Heatly joined the East India Company as a "writer" in 1766, and later worked as a merchant.Christie's (2006) His easy manner, his family's loyalty to Britain, and his connections to other American royalists stood him in good stead within the Company at the time of the American Revolution and beyond. When Cornwallis was appointed Governor-General of India, still smarting from his military defeats in America, Heatly became a favourite.Heatly (1842), p. 823. He was Collector of Chotanagpur and Palamu by 1774Thacker & Bahadur (1940), p. 479.Hunter (1876), pp. 122-123. and by 1783 he held a similar position for Purnia. He held that position still in 1788.East India Company (1789), p. 15.
