Nelson & His World

Many biographies of Emma Hamilton repeat the claim that Horatia was one of twins, the other child being consigned to the Foundling Hospital by Emma. While it is possible that Horatia was one of twins (Nelson mentions the possibility that he and Emma might again have twins in the future), it is most probable that the child died at birth or soon after, and that the tale of the consignment of a living child by Emma to the Foundling Hospital is totally fanciful, but typical of the negative image of Emma that was portrayed in more judgemental times. Flora Fraser, in her book 'Beloved Emma' notes that Lady Hamilton visited the Foundling Hospital soon after the battle of Copenhagen and, in a public ceremony, stood sponsor to a little girl called Emma Hamilton. It is very likely that the 'abandoned child' rumour is a distortion of this event. In 'The Aristocrats', by Stella Tillyard, that I mention on the Book Reports thread, there is an account of an occasion at the Foundling Hospital when a great number of aristocrats flocked to the event and gave their name to an abandoned child. This suggests that Emma's action was not a 'one-off' eccentricity but a common practice.

The life of Lady Emma Hamilton is indeed interesting, there are lots of twists and mysteries in his life. I should do more research about the child believed to be of Emma. I believe the information is sensitive and the more it creates mystery. Indiana Heart Physicians

Welcome to the forum!

The records of the Foundling Hospital are now in the public domain:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/ ... ?ID=O57555

but there would be no record of Lady Hamilton having deposited a child there as the whole point of the Foundling Hospital was that babies were left there anonymously so that the mother could not be traced.

The story of the child Emma supposedly abandoned has never been more than a rumour, which the research of Flora Fraser, mentioned above, seems to cast even more doubt on.