Nelson & His World

Dear All,

I'm a newcomer to this site and have read with real interest information with regards to Admiral Samuel Sutton, who is a distant cousin of mine.

I've noted discussion threads about there being no portraits or images of Samuel, my question is, has this changed, has anyone found a image of the man! I assume it was standard practice of the day to have a portrait undertaken so I would be delighted to see what the Samuel looked like!

For your interest, Samuel's father William, was my 5 x grandfathers brother There has always been a nautical theme through the Sutton family for generations, with my grandfather being a merchant Captain and my father a Chief Engineer.

Look forward to hearing from you all.

Regards,

Phil Sutton.

Welocme to the forum, Phil, and thank you for your post. Alas, we are still hunting for an image of Sutton but with no success. I became interested in him when I acquired a letter written to him by Lady Hamilton, under Nelson's direction, and with the address written in Nelson's hand.

I thought you might be amused by a bit of doggerel (with apologies to Kipling) I wrote and posted on our 'mother ship' forum, About Nelson, regarding our search for the elusive Sam. It is a mystery that no image can be found of a distinguished naval officer, and a captain of Victory, no less.


If you can cling to hope when all about you
Are telling you Sam's nowhere to be found;
And even though his face is hidden from you
Can still believe that he'll be run to ground;
If you can wait, and not be tired by waiting,
And hearing 'No,' and 'Sorry he's not here';
And still spend endless hours and days collating
The scraps and leads you've garnered here and there;
If you can search and dream and still keep cheerful
Determined that he won't give you the slip;
And keep your spirit strong when you are fearful,
And tell yourself you've got to get a grip.
If you can force yourself to keep your chin up
Whatever taunts and teases Fate may hurl,
One day, you'll have a picture you can pin up -
And YES! - then you'll have Got Your Man, my girl!

Thanks Anne for your words of hope! I'll keep searching and I'm sure one day the elusive Samuel Sutton will raise his head. I know Samuel had quite a career, if it hadn't been for illness, Admiral Nelson last words might have been "Kiss me, Sutton"

Anyway, thanks for your reply its greatly appreciated, I'll continue my search, If I do manage to find an image of Samuel I'll certainly post it on this site.

All the best,

Phil.

Hi Phil,

As you probably know, we have another collateral Sutton descendant who is a website member and who has also been on the hunt for a portrait of Sam. I dropped her an email alerting her to your post and she was delighted to hear about her new relative!

He had a fascinating life. I still want to confirm that unknown captain which still 'might' be Sam and Charlotte but naturally has a much larger chance that not being so.