Seward, John Sr
Capt. John SEWARD Sr (1654 - 1748) and Abigail BUSHNELL (1660 - 1750)
my 7g-grandparents
John SEWARD Sr was born on 14 Feb 1654, in Guilford, Colony of New Haven, the son of Lieut. William SEWARD and Grace NORTON. He died on 6 Dec 1748 at age 94.
John married Abigail BUSHNELL, of Saybrook, CT on 25 Jun 1679. Abigail was born in Feb 1660 in Saybrook, daughter of William BUSHNELL and Ruth CHAPMAN. and died 30 Jun 1750, at age 90. They had been married 59 years when John died. John and Abigail had 9 children, probably all born in Guilford.
Capt. John SEWARD was a Deputy to the General Court from Guilford in 1704, 1705, 1708 and 1709. [RDS, p. 158]
His will appears to have been written 8 May 1737 probated 6 Jan 1748/49. He names his wife Abigail, and sons John, William, Daniel, Judidiah, and daughters Abigail HALL, Deborah BISHOP, Temperance BUSHNELL, son-in-law Deacon Thomas HALL.
Apparently, John Jr died 22 days after John Sr.
Descendants
1 Capt. John SEWARD Sr b: 14 Feb 1654, d: 06 Dec 1748, age 94
+ Abigail BUSHNELL b: Feb 1660, m: 25 Jun 1679, d: 30 Jun 1750, age 90
......2 Abigail SEWARD b: 25 Mar 1680, d: 28 Mar 1680, age 3 days
......2 John SEWARD Jr b: 31 Aug 1682 in Guilford, New Haven, CT, d: 28 Dec 1748 in Durham, Middlesex, CT, age 66
...... + Ruth FOWLER b: 11 Sep 1694 in Westfield, Hampden, MA, m: 1718
......2 William SEWARD b: 25 Mar 1684, d: 31 May 1764, age 80
...... + Damaris PUNDERSON b: abt. 1680, m: 19 Sep 1710 in Durham, d: 11 Mar 1741
......2 Hezekiah SEWARD b: 11 Sep 1687, d: 03 Jul 1721, age 33 ; unmarried
......2 Abigail SEWARD b: 11 Dec 1689, d: 19 Jan 1751, age 61
...... + Dea. Thomas HALL
......2 Daniel SEWARD b: 08 Apr 1692, d: 26 Oct 1753, age 61
...... + Mehitable BOREMAN m: 20 Nov 1712, d: 14 Aug 1776
......2 Deborah SEWARD b: 05 Oct 1694 in Guilford, d: 11 Feb 1775 in Guilford, CT, age 80
...... + Thomas STANLEY b: 25 Feb 1684 in Waterbury, CT, d: May 1723 in Durham, CT
....... + David BISHOP b: 06 Jun 1697 in Guilford, CT, m: 17 May 1724 in Guilford, CT, d: 20 Aug 1773 in Guilford, CT
......2 Jedidiah SEWARD b: 25 Oct 1696, d: 08 Oct 1774, age 77 ; unmarried
......2 Temperance SEWARD b: 1698, d: 1770, age 72
...... + Nathaniel BUSHNELL b: 18 Feb 1690 in Saybrook, CT, m: 8 Apr in Saybrook, CT
1. Abigail SEWARD was born 25 Mar 1680, and died 28 Mar 1680, age 3 days.
2. John SEWARD Jr was born 31 Aug 1682 in Guilford, CT, and died 28 Dec 1748 in Durham, CT, age 66. He married about 1718 to Ruth FOWLER, born 11 Sep 1694 in Westfield, Hampden, MA.
John and Ruth were my 6g-grandparents. See the John SEWARD Jr page for more information.
3. William SEWARD was born 25 Mar 1684 [FEG, p. 1074] or 25 Mar 1688 [WCF, pp. 85-6], and died 31 May 1764. His gravestone says that he died in Jun 1764, in his 81st year, which would mean he was born between Jun 1683 and Jun 1684. So I think 25 Mar 1684 is correct.
He married on 19 Sep 1710 in Durham, to Damaris PUNDERSON, daughter of John PUNDERSON Jr, of New Haven. Damaris was born about 1680, probably in New Haven, and died 11 Mar 1741, at age 60 or 61. So William lived 21 years as a widower.
