Thomas Sheridan (soldier)

The courtship of Sheridan's parents, the soprano Elizabeth Ann Linley and the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan, was described in newspaper reports as "one of the classic romances of the west country" and stated that his mother was "the most beautiful singer in England";[2] she abandoned her career as a singer[3] when she married Richard in April 1773 as he thought her profession reflected badly on his status as a gentleman.

[b] Their eldest son, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, was appointed as High Sheriff of Dorset in 1838[15] and pursued a political career.

[5] The couple's daughters included Helen Blackwood, Baroness Dufferin and Claneboye; the feminist Caroline Norton; and Georgiana Seymour, Duchess of Somerset.

[21] While carrying out his army service under Lord Moira in Edinburgh, Sheridan was intimately involved with the wife of Peter Campbell, a wealthy businessman whose work had taken him to the West Indies.

[5][18] Like many of his relatives, including his mother and aunt, Sheridan was afflicted with tuberculosis and he moved abroad with his wife and eldest daughter to ease the symptoms; he was appointed as the Colonial Governor's treasurer at the Cape of Good Hope in 1813[12] as a result of his father's influence with the Duke of York.

[22] Four years after taking up his appointment at the Cape of Good Hope, Sheridan died of tuberculosis on 12 September 1817;[5][c] his body was transported back to Britain and buried at Wells Cathedral in his mother's grave.

Thomas Sheridan as a baby in his mother's arms, father and baby holding a flower
Thomas Sheridan as a baby painted by Benjamin West c. 1776 although Kalinsky considers it would be around 1778 as Tom seems to be approximately three years old; she also feels it is a poor depiction of his mother but qualifies this by stating West typically was not successful at reproducing women's portraits. [ 1 ]