American Seymour Genealogy

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[[170.david|(<-- 170. David(6) Seymour)]] [[start|(Back to Start)]] [[172.william|(172. William(6) Seymour -->)]]

====== 171. Thomas Youngs Seymour ======

[[i470.thomas|{{ i470.thomasyoungs.jpg?400}}]]

171. MAJ. THOMAS YOUNGS<sup>6</sup> SEYMOUR
(//[[083.thomas|Thomas]]//<sup>5</sup>, //[[028.thomas|Thomas]]//<sup>4</sup>,
//[[009.Thomas|Thomas]]//<sup>3</sup>, //[[003.John|John]]//<sup>2</sup>,
//[[001.Richard|Richard]]//<sup>1</sup>), born at Hartford, Conn., 19 June 1757,
died there 16 May 1811: married first, 1781, his cousin, MARY ANN<sup>3</sup>
LEDYARD, born at Groton, Conn., 16 Feb. 1763, died at Hartford, 9 Mar. 1782,
daughter of Col. William<sup>2</sup> (John<sup>1</sup>) and Anne (Williams);
married second, 30 Oct. 1784, SUSAN BULL, born about 1763, died at Hadley,
Mass., 9 Jan. 1846, daughter of Amos and Mindwell (Pease).

Thomas Y. Seymour was graduated from Yale College in 1777. In January of his
senior year, he was offered a commission by Col. Elisha Sheldon in the Second
Continental Regiment of Dragoons, and accepted it, serving after his graduation
in that organization during the summer and fall of 1777 and 1778, being with
General Gates in the Northern Department. His military record is:

Lieutenant, January 10, 1777: Captain, October 20, 1777 in Colonel Sheldon's
Light Dragoons; detached with his company to serve under Gates in Burgoyne's
campaign and actively engaged. Resigned, 23 November, 1778. Member of the
Society of the Cincinnati.

He participated actively in the Battle of Saratoga and at the Surrender of
Burgoyne, acting as an aid on the staff of General Benedict Arnold. His company
was called "the Blacks" from the color of their horses.

Col. Thomas Seymour of Hartford, afterwards the First Mayor, wrote to Governor
Trumbull, 22 Sept. 1777.

<blockquote>
"Sir\\
I have the Honor to inclose your Excellency Copy of my Sons Letter, &\\
hope it may give some pleasure & Satisfaction-- I am with very great\\
Esteem\\
Your Exc<sup>lys</sup>\\
most ob<sup>t</sup>\\
humble serv<sup>t</sup>\\
Tho<sup>s</sup> Semour"
</blockquote>

The enclosed letter, a copy of that written from Camp by Thomas Y. Seymour,
reads:

<blockquote>
"Hon<sup>d</sup> Sir\\

I now attempt to give a relation of an Engag[e]ment between the Enemys\\
whole Force & Gen<sup>l</sup>. Arnolds Division, it began in the morning of the 19<sup>th</sup>.\\
instant between some Advanced Parties till noon, soon after which it became\\
General, and an unusual Fire continued the whole day, we obliging the Enemy\\
to quit the Field for three times, though they obstinately contended to keep\\
possession of it, -- the Action was Bloody & would undoubtedly have been\\
decided, had not the Night parted us.--in the Course of the day 1000 were killed\\
of the Enemy, & 46 taken Prisoners all british Troops, as they were in Front,\\
& we lost in the above Action 34 kill'd 120 wounded & missing.--Some officers\\
of Distinction were lost on our side, such as two Colonels and some of a\\
less degree, the Militia of our State was engaged, & behaved bravely--Cap<sup>t</sup>\\
Wadsworth of Hartford in particular has done himself eternal Honor, tho'\\
I am afraid [the] good man is mortally wounded--One of M<sup>r</sup> Tucker's Sons\\
was instantly killed after acting the soldier.--Our Tents are all Struck, and\\
we momently expect to put an end to the Warr in this department, god\\
grant us success in a day so big with Jmportant Events--Gen<sup>l</sup> Lincoln is in\\
the Rear of the Enemy, & will disappoint all possible hopes of their Retreat;\\
their Situation, a[s] I observed in a former Letter is desperate, for they\\
fought as if it was so, yet the Spirit of our Troops & Consciousness of the\\
Justice of our Cause made us an Overmatch for them--The Army still\\
Continue in Spirits and are doubly animated from the late Engag[e]ment--\\
I still Continue to be in health notwithstanding I experience great fatigues--\\
I am &c--\\
Tho<sup>s</sup> Semour\\
P.S. Various Reports say Gen<sup>l</sup> Burgoyne rec<sup>d</sup>. a fatal Shot in the Action\\
abovementioned--we are this day joined by 200 Indians of the Onoiada Tribe\\
& with the Riflemen are now gone to beat up the Enemys quarters--This\\
Letter I hope will be excused as it was written on my knee under Arms--\\
Camp advanced of Still Water Sep<sup>r</sup> 20th 1777."
</blockquote>

