William (Shuttleworth) Holden (1749 - 1791)

Born 1749 in Gawthorpe, Lancashire, England

Ancestors

Died 26 Jan 1791 at about age 42 in Rouen, Normandy, France

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Biography

William was born in 1749. He was the son of James Shuttleworth and Mary Holden. He passed away in 1791.

William Shuttleworth sailed as a midshipman on James Cook RN (1728-1779) Third Voyage. He sailed in Resolution until 16 February 1779 when he transferred to Discovery. During the voyage Shuttleworth kept a journal of proceedings.1 On his return to Britain, Shuttleworth changed his surname to Holden as part of the stipulations in his maternal grandfather’s will.

William Shuttleworth was baptised on 26 January 1749, the third son of James and Mary Shuttleworth. The Shuttleworths were rich landowners in the north of England. They had properties at Forcett Hall in North Yorkshire and Gawthorpe Hall, near Burnley in Lancashire. James Shuttleworth, William’s father, had married Mary Holden, heiress to estates at Aston-on-Trent near Derby, thus adding to the family fortunes.

The Shuttleworths had at least six children, of whom Robert Shuttleworth was the oldest. Born in 1743, Robert succeeded to most of the northern properties when his father died in 1773. In anticipation of this, Mary’s father, Robert Holden, stipulated in his will that the estate he was passing on through his daughter should go to the second son, with the proviso that this son would change his name to Holden. James Shuttleworth was the second son and he, therefore, changed his name in 1768 to James Holden. However, James Holden died in 1780 so, when William Shuttleworth returned from Cook’s Third Voyage he discovered he had succeeded to the Holden inheritance. William’s older brother, Robert Shuttleworth, was an acquaintance of Joseph Banks Bt KCB (1743-1820)s, both being fellows of the Royal Society, and it was through Banks that William gained a place on the Third Voyage. John Gore wrote to Joseph Banks from Cape Town, early in the Third Voyage, mentioning Shuttleworth as follows:

The only motive of my now writing is to inform you of a Bill for 240 Rix Dollars"

drawn on your friend Shuttleworth by his brother here, which Bill is accepted

here on my indorsing, which I beg you’ll see duly honour’d.

The sailor Shuttleworth has much to recommend him as a sea officer which in

my opinion is the only department he is properly qualified for.'

Prior to sailing with Cook, Shuttleworth spent a year as a midshipman in HMS Surprize. After the voyage, Shuttleworth does not appear in the records (or, rather, the name Shuttleworth does not appear). William still needed to serve a few more months in order to complete the six years’ service required to become a lieutenant. As William Holden he spent a month in HMS Isis and four months in HMS Nightingale before sitting his examination in April 1781. He received his commission as a lieutenant on 25 May 1781.

Little else is known about him at this time. Holden appears not to have pursued a naval career. Family documents from around 1800 state that he and his widow were both dead and without issue.

William Holden died on 26 January 1791 at Rouen in Normandy. Why he was in France at this dangerous time is a mystery. William’s younger brother, the Reverend Charles Edward Shuttleworth, succeeded him and became the Reverend Charles Holden.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.captaincooksociety.com/home/detail/william-shuttleworth-william-holden-1749-1791