The Gaspee Days Committee at www.gaspee.COM is a civic-minded nonprofit organization that operates many community events in and around Pawtuxet Village, including the famous Gaspee Days Parade each June. These events are all designed to commemorate the burning of the hated British revenue schooner, HMS Gaspee, by Rhode Island patriots in 1772 as 'America's First Blow for Freedom'®.  Our historical research center, the Gaspee Virtual Archives at www.gaspee.ORG , has presented these research notes as an attempt to gather further information on one who has been suspected of being associated with the the burning of the Gaspee. Please e-mail your comments or further questions to webmaster@gaspee.org.

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Selected notes:

Lieutenant William Dudingston was the commander of the much-hated, and ill-fated HMS Gaspee at the time of her demise at the hands of Rhode Island colonists in June 1772.  From simple conventions, we can assume that the William Dudingston of our concern was about 30 or 40 years old in 1772 at the time of the Gaspee attack. From the www.ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk website (₤6 charge to credit card) files we find a William Duddingston christened 20Nov1740  in Kilconquhar, Fife, Scotland to James Duddingston and Margaret Gillespie. The relationship is confirmed through family genealogical sources at: <http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~hollyweb/duddingston.htm>. From the ScotlandsPeople site we also find that William's parents James Dudingston and Margaret Gillespie married on 17Nov1735 in Kilconquhar.  William Duddingston's siblings, all born in Kilconquhar, were: Mary born 3Feb1737,  John born 9Nov1739, Ann born 24Oct1742, and Clara born 18Jan1744.  There may have also been an older stepbrother George, born 8Feb1733 in Kilconquhar to James Duddingston and his presumed first wife, Grizel Peebles. William's brother John became a Major as a regimental surgeon in the 1st Regiment of Foot.. William Duddingston's mother, Margaret Gillespie Duddingston, died before 1752. County Fife, where Dudingston was born, is a peninsula of the East coast of Scotland obviously conductive to maritime pursuits, and is across the Firth of Forth Bay from the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. From all of this, we can assume that our Lieutenant William Dudingston spoke with a strong Scottish accent.

Right:  The ruins at Chapel Green built 1093, still extant in Earlsferry, Fife, Scotland.  Photo courtesy of Scott Reekie who presents a fascinating history of the village at http://home.bendbroadband.com/scottishheritage/

In searching for the genealogy, most people found  spell the surname Duddingston with 2 middle d's, and almost all hail from Scotland. We have copies of documents signed here in America as Dudingston, with one middle "d". Perhaps William was trying to use a ruse to avoid his many lawsuits by deliberately misspelling his name. He also used the one middle 'd' in his petition to the King for relief from his wounds.   The Duddingston-Dudingston-Duddingstone line has members back to the first Crusades. There is a Duddingston Village on the outskirts of Edinburgh, but the ancestral home of the clan is typically cited as Sandford in the County of Fife.

According to the excellent Navy List database information kindly provided by CH Donnithorne, Dudingston was first commissioned in the Royal Navy as a Lieutenant on 10Oct1759.  According to an N. Rodgers writing in The Wooden World: Anatomy of the Georgian Navy, p263,  for a man to qualify for a commission as a lieutenant, he was required to pass an examination after having served a minimum of six years at sea, two of which were served as a midshipman or master’s mate.  For this to be true, Lieutenant Dudingston had at least six years of experience at sea as an officer-in-training and must have entered into the Royal Navy sometime in 1753, at the tender age of 13.  But his first command was that of the Gaspee schooner on 13Sep1768, so we feel the 1759 date more probably reflects his date of actual entry into the Royal Navy, and he must have become eligible for Lieutenant sometime after 1765.