Burgoyne's letter to Gen. Gates, 14 Nov. 1777, which got him into such very hot
water with the Continental Congress, was transmitted by Captain Seymour.

After the surrender of Burgoyne, he was selected by Gen. Gates to escort the
captive general to Boston, and performed this delicate duty so much to
Burgoyne's satisfaction that at the end of the trip he presented him with a
magnificent saddle and leopard skin saddle cloth and a brace of silver mounted
pistols, which Captain Seymour always took pleasure in using when in command of
the Governor's Horse Guards of which he was one of the original members and its
second commander.

In Trumbull's picture of the "Surrender of Burgoyne," hanging in the rotunda of
the Capitol at Washington, Captain Seymour is represented in the foreground
mounted on a black charger.

He resigned from the army in November, 1778, and took up the study of law in the
City of Philadelphia. It is said that he visited Europe during this year, and
devoted his particular attention to the study of military science in France. In
1780 he returned to Hartford and began the practice of law, having been admitted
to the bar in that year. He acted as State's Attorney for Hartford County from
1796 to 1807, and represented the Town of Hartford in the General Assembly of
the State of Connecticut at six sessions between 1795 and 1806. He was an active
member in and one of the Committee of Correspondents in 1791 in an Anti-Slavery
Society then existing in Connecticut, organized and carried on for the purpose
of accomplishing the abolition of slavery in this country.

In 1787, a proposal was made to establish a volunteer troop of cavalry in
Hartford County, to be called the Governor's Horse Guards, to be composed of
some of the officers of the late army. Major Seymour was for some years
commander of this organization, which included some of the wealthiest and most
prominent citizens of Hartford, resigning in 1796.

In 1807 his health failed him, his mind becoming unbalanced, and he retired from
business, never to return. He died May 16, 1811, at Hartford, aged fifty-four
years.

[[I470.thomas|A miniature of Major Seymour, painted by
Trumbull in 1792]] is in the Trumbull Collection in the Yale Art School and is
illustrated herein.

Susan Bull Seymour, the second wife of Major Seymour, after his death applied
for a pension, and in support of her claim filed, as she was required,
affidavits to properly prove her right to same, which affidavits are on file in
the Pension Office at Washington.

<blockquote>
"I, Susan Seymour, formerly Susan Bull, hereby certify that the annexed\\
record taken from my Prayer Book is a true record of my marriage to\\
Thomas Y. Seymour, and the oldest record I possess.\\
(Signed) Susan Seymour.\\
Sworn to, etc."
</blockquote>

Then follows a page cut out of an old prayer book, being Psalter for the
thirtieth day, Psalms CXLVIII, CXLIX and CL, and in a woman's hand writing an
entry in ink as follows:

<blockquote>
"Thomas Y. Seymour married to Susan Bull, 30 Oct., 1784.\\
Their Children.\\
Tho. S. Seymour, born 6 Sept., 1785.\\
Mary Ann Seymour, born 16 June. 1789.\\
John Jay Seymour, born 5 Oct., 1791.\\
Charlotte Ann Seymour, born 19 Oct., 1794.\\
James Davenport Seymour, born 19 Dec., 1797,\\
who died 2 June, 1802.\\
Susan Elizabeth Seymour, born 6 May, 1800.\\
James Edward Seymour, born 21 Dec., 1802.\\
Egbert Davenport Seymour, born 9 Oct., 1806."
</blockquote>

