a Moravian) to convert the Inuit of Baffin Island and northern Greenland. In 1859 he introduced the first steam whalers. In 1861 he purchased the Dundee steamer Polynia as a whaler.[2]
He retired in 1864 and thereafter lived at South Crown Street in Aberdeen.[7] In later life he lived at 22 Springbank Terrace in Aberdeen.[8]
Personal lifeedit
He was married to Margaret Penny (née Irvine), and they had two sons and three daughters.[9]
Death and recognitionsedit
He died on 1 February 1892 and is buried in the churchyard of the Kirk of St Nicholas in central Aberdeen. The grave lies west of the church and is marked by an obelisk relating his connection to the search for Franklin.
^Goodsir, Robert (1850). An Arctic voyage to Baffin’s Bay and Lancaster Sound in search of friends with Sir John Franklin (First ed.). London: J. Van Voorst.
Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
Ross, W.G., William Penny (1809–1892)
William Penny (1809–1892)
December 14, 2023
william, penny, other, people, named, william, penney, william, penney, disambiguation, captain, 1809, 1892, scottish, shipmaster, whaler, arctic, explorer, undertook, first, maritime, search, ships, john, franklin, 1840, penny, established, first, whaling, st. For other people named William Penney see William Penney disambiguation Captain William Penny 1809 1892 was a Scottish shipmaster whaler and Arctic explorer He undertook the first maritime search for the ships of Sir John Franklin In 1840 Penny established the first whaling station in the Cumberland Sound area on Kekerten Island 1 Cpt Penny in a portrait by Stephen Pearce Contents 1 Biography 2 Personal life 3 Death and recognitions 4 Footnotes 5 External linksBiography edit nbsp The grave of Cpt William Penny churchyard of the Kirk of St Nicholas AberdeenHe was born on 12 July 1809 in Peterhead He went to sea at the age of 12 his first trip being on the whaler Alert on a trip to Greenland under the command of his father In 1832 he served as mate on the whaler Traveller under Captain George Simpson in Lancaster Sound and Baffin Bay On the latter trip in 1833 he was the first known European to see Exeter Sound 2 By 1839 he was master of the whaler Neptune and was again in Baffin Bay searching for a whale rich inlet called Tenudiakbeek eventually locating in July and renaming it Hogarth s Sound In fact he had rediscovered Cumberland Sound After a three year break in Aberdeen he returned to Cumberland Sound in 1844 In 1847 he commanded the whaler St Andrew in Baffin Bay and began a search for the Franklin s lost expedition but failed to get through Lancaster Sound He returned for a second search in 1849 on the Advice but was again turned back by ice 2 3 In 1850 51 with the financial support of Lady Franklin he returned in a more official capacity searching in the Jones Sound and Wellington Channel and beyond Cape Walker He was in charge of two brigs HMS Lady Franklin and HMS Sophia On this trip he joined forces with Captain Horatio Thomas Austin at Beechey Island 4 Here they found three graves from 1846 proving Franklin s presence 5 They wintered at Assistance Bay on Cornwallis Island being joined by Sir John Ross In spring Penny was charged with exploring the Wellington Channel During this period he became the first European to see the Queens Channel and gave his name to the Penny Strait there However following a dispute with Austin he was forced to return to Scotland and took no further part in the search 6 In 1852 he founded the Royal Arctic Company later renamed the Aberdeen Arctic Company and was permitted to buy the Lady Franklin and Sophia for the company He made the first ever winter whaling trip in the Arctic 1853 54 and introduced the practice of floe whaling which allowed an earlier start to the season 2 In 1857 he took the first Christian missionary a Moravian to convert the Inuit of Baffin Island and northern Greenland In 1859 he introduced the first steam whalers In 1861 he purchased the Dundee steamer Polynia as a whaler 2 He retired in 1864 and thereafter lived at South Crown Street in Aberdeen 7 In later life he lived at 22 Springbank Terrace in Aberdeen 8 Personal life editHe was married to Margaret Penny nee Irvine and they had two sons and three daughters 9 Death and recognitions editHe died on 1 February 1892 and is buried in the churchyard of the Kirk of St Nicholas in central Aberdeen The grave lies west of the church and is marked by an obelisk relating his connection to the search for Franklin The Penny Ice Cap in Auyuittuq National Park on Baffin Island Nunavut Canada is named for him Footnotes edit Kekerten Territorial Park a b c d William Penny collection Goodsir Robert 1850 An Arctic voyage to Baffin s Bay and Lancaster Sound in search of friends with Sir John Franklin First ed London J Van Voorst John Marshall and the Franklin Expedition Hunters on the Track William Penny and the Search for the Franklin by W Gillies Ross Scotsman newspaper 20 March 2017 Aberdeen Post Office Directory 1865 Aberdeen Post Office Directory 1892 Dictionary of Canadian BiographyExternal links editBiography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online Ross W G William Penny 1809 1892 William Penny 1809 1892 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Penny amp oldid 1087909410, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