According to Gaspee pay records, Dudingston was assigned to command the ship on 26April1768, and first appeared 13Sept1768.  William Dudingston first came to the attention of America in September 1768 at which time he took over command of His Majesty's Schooner Gaspee from his predecessor, Lieutenant Thomas Allen.  In between this change of command, the Gaspee was refitted in (we think) the Philadelphia area (maybe even in Rhode Island) from a single masted sloop to a twin masted schooner.  Dudingston and his fellow officers had both strict orders and generous financial incentives to inderdict illegal smuggling along the American coast. British legislation deputized these officers as customs officials, and they were awarded a share of the value of any illicit cargo seized by them. According to Blue Water Patriots: The American Revolution Afloat by James M. Volo (2006) p14, by these means Dudingston himself supplemented his relatively meager annual income of £110 as a Royal Navy lieutenant by an additional £88 in one year alone.

For an account of Dudingston's early dealings with the Colonists, see GaspeePriorTo1772.htm.  But it was when Dudingston and the Gaspee entered Narragansett Bay in February of 1772 that this man really started to first receive notice.  His arrogance and deliberateness in carrying his duties of trade law enforcement soon got him in hot water. He straight-away stopped and seized one of the packet sloops owned by the powerful Greene family in East Greenwich, and he and his crew proceeded to beat up one Rufus Greene who commanded her.  Dudingston condemned the sloop and her cargo as a prize of customs enforcement, and sent the boat to Boston for sale by the Admiralty based there. This incensed the sea-faring citizens of Rhode Island, and led to a questioning by Governor Wanton as to whether Dudingston and his schooner had the authority to act.  That this led up to the destruction of the Gaspee on June 10, 1772 is all well documented elsewhere.  After receiving surgery by John Mawney for his wounds during the attack, Dudingston was placed in a boat and put ashore into the house of Joseph Rhodes in Pawtuxet Village.  There, after refusing to relate his experiences to to Dep. Gov. Darius Sessions, he was tended to for a few days by the well known local physician, Henry Sterling. He was subsequently removed to Newport to the home of his attorney, James Brenton, to continue his recovery. Because of rumored threats to Dudingston, the Royal Navy later took Dudingston under protective guard to the HMS Beaver <see Newport Skirmish> and he was shipped back to Europe, reportedly continuing his recovery at a French spa. 

In December 1772, Dudingston petitioned King George for relief, citing his grievous wounds, and was subsequently awarded a pension of £91.5.0 on 15Feb1773 "in consideration of the courage and conduct shewn by him in defence of the Gaspee schooner, which was burnt at Rhode Island, in June 1772, and the severe wounds he received on that occasion."  Dudingston claimed that he lost use of his left arm, and had a musket ball still lodged in his groin.  In the American Federalist Columbian Centinel newspaper of 26Jan1822 (No 4241), page 1 is a letter to the editor entitled "Of Revolutionary Reminiscences.", the author claims that, "Duddingston received a ball in the hypogastrick region, which ball was never extracted, but worked its way down near to the right knee, rendering him lame all his life."  "Hypogastric" would be a medical description of the lower abdomen. It is unlikely that he was actually shot in the testicles, as he went on to father four children later in life. The most likely scenario is that Dudingston was shot once in the left arm, after which the bullet ricocheted or passed through into his left groin area containing the femoral artery and fascia. While John Mawney removed part of the musket ball, some of it may have remained that then traveled down to his knee over time.

Upon the loss of a ship, it was obligatory to undergo Court Marshal proceedings, which commenced in Portsmouth, England in October, 1772.  At this, Dudingston was acquitted of any responsibility for the loss <See http://gaspee.org/StaplesAppendices.htm p134>  We next hear from the Boston press that by November 1772, he was promoted from Lieutenant to Captain "by his Majesty's express command",  <http://www.pastportal.com/cwdl_new/VA_Gazet/Images/PD/1772/0206hi.jpg Col 2>, although the Navy List cites his date of seniority for Captain to be five years later, on 19Sept1777. 

While all this was going on, the Greene family filed a series of lawsuits against Dudingston for the loss of their cargo aboard their sloop back in February 1772. Apparently arrests warrants were issued, and Dudingston complained to his superior, Admiral Montagu that he could not go on land out of fear of being arrested under Rhode Island law. For complete details on this sideshow, see Bryant, SW, Rhode Island Justice-1772 Vintage, Rhode Island History, July 1967 26:3, pp65-71. The Rhode Island Historical Society has a series of unpublished documents relating to these actions in its Manuscripts Division under miscellaneous Gaspee Papers. In this collection we discover that Dudingston was defended in these suits by James Brenton, at whose house in Newport he subsequently recuperated from his gunshot wound to the groin sustained during the attack on the Gaspee.

