American Seymour Genealogy

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==== John Thomas SEYMOUR Sr & Anne --- ====

Father: **John Thomas SEYMOUR Sr**, b. ABT 1672, Isle of Wight Virginia, d. Is alive at least till 1742

NOTE ISLE OF WIGHT BECOMES PART OF BRUNSWICK COUNTY AND BRUNSWICK BECOMES PART OF LUNENBURG., HALIFAX BREAKS OFF FROM LUNENBURG COUNTY.  THUS THE SEYMOURS DO NOT MOVE TO A LOT OF DIFFERENT VIRGINIA AREAS BUT ARE BASICALLY IN THE SAME GENERAL VICINITY. John Thomas Seymour's birth year based on a court case below where he petitions the court for relief of taxes in 1742 and declares he is 70 years old. There is a marriage in Essex County which borders Isle of Wight where a John Seemer marries a Bates relict which is another name for a widow. This fits the time frame as Thomas Seymour is supposedly born around 1690-1700  All notes from Sarah Seymour Douglas .The following from "Cavaliers and Pioneers" Vol. 3, pg. 386. Thomas Semore of Isle of Wight Co.; 345 acres (N.L.=New Land) Brunswick Co. on south side of Waqua Creek ; adjoining John Winfield; 28 Sep 1728, pg. 73. This record from pg. 334 & 335 of ...Royal Government Land Patents issued from 1722-1732. Later this land is sold to George Tillman. Thomas Seymor Senr. to
George Tillman Junr. 5th of April 1739, 345 acres for the sum of 18 pounds sterling. Wife
Anne gives her approval in private session with Court Recorder.
So....this appears to be the same land he purchased in 1728 and now selling to Tillman. Many people attribute this land to Thomas Jr. however it is rather obvious that this land is his father's as Thomas Seymour was not married to a woman named Ann, but his will lists his wife as Sarah. Ann is his mother. Indeed in a later land sale it details the land on Waqua Creek that once belonged to Thomas Seymour Sr. see reads as follows: Indenture made 25 March 1751, between George Tillman, Junr. of Brunswick County, and John Wall of St. Andrews Parish, Brunswick County, £10, on North side of Waqua Creek, 40a, being part of a tract of Land heretofore granted to Thomas Seamore Senr. by Letters patent and being part of the same land the said Thomas Seamore conveyed to the said George Tillman. Signed George Tillman. Wit: William Scogin, John Scogin, William Scogin (bhm). Court 26 March 1751, Indenture acknowledged by George Tillman, Junr. Deed Book 5, Page 59-61. From Andre Mann some info on John Thomas Seymour
In will of James Jordan, Thomas Seymour is named as the father of John Seymour.

