Crystal : Hope you found that PDF (Pearse on Hyder & Moorcroft's Manasarovar journey) from the Geographical Journal.
Your question about Hyder's parentage has got me interested in his family tree (I was more interested in his journeys and in what happened to his estates during and after his time ). IPreviously, I had simply relied on Pearse's book but he has contradicted himself in the PDF or at the least confused us. So I will now try to find what info I can on Harry P Hearsey even if no writer other than Blunt states that Hyder was the son of the latter.
Now, I will share with you some more links that I had come across previously and book marked (took me a while to fish them out from my "Favourites" drop down box). It is quite likely that you may know most, or even all, of them but, even so, thee links may be useful to others reading this thread :
http://www.archive.org/stream/asiatickresearc03indigoog#page/n480/mode/2up This is from the Asiatick Researches, Vol XI and is an account of Hyder, Webb and raper's Survey of the Source of the Ganges undertaken in 1808 and writeen by Raper. Raper really takes you along with him and you get a vicarious feel for the journey!
http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1857/dec/07/major-general-hearsey-explanation This is by way of a little light relief which I enjoyed. It is an extract from the Hansard relating a debate in the Lords and centres around the question of whether or not Gen J B Hearsey was reprimanded by the Viceroy for exceeding his authority in promoting a soldier!
http://www.archive.org/stream/asiatickresearc02indigoog#page/n398/mode/2up This is an account by Moorcroft of the trip to Manasarovar undertaken by him and Hyder Hearsey in 1812. All of 160 pages and as absorbing as the Raper account.
The best of course, though it only relates to a small but important incident, is the chapter in Charles Allen's "A Mountain in Tibet" in which he relates the story, a canard, spread by the establishment of the day that Hyder had copied a map drawn by Webb and claimed it as his own. But Allen provides proof positive that Hyder Hearsey did no such thing and that the map had, in fact, been drawn by him. That he got little recognition for it nor had his legitimate claim to his estate endorsed by the Raj and the Govt of India is one reason I am interested in the story of HYH. Another, of course, is his exploration and adventures.
One more reason is my attraction for the Himalayas (which I have been to only once but would like to visit again in October). As the Skanda Purana (a sacred Hindu epic) says :
“In a thousand ages of the gods I could not tell thee of the Glory of the Himalayas .…,”
AND
"There are no mountains like the Himalays, for in them are Kailash and Manasarovar"
And Hyder Hearsey did go to Kailsah and Mansarovar, didn't he (being the first to do so with Moorcroft)?!
Hope you agree.