In addition, she filed the following:

<blockquote>
"Being requested on behalf of Mrs. Seymour, widow of Thomas Y.\\
Seymour, Esqr., late of Hartford, deceased. to state what I know respecting\\
the said Seymour having served in the American Army during the Revolutionary\\
War, do say, that all the information I have was derived from said\\
Seymour himself with whom I was in habits of friendly intercourse for many\\
years after the war. Major Seymour told me that he belonged to the Army\\
of 1776, and served in New York in the memorable campaign of that year.\\
That he belonged to the Northern Army in 1777 and was present at the surrender\\
of Burgoyne, and that he then commanded the only troop of horse that\\
belonged to that army. That he escorted the British officers to their station\\
in the neighborhood of Boston, and that he received from Gen. Burgoyne a\\
present of a very beautiful leopard skin to be used as a cover for the saddle\\
in testimony of the General's estimation of the civil and obliging manner in\\
which he performed his duty. The leopard skin I have often seen Major\\
Seymour use while commanding the Horse Guards in this town. And I\\
further say that according to my recollection, I have heard Major Seymour\\
say he retired from the Army in the year 1778 and entered upon the study\\
of the law."\\
Hartford, Aug. 13, 1838.\\
(Signed) Nathl. Terry.\\
Sworn to, etc.\\
New Haven, 11 Aug., 1836.
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
Mr. Jesse Charlton,\\
Sir:\\
Your letter of the 9th is received, and in reply I have to say that I left\\
the service in February, 1777, about the time that Col. Sheldon's Regiment of\\
Light Horse (in which Mr. T. Y. Seymour commanded a company of troop),\\
was raised. I therefore had personally no knowledge of his military service.\\
But his reputation for gallantry and faithful conduct was such and so unquestioned\\
that I felt myself perfectly justified in introducing his portrait in the\\
picture of the Surrender of Burgoyne, and I have not the smallest doubt that\\
his widow has a just title to whatever compensation the Government of the\\
United States are accustomed to bestow upon the widows of their meritorious\\
deceased officers of the Revolutionary War. With hearty wishes that Mrs.\\
Seymour's application may be successful, I am, Sir,\\
Your obedient servant,\\
(Signed) Jno. Trumbull.
</blockquote>

The will of Susan Seymour of Bridgeport, Conn., dated 31 Dec. 1838, proved in
Hampshire County, Mass., 5 May 1846, gave all her property to her daughter, Mary
Ann Woodbridge, wife of Rev. John. At the time of her death, she was of Hadley
where she had been spending her declining years at the home of her daughter,
Mrs. Woodbridge. A daughter, Charlotte Ann Clark, appealed from the proving of
the will; the testator had become insane and was sent to Worcester in 1843.

