Table of Contents
Seymour Family Papers, 1724-1856
A Guide to the collection at the Connecticut Historical Society
Collection Overview |
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| Repository: | Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Connecticut |
| Creator : | Seymour family |
| Title : | Seymour Family Papers |
| Dates : | 1724-1856 |
| Extent : | 0.5 linear feet (1 box) |
| Location: | Ms 100743 |
| Language: | English |
Biographical Sketch
The papers in this collection come from Thomas Seymour III and his relatives. Col. Thomas Seymour was born at Hartford 17 March 1735, the son of Thomas Seymour II, and died at Hartford 30 July 1829. He was married to Mary Ledyard and together had 7 children: Thomas Youngs, William, Edward, Henry Seymour (the father of CT governor Thomas Henry Seymour), Mary Juliana (who married John Chenevard), Ledyard, and Samuel. Col. Seymour has a long list of accomplishments and was a central figure in Hartford during his lifetime. After graduating from Yale he served as the King’s Attorney in 1767, and after the Revolution as the State’s Attorney. During the Revolution he was commissioned a Captain of Militia in 1773, promoted to Lt. Col. in 1774 and led 3 regiments of light cavalry to aid the Continental Army in NY during the summer of 1776. Seymour also served as Head of the Committee of Pay Table. Politically Seymour represented Hartford at the General Assembly at 18 sessions between 1774 and 1793 serving as Speaker 5 times. Between 1793 and 1803 he was annually elected to the Connecticut Senate (then the House of Assistants) and after Hartford’s incorporation as a city in 1784 he became the first mayor and served in that position until his resignation in May of 1812.
For more information on the Seymour family see A History of the Seymour Family by Donald Lines Jacobus. Col. Thomas’ biographical sketch can be found on pages 153-161, and the book can be found in the CHS Reading Room call number: RR 929.2 S521j.
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Scope and Content
The folders are arranged alphabetically and the material within each folder is arranged chronologically. The collection begins with assorted correspondence, which includes an order concerning plaster of Paris and fish, and then bills, receipts and promissory notes which are separated into Seymour family, Henry Seymour, Thomas Seymour and non-Seymour family. Among Thomas Seymour’s financial papers is an account with the Colony of Connecticut for his expenses as King’s Attorney, 1770-1771. Within his correspondence is a letter concerning a case between Baxter and Miller about the sale of a Negro man.
Deeds have been organized into three groups: those involving Gershom Butler of Middletown, those of Thomas Seymour, and assorted deeds for lands in Hartford and other towns within the state. Estate and probate papers include the will and estate inventory of Gershom Butler and financial records from William Ellery’s estate, for which Henry Seymour served as administrator.
The government papers contain the 1754 tax list for inhabitants of Hartford on the west side of the Connecticut River, contemporary copies of town meeting minutes and a voters list from Hartland, 1762-1763, financial records for school districts in Hartford, a record of the proprietors’ vote on the common and undivided land of Windsor, East Windsor, and Ellington from 1787,a license for a still, 1798, two documents relating to the Committee of Arrangements for Receiving the President, 1833, and the appointment of Henry Seymour to be a Commissioner of the Farmington River Turnpike, 1837. The indenture and apprenticeship papers contain one apprenticeship for a boy to learn the art of wagon and carriage making and another for a poor girl whose parents could not care or provide for her to reside with another family and to learn the art of housewifery. The material on the Kieth genealogy was used by Henry Seymour in a probate case and traces the four Kieth brothers (William, John, James, and Alexander) who came from Scotland to America.
The legal papers are an excellent part of the collection. They include lawyers’ correspondence, bonds, depositions, testimonies, complaints and other court papers pertaining to trials of theft, buggery, property destruction, slave ownership, and illegitimate children. Thomas Seymour’s legal papers consist of complaints, and one power of attorney document.
The military papers include orders to the Connecticut militia to march to New York in 1776 to serve under General Washington, and some pay records. The property sale records include deeds of land sales as well as one record of the sale of a slave from 1754. The sheriff orders are writs of execution. These are followed by summons.
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Restrictions
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions on access to the collection.
Use Restrictions
Use of the material requires compliance with the Connecticut Historical Society's Research Center regulations.
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Subject Headings
Personal Names
Family Names
Subjects
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Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Item, Collection Title, Collection number (Box #, Folder #). Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Connecticut.
Processing Details
Collection was processed by Blake Fisher in 2009.
EAD Finding Aid created June 2011.
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Contents:
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Return to the Table of Contents Papers |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Assorted correspondence, 1798-1889 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Bills, receipts and promissory notes, assorted Seymour family, 1752-1813 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Henry Seymour bills, receipts and promissory notes, 1796-1841 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Non Seymour bills, receipts and promissory notes, 1740-1856 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Thomas Seymour bills, receipts and promissory notes, 1753-1809 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Thomas Seymour correspondence, 1744-1772 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | Gershom Butler deeds, 1724-1801 | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | Thomas Seymour deeds, 1725-1798 | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | Estate and probate records, 1754-1820 | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | Government papers, 1754-1837 | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Indentures and apprenticeships, 1813, 1844 | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Keith family genealogy, 1805 | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | Land surveys and appraisals, 1726-1769 | |||||||||
| 1 | 14 | Legal papers, 1740-1814 | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 | Thomas Seymour legal papers, 1754-1793, undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | Military papers, 1776, 1779 | |||||||||
| 1 | 17 | Property sale records, 1724-1768 | |||||||||
| 1 | 18 | Property sale records, 1770-1842 | |||||||||
| 1 | 19 | Sheriff orders/writs of execution, 1754-1814 | |||||||||
| 1 | 20 | Summonses, 1758-1798 | |||||||||