American Seymour Genealogy

This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong.
[[149.horatio|(<-- 149. (Hon.) Horatio(6) Seymour)]] [[start|(Back to Start)]] [[151.epaphroditus|(151. Epaphroditus(6) Seymour -->)]]

====== 150. Henry Seymour ======

150. HENRY<sup>6</sup> SEYMOUR (//[[075.moses|Moses]]//<sup>5</sup>,
//[[026.moses|Moses]]//<sup>4</sup>, //[[008.John|John]]//<sup>3</sup>,
//[[003.John|John]]//<sup>2</sup>, //[[001.Richard|Richard]]//<sup>1</sup>),
born at Litchfield, Conn., 30 May 1780, died at Utica, N.Y., 26 Aug. 1837
(gravestone); married at Cazenovia, N.Y., 1 Jan. 1807, MARY LEDYARD<sup>7</sup>
FORMAN, born at Monmouth, N.J., 18 Feb. 1785, died at Utica, 16 Sept. 1859
(gravestone), daughter of Gen. Jonathan<sup>6</sup> (//Samuel//<sup>5</sup>,
//Jonathan//<sup>4</sup>, //Samuel//<sup>3</sup>, //Aaron//<sup>2</sup>,
//Robert//<sup>1</sup>) and Mary (Ledyard), of New Jersey, but at the time a
resident of Cazenovia.

General Forman removed about 1797 to Cazenovia, N.Y., where his daughter was
married. He left Princeton College at the age of nineteen to enter the army, and
served through the Revolutionary War, rising to the rank of Colonel. His wife,
Mrs. Seymour's mother, was Mary Ledyard, daughter of Capt. Youngs Ledyard, and
niece and namesake of Mary (Ledyard) Seymour, the wife of the First Mayor of
Hartford [No. 83].

Henry Seymour moved at an early age from Litchfield to Pompey Hill, N.Y., and
entered into business as a merchant. By his integrity, sound judgment, and
executive ability, he soon became well and favorably known, and from 1816 to
1819, and again in 1822, he was elected State Senator from that part of the
State then known as the Western District. In 1818 he was nominated and chosen by
the Assembly a member of the "Council of Appointment," which body had the
appointing of a great number of the civil, military and judicial officers of the
State. On 24 Mar. 1819, he was appointed one of the Commissioners in charge of
the Erie and Champlain Canals, then being constructed. He held this office, and
was actively engaged in the discharge of its duties until 1833, having in the
meantime, during the year 1819, removed his residence to Utica, of which place
he was Mayor. He resigned the office of Canal Commissioner in 1833, and was
chosen President of the Farmers' Loan and Trust Co., of the City of New York.
The change from an active life in the country to the sedentary labors of an
office in New York, destroyed his health.

Portraits of Henry Seymour and Mary Ledyard (Forman) Seymour are included in the
present volume.

^ Children, born at Pompey, N.Y., except youngest, born at Utica, N.Y.: ^^^^
| | i. | MARY FORMAN<sup>7</sup>, b. 15 Sept. 1807; m. 28 July 1828, RUTGER BLEEKER MILLER, b. 18 July 1805, s. of Judge Morris Smith and Maria(Bleeker). ||
| | | Children: ||
| | | 1. | //Blandina//<sup>8</sup>, living unm. (1880) at theOlbiston, Utica, N.Y. |
| | | 2. | //Margaret Davidson//, unm. 1880. |
| | | 3. | //Helen Lincklaen//, unm. 1880. |
| | | 4. | //Mary//, m. Andrew Heatley Green. |
| | | 5. | //Sophia S.//, m. --- Jewett. |
| | | 6. | //Sarah M.//, m. 20 Aug. 1874,John Brandegee Wood. |
| | | 7. | //Henry Rutger//. |
| | | 8. | //Julia//. |
| | | 9. | //Morris//. |
| 244. | ii. | [[244.horatio|HORATIO]], b. 31 May 1810. ||
| | iii. | SOPHIA APOLINA, b. 2 Aug. 1812; m. EDWARD F. SHONNARD of Yonkers, N.Y. ||
| 245. | iv. | [[245.john_forman|JOHN FORMAN]], b. 21 Sept. 1814. ||
| | v. | HELEN CLARISSA, b. 1 Mar. 1818; d. 4 June 1894; m. 7 Dec. 1843, LEDYARD LINCKLAEN. ||
| | | Child: ||
| | | 1. | //Helen//<sup>8</sup>, b. 1846, d. 5 May 1931;m. 1 June 1871, Hon. Charles S. Fairchild, who d. Nov. 1924. |
| | vi. | JULIA CATHERINE, b. 4 May 1827; d. at Utica, N.Y., 10 (18 by gravestone) Oct. 1893; m. at Utica, 25 June 1855, HON. ROSCOECONKLING, b. at Albany, N.Y., 30 Oct. 1829, d. at New YorkCity, 18 Apr. 1888, s. of Alfred and Eliza (Cockburn). ||
| | | Child: ||
| | | 1. | //Elizabeth C.//<sup>8</sup>, b. ---; m. 30 Apr. 1879, Walter George Oakman, of New York City. |

**HELEN CLARISSA<sup>7</sup> SEYMOUR** (1818-1894) was wife of Ledyard Lincklaen of
Cazenovia, N.Y., adopted son of Jan Lincklaen, founder of that village. The
latter had no children and at his request, by act of the Legislature, the
adopted son's name, Lincklaen Ledyard, was transposed so that the name of
Lincklaen might be perpetuated.

But Mr. and Mrs. Lincklaen had no male issue, their only child being Mrs.
Fairchild; so with Mrs. Lincklaen's death died also the honored name of
Lincklaen.

