Talk:Henry Heathcote

Henry, second son of Henry Heathcote
This is the first time I have posted here, so please forgive me if I do not follow protocol.

Henry, second son of the Henry Heathcote of the article is my 3x great grandfather and I have extensively researched his life. Whilst it is true that the Gentleman's Magazine reports that he joined the 88th Regiment of Foot and died in 1829, this was incorrect.

Henry jnr. fathered an illegitimate daughter in 1824 (my 2x great grandmother, born in Strood, Kent when Henry was 20. He had been educated at Bexley, Kent and his Uncle Thomas was Rector of Stone, which is nearby.)  He went up to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1827 and was ordained as a priest in 1831 (source: The Clergy of The Church of England database). He married the sister of one of his fellow students in 1830.

I suspect his father arranged for him to be reported "dead" in 1829 because he did not wish his reputation and career to be sullied by his son's behaviour. This turned out to be well-founded as Henry jnr. was later jailed twice for indecent behaviour. It was a great scandal at the time but the press did not appear to realise who his father was, so the earlier report of his "death" appears to have had the desired effect.

There are numerous references that prove Henry jnr. did not die in 1829, including the announcement of his 1830 marriage in The Gentleman's Magazine (!), confirmation of his parentage in the Clergy of the Church of England database, his mention in Henry snr's Will dated 1850, and Henry jnr's obitury in the Bucks Herald newspaper 20/6/1874, which gives the name of his father.

I have a picture of Henry Heathcote snr. but am not sure how to post it.

The Tree Lady (talk) 20:30, 15 August 2012 (UTC) Sue Adams (The Tree Lady)

Adding picture to this page
I wanted to add a portrait to the appropriate box (top right) of this page but clearly haven't done it correctly as it appears in small format in the wrong place.

I am a complete beginner at this, so apologies - can the original author move it for me please? — Preceding unsigned comment added by The Tree Lady (talk • contribs) 11:48, 2 November 2012 (UTC)