Jacob Greene, Nathanael Greene, et al. filed suit against Dudingston for the amount of ₤295 at the Inferior Court of Common Pleas held in East Greenwich, and was appealed to the Superior Court. We have a letter from the William Checkley to the customs commissioners that Dudingston was actually served with a warrant for his arrest related to this suit immediately after the attack on the Gaspee <See http://gaspee.org/StaplesAppendices.htm#Top p113>. The suit was subsequently appealed to King George III, but was rejected in October of 1772.  By this time, of course, the British were in no mood to entertain lawsuits regarding the Gaspee which had since been destroyed. We also note that related to this lawsuit, RI Chief Justice Stephen Hopkins issued another warrant for the arrest of Dudingston on October of 1773.

By 18January1776, William Dudingston had apparently fully recovered from his ordeal, was given a new command, and in July of 1776 arrived in Halifax, NS in command of the armed sloop-of-war HMS Senegal <http://www.pastportal.org/cwdl_new/VA_Gazet/Images/D/1776/0133hi.jpg>.  According to the excellent Navy List database information kindly provided by CH Donnithorne, Dudingston was subsequently given command of the brand new sloop-of-war Camelion from 21Mar1777 through 25Sep1777. He was next given command of the frigate, HMS Boston in Sept 1777 to July 1782. We next hear of him in 1784 testimony respecting the limits of inland navigation in Scotland, <http://www.bopcris.ac.uk/bop1688/ref1276.html>


A Firth is a Scottish term for a channel for the passage of ships. The HMS Boston was a 32 gun frigate built in 1761. Dudingston was later promoted to Commodore, and eventually promoted to Rear Admiral, superannuated on 12Nov1794. The Navy List gives no further information about subsequent commands after he left the HMS Boston in 1782.  We've thought that perhaps he was at Trafalgar in 1805 with Admiral Lord Nelson, but his name is nowhere on the list of known participants found at http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/Trafalgar/.  Effectively he made Admiral by living long enough to reach the top of the Captain's list.  Making people 'superannuated' let the Admiralty promote and retire the less capable officers, and reach down the seniority list to promote the more promising candidates. This might be highly conjectural, but perhaps one reason that this apparently mediocre officer achieved the rank of Admiral was a combination of his war-related injuries, along with the ascendancy of his fellow Midlothian Henry Dundas, who as Treasurer and First Lord of the Admiralty gave many patronage positions to his countrymen.

William Dudingston married on 17Nov1802 Antonia Steuart-Barclay (variations: Antonis Stewart) who was apparently much younger than her husband, as Bill would've been at the age of 63-67 when they had the following children:  1. Elizabeth Hay Duddingston born on 30Nov1803 in Elie, 2, Unnamed male Duddingston born 1Dec1804 and died 8Dec1804, buried in Elie Churchyard, 3. William Montague Duddingston born 01SEP1806 in Edinburgh Parish, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, and 4. Susan Sterling Duddingston born on 7Nov1807, registered in Edinburgh. Both William Jr's and Susan's births are listed to a William Admiral Duddingston and Antonia Stuart, so we can assume that Bill had made Admiral by 1806.  It is noteworthy that our Dudingston conferred to his son the middle name that is the same as the last name of his Admiral during the Gaspee Affair, John Montagu(e). Perhaps there was some relationship here as we feel it would be highly unorthodox amongst British traditions to go outside their immediate families for names, even if just a middle name. In either event William Montague Duddingston died without issue sometime before 1839.  Interestingly, both of Bill's daughters died in Paris, France, Elizabeth having married a Mr. Boyd at sometime before she died in 1866; Susan died unmarried in 1890. 

