Catherine Suckling - Death and Legacy

Death and Legacy

Catherine died on 26 December 1767 at the age of 42, leaving Edmund with eight children. A grief-stricken Edmund buried her four days later in the church at Burnham Thorpe. He never remarried. Catherine's mother, Ann, died shortly afterwards. Maurice Suckling, Edmund's brother-in-law, visited the rectory to attend the funerals, and found Edmund heart-broken, and fearing for the future for his children. He had begun to call in favours with relatives to ensure that educations and positions could be found for them, and Suckling promised to do what he could for one of the boys, using the patronage available to him as a naval captain. This saw the start of Horatio's successful career in the Royal Navy.

Horatio was nine when his mother died, but remembered her with fondness. He recalled a line from Henry V when he did so and said that it could be seen in the tears in his eyes. He would also recall her hatred for the French.