There are many ways to go about plowing through these in your family history research; personally, I’m relentless!  The origin of Robert Seaman of Dutchess Co., New York (1766-1845) is one of my brick walls.  My public member tree at ancestry has the summary of what I’ve found so far (including info on his siblings, $$): http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/pedigree.aspx?tid=4792867&pid=-1544439624

Here’s some of what I’ve done so far.  I have done much more and would be happy to exchange information with anyone interested in this line. Thanks! 

I first looked for him in any trees at http://www.ancestry.com and at rootsweb.  Many trees, such as the one at rootsweb here, have him being born in 1714 and being from Long Island [New York]:  http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=schoverlingroots&id=I25494.

This particular tree references Beers 1). In looking at the actual text of this book, it does truly say 1714.  However, these same trees have Robert’s children being born in the 1790s and beyond.  A search of the Dutchess Co., New York GenWeb shows a transcription (of a transcription!) of Robert and Nancy’s tombstones:   http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nydutche/cems/uniongh.htm.

From this, I calculate their dates as:  Robert (27 Dec. 1766 – 14 Apr. 1845) and Nancy (20 Jan. 1770 – 8 Dec. 1846).  Robert’s death date is confirmed in his probate file (Dutchess Co. Surrogate’s Court Records) and I’ve transcribed his will here:  http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nydutche/wills/rseaman.html. I didn’t see any will, probate or dower info for his wife in Dutchess Co. records.  Anyway, the will and probate reveal Robert’s children and their residences in 1845; very helpful for anyone doing research on this family.

A search of census records at ancestry has a Robert Seaman/Simmons in Fishkill from 1800-1840.  I did some digging on his children and in comparing their information with the statistical data from these census returns, it looks like the same Robert.  It is of note that the 1830 census has a space for “aliens not naturalized” and it is unmarked for Robert’s household. Anyway, there is no name even remotely similar to Robert Seaman in Dutchess Co. in the 1790 census.  However, there is one in nearby Stephentown (now Somers), Westchester Co., New York very near a Henry Seaman.

Also of interest, is census data for (presumably) Robert’s son James.  According to Robert’s probate, in a summons dated 11 June 1845, James (and HIS son Isaac, also mentioned in Robert’s file) was “Of Groton, Tompkins Co. [NY].”  In 1850, in this town, there is a James Seman [sic], aged 60, b. “Weschester” (does NOT say “Co.” afterward). The rest of the household is:

Sarah, 60, b. Dutchess Co.

Isaac, 18, b. Dutchess Co.

Nancy Colwell, 34, b. Dutchess Co.

Sarah Colwell, 5, b. Tompkins Co.

James Colwell, 4, b. Tompkins Co.

At any rate, the 1790 Robert in Westchester Co. being my Robert is looking more plausible.  But, I continued with the Dutchess Co. records.  I looked at deed indices and actual deeds for Dutchess Co. (I have not checked Putnam Co. formed ~1811 from Dutchess), but did not see clues to his origins there.  I’ve transcribed some of these deeds here: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nydutche/#dcd.

Looking into Dutchess Co. books at my local library, ref. 2 has the following:

“Charles P. Seaman, Stormville, farmer, 135 acres, born in the town [East Fishkill] Jan. 1, 1821, he has been town auditor; wife Louisa Ashby, of Duchess county, married in 1847; children four – William H., Ann Maria, George M., and Daniel. Father Daniel, was son or [sic] Robert Seaman, who came from Westchester County.”

Also, on the same page, is:  “Job Seaman p o Stormville, farmer, 120 acres, born on same farm Jan. 16, 1806; wife Maria Martin, married Jan. 8, 1834, died July 8, 1879. Father, Job Seaman, came from Westchester County and settled here about 1800.” Family trees I’ve seen for Job (Jr.) state that it was he who d. July 8, 1879; however, if you look at the wording carefully, it’s actually his wife who passed away then.  We need to be careful in doing our genealogy research! Job can be found in the 1880 census and appears to have died in late 1884/early 1885 from Dutchess Co. Surrogate’s court records.