1748 map on the northwest corner of New Haven village shows Punderson properties
William and Damaris lived in Durham, where their 4 children were born, and about 1730 they removed to Guilford. William became a Deacon of the church in Guilford. Later, probably after his wife's death, William moved to Killingworth, where he died. [WCF, pp. 85-6]
Durham, Guilford and Killingworth are neighboring communities. See the map on the John SEWARD Jr page.
1 Dea. William SEWARD b: 25 Mar 1684, d: 31 May 1764 in Killingworth, age 80
+ Damaris PUNDERSON b: 1680, m: 19 Sep 1710 in Durham, CT, d: 11 Mar 1741, age 60 or 61
......2 Rev. William SEWARD b: 27 Jul 1712 in Durham, CT, d: 05 Feb 1782, age 69
...... + Concurrence STEVENS
......2 David SEWARD b: 23 Jun 1714 in Durham, CT, d: 28 Jan 1801, age 86
...... + Elizabeth BUSHNELL
......2 Damaris SEWARD b: 15 Apr 1716 in Durham, CT
...... + Josiah WATEROUS
......2 Mary SEWARD b: 22 Sep 1717 in Durham, CT, d: 26 Jan 1802, age 84
...... + Dea. Dodo PIERSON
Rev. William Seward (1712-1782)
"The first who was liberally educated from the town of Durham, was the Rev. William Seward, son of Deacon William Seward and Damaris Seward. He was born July 27, 1712, and received his degree of Bachelor of Arts in Yale College in the class of 1734. He was ordained at North Killingworth, Jan. 18, 1738, and died 1782, after a ministry of 44 years. Possessing good natural talents, though he spent a portion of his time in manual labor, his acquisitions were respectable. As he preached without notes in the latter part of his life, his sermons may not have possessed all the correctness of written sermons. To all his people he was a father and a friend and from them he received continually the expressions of affection and esteem. And he had abundant reason to rejoice in the belief that the evangelical truth which he loved himself, took effect on the hearts and lives of the people of his charge, who in their turn remembered him with gratitude as their first minister, as one, too, who was a minister of God for good for many generations." [WCF, pp. 107-8]
4. Hezekiah SEWARD was born 11 Sep 1687 in Guilford, and died 03 Jul 1721 in Guilford, age 33.
5. Abigail SEWARD was born 11 Dec 1689, and died 19 Jan 1751, age 61. She married Dea. Thomas HALL.
6. Daniel SEWARD was born 8 Apr 1692, and died 26 Oct 1753, age 61. He married Mehitable BOREMAN.
1 Daniel SEWARD b: 08 Apr 1692, d: 26 Oct 1753, age 61
+ Mehitable BOREMAN m: 20 Nov 1712, d: 14 Aug 1776
......2 Abigail SEWARD b: 09 May 1714, d: 23 Jun 1790, age 75
...... + Thomas DUDLEY m: 11 Jun 1733 in Guilford, CT
......2 Anna SEWARD b: 06 Oct 1716
...... + Zechariah FIELD
......2 Daniel SEWARD b: 20 Jul 1719
...... + Martha SEWARD
......2 Rebecca SEWARD b: 23 Feb 1723
...... + Benjamin JOHNSON
......2 Hezekiah SEWARD b: 14 Feb 1727, d: 25 Oct 1751, age 24
......2 Asher SEWARD b: 14 Feb 1727 in Guilford, New Haven, CT, d: 01 Jan 1790 in Salem, Washington, NY, age 62
...... + Sarah JORDAN b: 01 Jan 1729 in Guilford, New Haven, CT, m: 01 Jan 1762 in Guilford, New Haven, CT, d: 01 Jan 1792 in Salem, Washington, NY, age 63
.........3 Jedediah SEWARD b: 10 Mar 1763 in Guilford, New Haven, CT, d: 10 Mar 1830 in Salem, Washington, NY, age 67
......2 Asenath SEWARD b: 20 Dec 1731, d: 11 Feb 1773, age 41
...... + Ezekiel MEIGS
If these facts are correct, Jedediah SEWARD died on his 67th birthday, and his mother, Sarah (JORDAN) SEWARD, died on her 63rd birthday.
7. Deborah SEWARD was born on 5 Oct 1694 in Guilford, and died 11 Feb 1775, age 80. She married (1) Thomas STANLEY, and they lived in Durham. Thomas died and Deborah married (2) David BISHOP. They lived in Guilford, and had at least 6 children.
