Family bereavement made Suckling Nelson's patron

The deaths of Suckling's wife and his sister Catherine left him without children of his own and made his nephews and nieces a direct family responsibility. Catherine's widower Edmund was overwhelmed by grief, so Suckling and his brother helped divide responsibility for the children. Suckling initially doubted whether the weak young Horatio could endure sea service, but accepted him aboard HMS Raisonnable. Backdating Nelson's entry by a few months gave the boy useful seniority without displacing a demonstrated officer, illustrating the practical favors a family patron could provide.