Seward, William
William SEWARD (1627 - 1689) and Grace NORTON (? - 1704)
my 8g-grandparents
Lieut. William SEWARD was born about 1627 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, and died on 2 Mar 1689 in Guilford, New Haven, Colony of Connecticut. He was a tanner, and passed on his skills to his sons, Caleb in particular. William may have been in Taunton, Massachusetts Bay Colony, in 1643, but he soon removed to the Colony of New Haven, where he swore an oath of fidelity on 4 Mar 1654.
1790 map of south central Connecticut
New Haven Colony was established in 1637, and merged with the Colony of Connecticut in 1664.
William married Grace NORTON, daughter of Thomas NORTON and Grace WELLS, of Guilford, on 2 Apr 1651. They had 9 children, probably all in Guilford. William died on 2 Mar 1689, age 62, in Guilford, and Grace died 5 Mar 1704, age unknown.
Their sons, Joseph and Caleb removed to Durham, Hartford, CT between 1699 and 1702, where they were among the earliest settlers of that town. John SEWARD joined them later, as he was still in Guilford in 1709. Stephen SEWARD was an invalid, and was provided for in his father's will, so he lived to age 24 at least. He was to be taken care of by his brother John.
Lieut. William SEWARD was a leading citizen of Guilford, leader of the local train band, and often represented the town in the General Assembly. At the time of his death he had considerable property, as detailed in his will, described in [MEQB, pp. 239-40].
1 Lieut. William SEWARD b: 1627 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, d: 02 Mar 1689 in Guilford, New Haven, CT, age 62
... + Grace NORTON m: 02 Apr 1651 in Guilford, New Haven, CT, d: 05 Mar 1704
......2 Capt. John SEWARD b: 14 Feb 1654, d: 06 Dec 1748, age 94
...... + Abigail BUSHNELL b: mid Feb 1660 in Saybrook, CT, m: 25 Jun 1679, d: 30 Jun 1750, age 90
......2 Mary SEWARD b: 28 Feb 1652, d: 1688, age 36
...... + John SCRANTON m: 12 Mar 1673, d: 02 Sep 1703
......2 Dr. Joseph SEWARD b: 1655, d: 14 Feb 1732, age 77
...... + Judith BUSHNELL b: Jan 1655 in Saybrook, CT, m: 5 or 7 Feb 1681/82, d: 17 Nov 1740
......2 Samuel SEWARD b: 20 Aug 1659, died young
......2 Caleb SEWARD b: 14 Mar 1662, d: 02 Aug 1728
...... + Lydia BUSHNELL b: 1661 in Saybrook, CT, m: 14 Jul 1686, d: 24 Aug 1753
......2 Stephen SEWARD b: 06 Aug 1664, d: aft. 2 Mar 1689
......2 Samuel SEWARD b: 08 Feb 1667, d: 08 Apr 1689, age 22; unmarried
......2 Hannah SEWARD b: 08 Feb 1670
...... + Joseph HAND
...... + John TUSTIN
......2 Ebenezer SEWARD b: 13 Dec 1672, d: 17 Oct 1701, age 28; kicked by horse, unmarried
Brothers John, Joseph and Caleb SEWARD married sisters Abigail, Judith and Lydia BUSHNELL, daughters of William BUSHNELL and Rebecca CHAPMAN, of Saybrook, CT. [HFS, vol 2, pp. 511-33]
There is a persistent rumor that William H. SEWARD, who was Secretary of State under President Lincoln, was a descendant of John SEWARD and Abigail BUSHNELL, above. I have not found evidence of this.
Sources
[FEG] Families of Early Guilford, Connecticut, Vol II, The Seward Family, pp. 1072-88
[FPA] Fifty Puritan ancestors, 1628-1660 : genealogical notes, 1560-1900 (1902) by Elizabeth Todd Nash
[MEQB] A genealogical history of the French and allied families (1912) by Beyer, Mary Elizabeth Queal
[RDS] History of Guilford, Connecticut (1877) Ralph D. Smith
[WCF] History of Durham, Connecticut (1866) by William Chauncey Fowler
Updated 11 Sep 2020 by William Haloupek. Contact haloupek at gmail dot com.