Re: Joseph Seay -- Soldier of the Revolution
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In reply to:
Re: Joseph Seay -- Soldier of the Revolution
Edward Guerry Elgart 2/14/07
Ed,It appears as if the mother of Joseph Seay III was the putative wife of Joseph Seay II by the name of Floyd.Here is some information I have on Joseph Seay II.
JOSEPH SEAY II.
Joseph Seay II was apparently born in King William County, Virginia, in 1753.We calculate this date from the information he provided in his application for a pension for his service in the Revolutionary War. He states in this application that he was born in King William County and that his birth date and age were written in a book "back home."He did not know for sure either his age or his birthday, which memory lapse one may attribute either to lack of education or to the failing memory of an old war veteran.He said that he arrived at his age based on the fact that he was married in 1772 at age 18.Joseph served in the Revolutionary War from something like 1776 to something like 1780.When he finished his service, he returned home to King William County.This means that he was about 23 years old when he went to war and about 27 years old when he was discharged.He worked as a tenant farmer in various areas of northwestern King William County from 1780 until 1788, at which time he movedto Campbell County
It is likely that his wife's maiden name was Floyd.This is probable because (1) several of Joseph's children and grandchildren were given the name Floyd as a middle name (as examples, James Floyd, William Floyd, et. al.) and (2) two Floyd brothers fought with Joseph in the same militia unit, suggesting that all three of them were from the same area of King William County and must have known each other.She must have died sometime in 1787 or 1788 since his son Thomas was born in 1787.Following her death, Joseph apparently migrated from King William County to Campbell County, Virginia, in approximately 1788 or slightly earlier because he appears for the first time on the Campbell County tax rolls on that date.Thus, Joseph moved to Campbell County with his children and with some small amount of money in 1787/88.He was probably a widower at that time and had not remarried.He had seven children who accompanied him including his eldest son William Seay, his namesake, Joseph Seay, (III), as well as Polly, Sarah, Fanny, Thomas and Agatha (Eagy).Joseph's eldest son, William Seay, married Elizabeth Howerton in Lynchburg in 1799 and then moved to Knox County, Tennessee in the early 1800's.
I have seen some evidence which provides some idea of where Joseph first lived when he moved from King William County to Campbell County in 1777/1778.In 1790, he bought 300 acres of land on Bowman's Creek in Campbell County from Alexander Howard for 70 Pounds.During this time, a Pound was equal to approximately $2.00; thus, 70 Pounds was equal to approximately $140.In the event, his friend William Bosher, who would later name Joseph and his children and several other Seay relatives in his will, was a witness to his purchase.This fact provides some clue as to why Joseph would have moved to Campbell County.It seems that the Bosher family was, like the Seay family, originally from King William County.Since William Bosher witnessed Joseph's purchase of land, perhaps William had come to Campbell County earlier and had written back to Joseph and told him about it.This fact attains even more significance when one considers that William Bosher's wife, Elizabeth, seems to have been the sister of Joseph's unnamed first wife.Finally, William Bosher's will provides land, a family Bible, and a small amount of cash for Joseph and his family members.So it seems logical to believe that William had arrived first and that Joseph followed his friend several years later.
In 1808, Joseph mortgaged half his land (150 acres) to Booker Shelton.The purpose of this mortgage was to satisfy a debt to Samuel Pannill.In this document, the land is mentioned as being on the Staunton River.Bowman's Creek and Staunton River are in the same area and so this is surely the same land.The Staunton River forms the southern border of Campbell County.It begins as the Roanoke River, takes a bend where it becomes the Staunton River, then another bend where it becomes the Roanoke River again.This was farmland then and it remains farmland today.The first settlement in this area occured here and so it was natural for Joseph to migrate to this location.At one time, this area was Lunenberg County; then it became Bedford County and finally became Campbell County.Significantly, this area is about 25 miles from Lynchburg, a good distance in that day and time.According to Phillip Rhodes of Jones Memorial Library in Lynchburg, the normal purchase of land seems to have been about 50-100 acres and so this purchase of 300 acres was something above the ordinary.The land had been open for purchase for some time which means that he bought it from the previous owner instead of simply patenting it as the first owner.There was no particular reason for him to come to this area except that the land was available for purchase and this is where the local settlement was located.As mentioned earlier, one speculates that his friend and relative-by-marriage William Bosher, who witnessed the purchase of his property, had come here from King William County and that Joseph followed soon thereafter.The City of Lynchburg was founded by John Lynch in 1786, one or two years prior to Joseph's arrival (The Lynch family for whom the city is named is from Tipperary, Ireland).
One wonders how Joseph accumulated the 70 Pounds with which to purchase this land.He may have saved some money from his army days, he may have accumulated some money during his two to three year stay in Campbell County prior to buying the land, he may have saved it from working the farm land in King William County for seven years, he may have borrowed it from Samuel Pannill, or he may have sold his horses and cattle to buy the land.Recall that the King William County tax list of 21 May 1787 listed him with five horses and four cattle, while the 1790 tax list of Campbell County listed him with only one horse.Since he did not buy land until two to three years after his arrival in Campbell County, this suggests that he didn't have the money to do so until that point.
At any rate, he seems to have sold 50 acres of his land to his daughter Elizabeth Seay Ward of Halifax County in 1842, and the remainder of it to Hiram Elder of Halifax County in 1846.Interestingly, the deal involved Joseph's being able to live on the land until his death, which he ostensibly did until he died the next year, 1847, at the age of approximately 93.
His remaining children -- Samuel, Elizabeth and Delila -- must have been a product of his second marriage which was to Agnes Ligon on March 16, 1804, in Campbell County.The bondsmen for the wedding were Joseph Seay and Alexander Driscoll.Joseph had ten children altogether.As an aside, Alexander Driscoll married Sussana Cobbs in Campbell County on August 22, 1786, and the bondsmen were listed as himself and John Cobbs.Consent was given by Thomas Cobbs.