Note that there’s a Job Seamans in the same cemetery transcription as Robert and Nancy.  Also, in the 1800 Census in Fishkill a Job Simmons is enumerated next to Robert.  Those were enough Westchester Co. references that I searched mortgage, deed and will indices there, but found no Henry or Robert Seaman/Simmons/Symons.  Beers had Nancy’s maiden name as Angevine and I only found a will of an Eli Angevine, but no children Nancy or Anna were found.

I searched available documents online at the Westchester County Archives and did find a few references to a Robert Seaman in some court cases in the 1780s, ordered those records, but they did not shed any further light on his family history: http://www.westchestergov.com/wcarchives/Online_Indexes/PersonalNameIndexes/courtrecords/court_records_Se_Sr.htm

So, it was time to go back to Dutchess County.  There are some other Seaman/Simmons who appear in Fishkill in the same timeframe as Robert including a Phebe. I did a google search for Phebe Seaman/Simmons and found a will/probate transcription posted by a Ms. Johnna St. Clair. Thank you Johnna! We collaborated and I’ve published our joint transcription here:

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nydutche/wills/pseaman.html

This was a gold mine!  And, it led to a further gold mine when searching the Surrogate’s Court records themselves for Phebe’s estate.  In Box 3280 of these records (viewed on FHL microfilm 915108), her heirs are listed as “Robert Seamans of Fishkill Dutchess County & Henry Seamans of Somers town Westchester County her brothers, & Job Seamans, Mary, wife of Peter [Benja]min & Lewis Seamans all of Fishkill, children of Job her deceased brother, and [Ph]ebe wife of Simeon Wood, Mary widow of a Mr. Giles, Nancy wife of Wallace Patrick, Rachel wife of David Hitchcock & Olive wife of John W. Miles, of Dutchess County, Elizabeth wife of [Ja]cob Wright & Jacob Vermilyea of Saratoga County & Seamans Vermilyea & Catharin[e] wife of a Mr. Bogardus whose residences are unknown to your petitioners, children of Cynthia a deceased sister of the testatrix.”  Again, what a find!

There is a Henry Seaman who applied for a Revolutionary War pension (looked at www.footnote.com), S23414.  His application dated 16 Oct. 1834 states that Henry was born in 1760 in North Castle, Westchester Co., New York. He didn’t know his exact birth date. He was living in South Salem [Westchester Co.] when he was first drafted in the Spring of 1778. He then moved to “what is now Somers” in 1780 and had lived there ever since.  Another document in the file, p. 16, shows that he appeared in Court 18 April 1838 and had asked to transfer his pension from Albany to New York City in 1837.

At ancestry.com, index to US pensioners, I do see a Henry Seaman on the roll, getting transferred in 1837 and continues on the roll until Sept. 1847; however, no date of death is listed.  The Westchester Co. Archives does have death records from Somers in 1847, but he is not listed. 

One person who gave an affidavit in Henry’s file was a Samuel Wilson of New York City. He served with Henry and stated that he had known Henry “since he was a small boy.”  Samuel was one year younger than Henry.

In Samuel Wilson’s pension application (widow Margaret, W9161), Samuel was b. in Rye, Westchester Co., New York, 16 Oct. 1761. He then moved with his father’s family to South Salem in 1762.  Several years after the War, he moved to what is now Somers.  The statements make it likely that Robert (or at least Job, b. ca 1772) was born in South Salem.  However, I don’t see any records of any Simmons/Seaman in C510171, M510171 in the IGI batch index online of “Church of Christ, Salem, Westchester Co.” births/christenings or marriages.  Nor, do I see any likely candidates in Van Norden, Theodore Langdon, South Salem gravestone inscriptions. South Salem, N.Y., 1926.  I have also searched some North Castle town records and don’t see any obvious connections.  And, I’ve done a little to try and connect with the Robert Seaman found in Long Island (1710-1749).

 

So, for Robert Seaman’s ancestry and origins, it looks like he was born in Westchester County, New York either in North Castle or South Salem.

 

1) J. H. Beers, Commemorative Biographical Record of the Counties of Dutchess and Putnam, New York, Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1897, p. 979 viewed at the SUTRO libary in San Francisco.

2) Smith, James H. History of Duchess County, New York, D. Mason & Co., Syracuse, NY: 1882, p. ix[571].