John Bartram
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| Portrayed by Ben Whishaw - unofficial; former charcter | |
| Full Name | John Silvanus Bartram |
|---|---|
| Associated Noble House(s) | Barony Bartram of Everston |
| Date of Birth | 16th July, 1785 |
| Father | John Bartram |
| Father's Rank | Baron's son (disinherited) |
| Mother | Florentia Bartram |
| Mother's Rank | Tailor's daughter |
| Town Residence | Bartram House, 39 Berkeley Square |
| School | none |
| University | none |
| Profession | |
John Bartram is the son of John Bartram , a younger son of Baron Bartram of Everston and Florentia Bartram nee Hartwell, the daughter of a tailor. Upon their elopement in 1784, the Baron disinherited his son, leaving them in poverty. John Bartram senior died in 1789 and Florentia gave her son up to the Foundling Hospital as she was unable to support them both.
He is a former character created and played by Aida
Family
- Mother: Florentia Bartram (nee Hartwell), 1767-1798 (deceased)
- Father: John Bartram, 1763-1789 (deceased)
- Grandfather: Peregrine Bartram, 13th Baron Bartram of Everston, b.1741
- Grandmother: Sarah Bartram (nee Freye), Baroness Bartram of Everston, 1739-1800 (deceased)
- Uncle: William Bartram, 1761-1805 (deceased), married to Eleanor Sothersby, b.1770
- Aunt: Honoria Bartram, b.1768
Background
John Bartram was given to the Foundling Hospital in 1789, with a watch to be used to identify him to his parents in the future. In common with those of the other children, the watch was entered into the records of the Foundling Hospital along with a description of the child's clothing and a rudimentary family tree. The child was christened John Adams.
Adams' mother used to visit him and tell him stories of his family and her marriage to his father. Adams would tell these stories to a younger friend of his, also named John, though with the surname Turner. In 1798, John Adams' mother died and a friend brought him a pendant with miniature portraits of his parents. With this proof that the stories were true, the two boys secretly sought out the records of John Adams' admission to the orphanage and removed them from the archive. They could do nothing about their discovery at the time, and John Adams died a year later of of typhoid fever.
Deception
In 1801, John Turner was apprenticed to an apothecary. He took with him his late friend's identifying pendant and watch, his records and a store of stories about his late friend's father and family.
Two years later, he escaped from his apprenticeship and made his way to Dover, finding his way aboard a ship bound for Calais. Gradually making his way towards Paris, he improved the little French he had already acquired while working for the chemist. He did all sorts of odd jobs while in Paris, but mostly spent his time assuming fake identities in order to avoid doing any work at all. Among his identities was that of an English journalist sympathetic to the cause of the Revolution, and at the height of his pretence an impoverished French aristocrat. He used the latter identity to be taken in by an underground group of Benedictine monks hiding in an abbey in the south of France.
In 1807, when the order was discovered by the French government, Turner fled to England. First he found a job as a librarian in a Catholic household, later as a French tutor, and after that as an assistant printer in a newspaper publishing house. While working for the newspaper, he came across an advertisement about a horse for sale by a Baron Bartram of Everston.
On further research he learned that the baron was indeed his childhood friend’s grandfather. And more importantly, he had no immediate heirs. Turner’s next step was clear to him; he would assume the identity of John Bartram. Armed with the watch, the pendant and a wealth of anecdotes about the Baron’s second son, as told by his daughter-in-law, he approached the family. He told them the story of his life, omitting such details as the nature of his escapades in France, and only altered one fact, as follows: John Bartram, upon being admitted to the hospital had been baptised John Turner.
It has now been almost a year since the baron’s family have welcomed John into their household. He is making his ‘debut’ in London this season alongside his aunt Honoria.