The William Young journal (51 pages) includes daily entries about sea voyages aboard HM Transports Zephyr, Lancaster, and Cornwall. The journal begins in late December, 1795, with Young aboard the Zephyr and under the command of Captain Bowen and General Whyte as they prepare ships for the transatlantic voyage from Great Britain to Barbados. He describes efforts to get various ships ready for sea travel, including the John & Sarah, the Canada, the Bellona, the George & Bridget, the Generous Planter, the Free Briton, the Lynx, and others. Young records information about the provisioning ships, wind and weather, orders, conflicts among crew members, efforts to combat illnesses as they prepared to depart, and the recurring damages incurred from squalls while waiting at the cove. His notes illustrate the complexity of preparing large-scale naval operations.
The ships departed on February 9, 1796, and Young kept a sea log with navigational details and bearings, weather, signals, illnesses, and difficulties with the crew. Young accounted for other ships encountered during the voyage.
The convoy anchored at Barbados on April 1, 1796, and Young worked to provision ships, inspect the division, shift troops, and land stores and baggage. Young transferred to the Lancaster and departed on April 19 amidst roughly 200 ships for Cape Nichola Mole, St. Domingue. Young harbored there from May 2, 1796, through the end of the journal. He worked to arrange the movement and inspection of troops and stores and recorded the movement of ships. Young transferred to the Cornwall on May 23.
William Young was born August 27, 1761 in Borrowstounness, Scotland. He entered the British Royal Navy on May 16, 1777, serving in Great Britain and in the Caribbean before entering the Navy's Transport department in December of 1794. As Principal Agent, Young helped coordinate the 1798 evacuation of Port-au-Prince. Young also worked with transports during engagements against the Dutch at Texel in 1799 and the Spanish at Ferrol in 1800. He was assigned to Lord Keith's flagship the Foudroyant in 1800 and served in the Mediterranean fleet. He was awarded the Turkish Order of the Crescent. Young became ill and returned home in 1801, where he served as an inspecting agent for transports on the Thames River from 1805 to 1830. He obtained the rank of Vice-Admiral in 1846.
William Young married Ann Spencer in 1789, and together they had thirteen children. He died February 11, 1847, in Surrey.