Thomas STANLEY was baptized on 25 May 1684 in Farmington, Hartford, CT. Family records indicate that he was born 3 months earlier, on 25 Feb 1684, in Waterbury, New Haven, CT. He died in May 1723, so he was 39. His father was John STANLEY, of Farmington. Thomas STANLEY's will , written 8 May 1723, mentions his widow Deborah, and his brothers Samuel, Nathaniel, John Jr, and Timothy. It does not seem to mention any children.
1 Deborah SEWARD b: 05 Oct 1694 in Guilford, CT, d: 11 Feb 1775 in Guilford, CT
+ Thomas STANLEY b: 25 Feb 1684 in Waterbury, CT, m: 1717 in Guilford, CT, d: 30 Apr 1723 in Durham, CT
+ David BISHOP b: 06 Jun 1697 in Guilford, CT, m: 17 May 1724 in Guilford, CT, d: 20 Aug 1773 in Guilford, CT
......2 Deborah Seward BISHOP b: 17 Jan 1725 in Guilford, CT, d: 09 Jul 1805 in Killingworth, Middlesex, CT
...... + Jehiel EVARTS b: 24 Mar 1719 in Guilford, CT, m: 10 Jan 1743 in Guilford, CT, d: 03 Jan 1792 in Killingworth, Middlesex, CT
......2 Huldah BISHOP b: 05 Aug 1726 in Guilford, CT, d: 15 Sep 1735 in Guilford, CT
......2 David BISHOP b: 20 Sep 1728 in Guilford, CT, d: 25 Jun 1792 in Danbury, CT
...... + Andrea FOWLER b: 12 Sep 1724 in Guilford, CT, m: 17 Apr 1755 in Guilford, CT, d: 24 Jan 1815 in Guilford, CT
......2 Chloe BISHOP b: 15 Jul 1730 in Guilford, CT, d: 24 Dec 1791 in Saybrook, CT
...... + Handley BUSHNELL b: 1731 in Guilford, CT, m: 19 Feb 1752 in Saybrook, CT, d: 01 Jan 1811 in CT
......2 Temperance BISHOP b: 15 Oct 1733 in Woodstock, Windham, CT, d: 03 Aug 1803 in Woodstock, Windham, CT
...... + Capt. David HOLMES MD b: 11 Aug 1721 in Woodstock, Windham, CT, m: 12 Nov 1751 in Norwich, New London, CT, d: 19 Mar 1779 in Woodstock, Windham, CT
...... + Capt. John SMITH b: 14 Jun 1704 in Groton, New London, CT, m: 10 May 1727 in Groton, New London, CT, d: 22 Dec 1758 in Groton, New London, CT
......2 Sarah BISHOP b: 18 Aug 1736 in Guilford, CT, d: 08 Apr 1792 in Guilford, CT
...... + Miles HALL b: 21 Oct 1740 in Guilford, CT, m: 03 Feb 1762 in Guilford, CT, d: 26 Sep 1801 in Guilford, CT
8. Jedidiah SEWARD was born 25 Oct 1696, and died 8 Oct 1774, age 77. He was unmarried.
9. Temperance SEWARD was born about 1698, and died about 1770, age 72. She married on 8 Apr 1725 in Saybrook, CT, to Nathaniel BUSHNELL, born 18 Feb 1690 in Saybrook, CT. [Saybrook Vital Records]
Temperance and Nathaniel were 1st cousins, since Nathaniel was the son of Samuel BUSHNELL, brother of Abigail BUSHNELL, above. So Temperance and Nathaniel were both grandchildren of William BUSHNELL and Rebecca CHAPMAN. See the William BUSHNELL page.
1 Temperance SEWARD b: 1698, d: 1770
+ Nathaniel BUSHNELL b: 18 Feb 1690 in Saybrook, CT, m: 08 Apr 1725 in Saybrook, CT
......2 Nathaniel BUSHNELL b: 27 Jun 1727 in Saybrook, CT
......2 Deborah BUSHNELL b: 20 Apr 1737 in Saybrook, CT
Sources
[1748] Map of New Haven village in 1748. showing properties and structures
[1856] Map of New Haven County in 1856, showing names of property owners
[FEG] Families of Early Guilford, Connecticut, Vol II, The Seward Family, pp. 1072-88
[RDS] History of Guilford, Connecticut (1877) Ralph D. Smith
[WCF] History of Durham, Connecticut (1866) by William Chauncey Fowler
Updated 4 Dec 2020 by William Haloupek. Contact haloupek at gmail dot com.