The Ledyard homestead in Cazenovia, a superb place facing the lake, with
extensive holdings of land, was one of the fine places of the region.

With an ample fortune at her disposal, Mrs. Lincklaen devoted much of her life
to works of charity. She was a member of St. Peter's Church and active in
religious matters, and the people of Cazenovia, where nearly her entire life was
spent, received many evidences of her benevolent character. Gracious, kind and
generous, she nevertheless held her opinions strongly and expressed them with
direct and emphatic speech. Her portrait, and that of her daughter, Mrs.
Fairchild, are included in the present volume.

**HELEN<sup>8</sup> LINCKLAEN** (1846-1931), only child of the above, became wife of
Hon. Charles S. Fairchild in 1871. "Lorenzo," the old Lincklaen place by the
lake at Cazenovia, was for nearly eighty-six years her home. In 1875 Mr.
Fairchild was elected Attorney-General of New York State. In 1885 he became
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and upon the resignation of Daniel Manning
he served as Secretary of the Treasury in the Cabinet of President Grover
Cleveland. The activities in public life, travel, and large business interests,
for many years kept Mr. and Mrs. Fairchild away from their home for considerable
intervals of time, but they always came back to Cazenovia and "Lorenzo" as the
center of their life and affection.

Mrs. Fairchild was a woman of rare nobility of character and of unusual
attainments, intellectual and in the graces of life, and was eminently fitted
for the varied duties and pleasures that she shared with her husband during his
long and successful career. While dispensing gracious hospitality, she found
time for extensive reading and study and the writing of books, and was deeply
interested in historical and genealogical research. She compiled from the
Journals of John Lincklaen, a record of "Travels in Pennsylvania, Vermont and
New York 1791-1792," published in 1897. She wrote the life of "Francis Adrian
Van Der Kemp," the Dutch patriot, friend of Adams and Jefferson, who came to
America in 1788, published in 1903. She was a member of the Colonial Dames, and
also of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She intensely loved her
country and its institutions; she was proud of its best traditions, and of the
great men, soldiers and statesmen, associated with its history.

Some of her benefactions were known, but most of them -- and they were numerous -- 
were bestowed in the way commended by the Scriptures. Her friends were many 
and devoted.

"After a well-spent life she passed on in the fullness of years, honored and
beloved by friends and family, and satisfied with the faith that told her of the
meetings without partings. Mrs. Fairchild was an Episcopalian by tradition and
conviction, holding firmly to the old-time teachings and practices; faithful in
her attendance upon the services of the sanctuary, and with a purse open to
appeals for the work and support of the church. In New York City, Grace Church
was her church home, and both she and Mr. Fairchild were warm friends of the
late Rev. William R. Huntington. But she always looked upon St. Peters,
Cazenovia, as her own. It was the parish church of her family and ever dear in
her sight. It was from St. Peters that all that was mortal of this good and
noble woman was carried to the family plot in our beautiful cemetery, there to
remain until the Archangel's trumpet shall sound the everlasting morn." [//The
Cazenovia Republican//, 28 May 1931.]

**JULIA CATHERINE<sup>7</sup> SEYMOUR** (1827-1893) was born at Utica, N.Y., in the
then new Seymour homestead on Whitesboro Street, the youngest sister of Gov.
Seymour and of Mrs. Lincklaen. She became the wife of Senator Roscoe Conkling in
June 1855, being married by the Rev. S. Hanson Coxe, D.D., of Utica.

She was a communicant of Trinity Church during the rectorship of Dr. Coxe, and
upon his resignation in 1877 she became connected with Calvary Church, a
connection she retained until her death. She was the regent and founder of the
Oneida Chapter of the Daughters of the Revolution, and took a lively interest in
this organization. Just previous to her last illness, she was planning a series
of historical papers to be delivered by eminent specialists in Revolutionary
history before this society.

Although not officially connected with charitable organizations, her charities
and benefactions were numerous and munificent. Of late years she spent a portion
of each winter at her daughter's residence in New York, and a portion of the
summer at Mr. Oakman's cottage at Southampton, Long Island. During Mr.
Conkling's public career, she entertained many dignitaries of the land, both
civil and military. At Washington and Utica, her hospitality was noted for its
charming grace and dignity.

A Washington friend wrote: "I remember Mrs. Roscoe Conkling in the first years
of the [Civil] War, when she shone in Washington, where she devoted much time
and energy to the sick soldiers in the hospitals. She looked like some worthy
chatelaine of the Middle Ages, as she came from her errands of mercy, 'with a
pale cheek, and yet a brow inspired,' and yet she was always composed, gentle,
and firm. At dinner parties we used to say that Senator and Mrs. Conkling were
the handsomest pair in Washington.

"I was at a dinner with her at Governor Morgan's, given to General Grant after
he was elected, but before the inauguration. Mrs. Conkling, looking splendid in
a blue brocade with pearls, was taken in by Senator Sumner. After dinner I had a
few words with him. I said: 'I have been so fortunate as to sit next to Mr.
Conkling, and we have talked poetry.' Senator Sumner replied: 'I have been so
lucky as to sit next to Mrs. Conkling, and we have talked sense. Do you know,
she is one of the few women who //can// talk sense.' "

She was characterized as a woman without vanity, though beautiful; without undue
pride, though of aristocratic lineage and connections; a woman pure, self-
contained, silent, yet overflowing with sympathy. Her portrait is included in
the present volume.

\\ [[149.horatio|(<-- 149. (Hon.) Horatio(6) Seymour)]] [[start|(Back to Start)]] [[151.epaphroditus|(151. Epaphroditus(6) Seymour -->)]]