^ Children by second wife: ^^^^
| 262. | i. | [[262.thomas_s|THOMAS S.]]<sup>7</sup>, b. 6 Sept. 1785. ||
| | ii. | MARY ANN, b. 16 June 1789; d. at Hadley, Mass., 16 Jan. 1858; m. at Hartford, 4 May 1814, REV. JOHN<sup>7</sup> WOODBRIDGE, D.D., b. at Southampton, Mass., 24 Dec. 1784, d. at Waukegan, Ill., 26 Sept. 1869, s. of Dr. Sylvester<sup>6</sup> (John<sup>5</sup>, John<sup>4</sup>, John<sup>3</sup>, John<sup>2</sup>, John<sup>1</sup>) and Mindwell (Lyman). Nine children.((See the Woodbridge Genealogy (1883). There were eight daughters and one son, whowas the eighth John Woodbridge in direct line. We are informed that the latter's son,John<sup>9</sup> Woodbridge, enlisted with the Canadian forces at the beginning of the World War,and was killed at Vimy Ridge.)) ||
| | iii. | JOHN JAY, b. 5 Oct. 1791; supposed to have been drowned while escaping from a British vessel in Chesapeake Bay, having been impressed into the British service. ||
| | iv. | CHARLOTTE ANN, b. 19 Oct. 1794; d. at Colorado Springs, Colo., 13 July 1873; m. at Hartford, 23 May 1816, MAJ. NATHAN CLARK of Cincinnati, Ohio, b. 7 May 1789, d. at Fort Winnebago, Mich., 18 Feb. 1836. He was in the War of 1812, where be distinguished himself, and brevet Major for ten years' meritorious service. Six children. ||
| | v. | JAMES DAVENPORT, b. 19 Dec. 1797; d. 2 June 1802. ||
| | vi. | SUSAN ELIZABETH, b. 6 May 1800; d. at Brooklyn, N.Y., 11 Feb. 1879; m. 15 Nov. 1820, STEPHEN HOPKINS FULLER, M.D., b. at Vershire, Vt., 20 Apr. 1791, d. 25 Apr. 1865, s. of Rev. Stephen and Phebe (Thurston). ||
| | | Children: ||
| | | 1. | //Lydia Marion//, b. 9 Dec. 1821. |
| | | 2. | //Mary Ann Seymour//, b. 7 Mar. 1824, d. 22 Aug. 1846. |
| | | 3. | //Robert James//, b. 18 Apr. 1827, d. 1 Nov. 1860; m. Nov. 1856, Eleanor Norton Williams. |
| | | 4. | //Helen Maria//, b. 10 Apr. 1830, d. 8 June 1845. |
| | | 5. | //George McKean//, b. 31 Jan. 1833; m. 22 Oct. 1857, Mary Ann Batterson. |
| | | 6. | //Stephen Edward//, b. 8 Dec. 1836; used the Seymour wings on his seal in 1880; res. Brooklyn, N.Y.; m. (1) Julia Seymour Comstock; m. (2) 7 Feb. 1872, Jeannie M. Keyes. |
| | | 7. | //Joseph Egbert//, b. 24 Feb. 1840; m. 24 Dec. 1869, Cora Rebecca Fuller. |
| | vii. | JAMES EDWARD, b. 21 Dec. 1802; d. 10 Mar. 1816. ||
| | viii. | EGBERT DAVENPORT, b. 9 Oct. 1806; d. at Charleston, S.C., in 1837; m. at New York, N.Y., in 1828, SARAH ANN WILLIAMS, of Jamaica, L.I. They had one daughter:\ I. Elvira Adelaide<sup>8</sup>, b. at New York, 15 May 1829; m. at Paris, Pa., 20 June 1850, James Ferdinand Taunt, of Buffalo, N.Y.; res. Washington, D.C. Two children. ||

**MARY ANN<sup>7</sup> (SEYMOUR) WOODBRIDGE** (1789-1858). Of Mary Ann Seymour,
Major Thomas' second child, afterwards Mrs. John Woodbridge, I read:

<blockquote>
Her elegant form, her noble and benignant countenance, her kind manners and\\
gentle tones, and even her white dimity dress and black mantle, were well and\\
long remembered (p.86). She had the rare merit of daring to be singular, more\\
mild and more uniformly genial, with more blandness of manner and much\\
more //tact// than her husband, she was equally brave and detennined. ("The\\
New England Minister of Sixty Years Ago," by Rev. Sereno D. Clark, Boston,\\
1877, pp. 80-90.)
</blockquote>

The book in question contains accounts of several Seymours, -- members of Mrs.
Woodbridge's immediate family.

**STEPHEN EDWARD<sup>8</sup> FULLER** (1836- ), of Brooklyn, N.Y., used the two
wings conjoined in lure, forming the paternal coat of the family, in his
correspondence, at least as early as 1880, prior to the appearance of the
alleged Seymour Bible. This was the same heraldic device employed by his
ancestor, Thomas Seymour, the First Mayor, in sealing his will in 1807, and also
by the latter's father. His wife was a granddaughter of the family beauty, Mary
Juliana Seymour, and thus a cousin of Mr. Fuller.

\\ [[170.david|(<-- 170. David(6) Seymour)]] [[start|(Back to Start)]] [[172.william|(172. William(6) Seymour -->)]]