Thomas appears in court to petition for relief of taxes because he is "70 years old and not able to labor." (April 4, 1742)
Court rejects petition. Ref: Brunswick County, VA OB 2 p 107 (unindexed)....                                               There are no known parents for the father of John Thomas Seymour Sr, and the official lineage stops here,  however there are some theories on this. One which is not properly documented shows John Thomas Seymour Sr as having a father named George Owen  Seymour and then George Seymour having a father named Owen Seymour.I got this lineage in the mail and no one who sent it or copied was able to say where they got it originally or who supposedly documented it. I  am not doubting it as a possibility. I just have not been able to find info on it.  While Owen Seymour was definitely an early Seymour in Isle of Wight having land in 1637 on Lawnes Creek, the connection past that point can't be made. There is a disconnect between these generations. and while there is adequate proof that Owen existed and came to the Isle of Wight in 1637(or thereabouts according to the headright of Justinian Cooper) I have never found one single solitary piece of evidence that shows a George Seymour as a son of Owen  in early Virginia. This does not mean he did not exist as early records are obviously not complete. Owen Seymour can be found in Maryland as late as 1644 in two court cases .and is never seen again.  In one court case in 1644 Owen is trying to get out of his indenture and mentions going to Piscataway for the Governor to fight Indians and also going to the New Dutch. The Indian fort was in New Jersey and New Dutch is New York.  Perhaps these are clues as to Owens whereabouts.  I think it is more likely that John Thomas Seymour Sr's father may have been a man named Thomas Seymour  who was found in 1654 Lancaster County Virginia owing tobacco to a man named John Carter. Witnesses to this court case are Tobias Horton and Thomas Madesread.  The interesting thing about Lancaster County is its early tie in to Isle of Wight Virginia. In the early 1650's 18,000 acres of land was opened up in Lancaster County to mostly Puritan Isle of Wight families. It is my belief that perhaps the Isle of Wight Seymour  family began with this Thomas Seymour. It should be noted that this Lancaster County Virginia Thomas Seymour of 1654 is definitely in Maryland in 1655 on St Leonards Creek and later buys a property in Talbot County Maryland more land in  1658 he calls Summerton. (Possibly a clue to his ancestry in England as England has three parishes in different counties called Somerton ) . The Thomas of Lancaster County   Virginia can be tied to the Maryland Thomas by circumstances of politics and religion and by his neighbors. At this time in Virginia Puritans were chased from Virginia due to Gov William Berkeley as the Puritans had come out on the wrong side of English Civil War and were looked upon with disfavor for a time in Virginia. and literally kicked out.  Also every one of Lancaster County neighbors of Thomas on the court case ,Thomas Madesford, Tobias Horton and many, many  others make the move to nearby Maryland in 1655 and can be found in court cases there, even identified as Lancaster County Virginia families in the archives of Maryland.  .. Around the 1660's the Puritan ban is lifted and some of the Maryland rejects come back to Lancaster County Virginia while others head back to Isle of Wight and Northumberland.  Because Isle of Wight was so heavily settled by Puritans, (Lawnes Creek and Southwark Parish were full of Puritan families ) and John Thomas Seymour Sr was supposedly born in Isle of Wight I believe the Thomas Seymour of Lancaster is a probable candidate for his father. There may indeed by a tie in to the Owen Seymour of Isle of Wight and Maryland in 1637-1644 but the connection can't quite be made. Also it is possible that the Seymours stayed in Maryland as late as 1695 when Summerton property is sold by a James Seymour. I have never quite figured out why John Thomas Seymour Sr and Jr have their birthplaces listed so certainly as Isle of Wight.  Because there is no sign of the Seymour family in Isle of Wight between the years of 1660 and 1728, no property, no marriages (I have had that checked ), no parish records that I know of, I often wonder if the Seymours were not in another part of Virginia or even Maryland. The very first mention of this John Thomas Seymour Sr being in Isle of Wight is on a land document in 1728 Brunswick County which calls him Thomas Seymour formerly of Isle of Wight. However, it should be noted that this does not mean he was born in Isle of Wight merely that he last resided there and i often wonder if the individuals who put his birthplace there did so because of this one land record. It is worth considering  other areas, as if the focus is so narrow as to only consider Isle of Wight County Virginia additional possibilites may be overlooked and the truth may lie elsewhere in Lancaster County or even Maryland.  I have included this info in case others may be interested in my research and my theory and because info and knowlege and research often disappears from the internet. It is at this point that I wish to acknowledge  John Seymour who is now deceased for all the early help on the detailed investigation into the early neighbor comparisons for Virginia and Maryland. I also wish to thank Darrell Dunlop whose research , counsel and feedback has so assisted my own search.on the early Seymours. His open mind and fine eye for detail keeps me going. and enthusiastic and I hope further research can bring  us closer to the actual beginnings of the Seymours in the New World.

Mother: **Anne ---**

Child:
  - [[F188|John Thomas SEYMOUR Jr]], b. 1690/1700, Isle of Wight Virginia, d. 3 Jul 1749, Lunenburg County  Virginia

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