Question

the deed spells his name SOAWELL not SEAWELL

Answer 1

No it doesn't.

Comments

Use a zoom on his name!!

Answer 2

Reading the 1646 Land Grant I can understand why you interpreted it as Soawell. Later in the document it looks like Souwell. If you look on the page for other es - about halfway down find the word that looks like Souwell the word below is aforesaid and in the same line the word three. - the es in both places look like an o . so this is a case of the scribes handwriting.

Even if it was spelled Soawell or Souwell, I would just ignore it. Names were spelled differently by every clerk or scribe, sometimes in the same document.

Comments

Do you mean that all the different spellings probably have the same DNA?

that they are not different families with another surname?

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Depends, you have to take other factors into account. Sewell in Massachusetts, is probably not the same as Sewall in Virginia. But my Crofutt, Crofut, Crofoot, Crowfoot line would all have the same DNA

Answer 3

My mother's family, whom family folklore indicates is descended from Thomas, goes by "Sowell" (rhymes with "vowel"). I need to work on connecting those Virginian dots...