Henrietta Shepley

## Henrietta Blishwick (née Shepley)

**Henrietta Blishwick** (née **Shepley**)(**1 April, 1887** - **12 July, 1968**) was an English pure-blood witch who attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1 September, 1898 to June of 1905. She was born in Puddletown, Dorset, England, and was the oldest daughter of Baldo Shepley and his wife Dulcibella Shepley (née Prince). She married Gerard Blishwick in July 1908 and had one daughter with him, Valerie. Valerie Blishwick later became the wife of Bartholomew Burke.

Henrietta became a widow in 1958 after the death of her husband, Gerard. When Henrietta died in 1968, she was a grandmother of one and a great-grandmother to two. She was survived by her son-in-law, Bartholomew Burke, and her grandson, Theodorus Burke, as well as Theodorus's wife, Frances, and two great-granddaughters, Helene and Beatrix.

## Biography

### Early life

Henrietta Shepley was born on 1 April, 1887, in Puddletown, Dorset, England. She was the oldest child of Baldo Shepley and his wife Dulcibella Shepley (née Prince). She had two younger sisters, Rowina and Melesina. Puddletown, the area in which Henrietta was born, is one of the many villages throughout Britain where witches and wizards settled in numbers after the International Statute of Secrecy to rely on each other for mutual support, living alongside a Muggle population, located on the river Piddle. It is home to the Puddlemere United Quidditch Team.

The Shepleys were quite a wealthy family in the mid-19th Century. Rowina's father, Baldo Shepley, was an incredibly influential elected member of the Wizenagmot. He fell on the more liberal side of the aisle, much like Henry Potter, his contemporary. Despite this, he was married to Dulcibella Prince, a member of a traditionalist pure-blood family. Later in his life, Dulcibella would influence his decisions, leading the Shepley family to take a more conservative stance.

It was believed that Shepley was so influential that he would someday become Minister for Magic, but it never came to pass. He was beaten by Archer Evermonde in the election of 1912.

#### Hogwarts years

Henrietta Shepley received her Hogwarts letter in the summer of 1898. That same summer, she visited Diagon Alley, located in London, and purchased a wand made of blackthorn and dragon heartstring from Ollivander's Wand Shop. On 1 September, 1898, she boarded the train for Hogwarts and was sorted into Slytherin House that same night.

She left the school upon completing her seventh year in June of 1905.

#### Marriage

She married Gerard Blishwick on 20 July, 1908, at the age of 21. In November of the following year, they had their only child, Valerie Blishwick.

### Later life

Valerie Blishwick began attending Hogwarts on 1 September, 1921. She was, like her parents, a member of Slytherin House. After she completed her schooling, she married Bartholomew Burke, of the Ancient House of Burke. She then moved out of her parents' house to Cannock, Staffordshire, the ancient seat of the Burkes. Henrietta Blishwick became a grandmother in 1938 when Bartholomew and Valerie had their only son, Theodorus.

Henrietta Blishwick's grandson, Theodorus Burke, was also sorted into Slytherin House on 1 September, 1950. At the age of eighteen, Theodorus Burke married Frances Travers, on 20 December, 1956. The couple had their first child in 1957, Helene. That same year, however, Henrietta's daughter, Valerie, passed away at the age of 47.

#### Widowed

On 17 February, 1958, Henrietta's husband, Gerard, passed away at the age of 70, one year after the death of their daughter. In March, 1958, her grandson Theodorus's wife gave birth to Henrietta's second great-grandchild, Beatrix.

#### Death

Henrietta Blishwick passed away at the age of 81 on 12 July, 1968, in Upper Flagley, East Yorkshire. She was survived by her son-in-law, Bartholomew Burke, her grandson, Theodorus Burke, and his wife Frances, as well as her two great-granddaughers, Helene and Beatrix Burke.

## Etymology

The name Henrietta is a girl's name of French, English origin meaning "estate ruler".