Right:  Photo c1940 of Earlsferry, Fife, Scotland showing Earlsferry House on far right .  William Dudingston had this very impressive seaside home built in the early 19th century, but it has since been demolished.  "The most notable part of the house that set it apart from all other houses in Earlsferry was the octagonal castellated tower above which was a flag pole. It was impressive to see the house on the days that the blue and white Scottish Cross of St. Andrew flew from the mast head."  Photo and information courtesy of Scott Reekie (for more details, see:  http://home.bendbroadband.com/scottishheritage/earlsferryhouse.html)

Judging from his daughter, Susan Sterling Duddingston, there was likely some relationship between the family and his banking firm of Goodsall(?) & Sterling, and it interesting that his wife was a Barclay (as in Barclays Bank), but both of these things are purely speculative. In either event, Dudingston must have accumulated considerable wealth by some means or another.  According to his will, he owned two homes; one house was on Heriot Row, to this day an upscale address within the center of Edinburgh, Scotland.  His 'country" estate in Earlsferry, Scotland was created of hand-hewn stone with an opulent interior that continually impressed local citizens up until the house was demolished around World War II.. Earls Ferry (now spelt as one word, Earlsferry) is a seaside village in Bill's hometown of  Kilconquhar, and is directly across the Firth of Forth from Edinburgh.

Admiral William Duddingston died 27October1817 in Earlsferry, Fife at the age of 76. His widow, Antonia Steuart Duddingston died at No. 4 Heriot Row on 19Nov1839.

We found Bill's will in the British Public Records Office: at http://www.documentsonline.pro.gov.uk/  Prerogative Court of Canterbury and related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers, Effingham Quire Numbers: 606 - 651 Date 19 December 1817.  One can see the copy of the will first hand by paying a ₤3 credit card charge to the Public Records Office.  The text is difficult, and is from the will and challanges thereafter, all in the handwriting of a clerk who copied the document into a bound volume as a master record.

Right: Warwick historian John Currier portrays our infamous Lt. William Dudingston during Gaspee Days each year.

Courtesy of  Holly McKenzie (who married into the Duddingston line of descent--against our advice) we have the Settlement Inventory of William Dudingston's estate taken 4 or 5 years after his passage.

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We cannot resist the inclusion here of a family recipe from Isabella Beeton's The Book of Household Management <http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/b/beeton/household/chapter15.html>: which relates a local favorite (er, favourite, sorry) recipe for the people from Duddingston Village.  The mere thought of this dish makes Haggis pale by comparison:

TO DRESS A SHEEP’S HEAD.

742. INGREDIENTS.—1 sheep’s head, sufficient water to cover it, 3 carrots, 3 turnips, 2 or 3 parsnips, 3 onions, a small bunch of parsley, 1 teaspoonful of pepper, 3 teaspoonfuls of salt, 1/4 lb. of Scotch oatmeal.

Mode.—Clean the head well, and let it soak in warm water for 2 hours, to get rid of the blood; put it into a saucepan, with sufficient cold water to cover it, and when it boils, add the vegetables, peeled and sliced, and the remaining ingredients; before adding the oatmeal, mix it to a smooth batter with a little of the liquor. Keep stirring till it boils up; then shut the saucepan closely, and let it stew gently for 1–1/2 or 2 hours. It may be thickened with rice or barley, but oatmeal is preferable.

Time.—1–1/2 or 2 hours. Average cost, 8d. each.

Sufficient for 3 persons.

Seasonable at any time.

SINGED SHEEP’S HEAD.—The village of Dudingston, which stands “within a mile of Edinburgh town,” was formerly celebrated for this ancient and homely Scottish dish. In the summer months, many opulent citizens used to resort to this place to solace themselves over singed sheep’s heads, boiled or baked. The sheep fed upon the neighbouring hills were slaughtered at this village, and the carcases were sent to town; but the heads were left to be consumed in the place. We are not aware whether the custom of eating sheep’s heads at Dudingston is still kept up by the good folks of Edinburgh.

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That's all the evidence we have for now folks. If you know more, please e-mail us at webmaster@gaspee.org.  Thanks!