Caleb was the sixth son of nine children of the former Ann Chase Dickens and Gilbert Heathcote (d.

During the reign of George I, Heathcote served as Surveyor General of His Majesty's Customs for the Eastern District of North America.

[2] His estate in Westchester County, New York, is the site of the present-day town of Scarsdale (named after Sutton Scarsdale, his ancestral home in Derbyshire) and was granted on March 21, 1701, or 1702 by Lieutenant Governor of New York John Nanfan.

Their surviving children included:[2] Heathcote died suddenly of apoplexy in New York City on February 28, 1721.

A marble statue of him stands atop the Surrogate's Courthouse (former Hall of Records) at 31 Chambers Street in Manhattan.