Henry (Sewell) Sewell of Severn River (abt. 1620 - 1691)

Born about 1620 in England

Husband of Johanna (Warner) Sewell — married 13 Feb 1670 in Severn River, Anne Arundel Co., MD

Descendants

Died 29 Sep 1691 at about age 71 in Anne Arundel Co, MD

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Mayme Byler [send private message] and Ralph Rogers [send private message]

Biography

Henry was born about 1620. Henry Sewell was a tobacco planter. He was making surveys on the Severn River in Maryland in 1661 and settled there on 8 Aug 1664. In 1680, (patents 7, folio 343 at the land office, Annapolis, Anne Arundel, MD) he was granted a 537-acre tract lying on the north side of the Severn River, in Saint Margaret's Westminster Parish and here at Sewell's Cove, he made his home and called it "Sewell's Increase". It was later called "Henry's Increased". His will was dated 29 Sep 1691; but was not probated until 5 Dec 1700, over nine (9) years following his death. He passed away in 1691. ^[1]

Note: Henry Sewell (of the Severn River area near Annapolis) was not the son of Henry Sewell of Sewell's Point, Virginia, as implied by Worley Sewell. Henry Sewell of Sewell's Point Virginia (d. 1644) had only one son, Henry (b. ca. 1639), this son died prior to 1672 without issue. Henry "the Younger" Sewell the son of Henry Sewell of Sewell's Point (1639-1672) is NOT the subject of this profile. ^[2]

Henry of Maryland may or may not be related to Henry of Virginia (e. g. the former could be the latter's nephew, cousin). A deposition taken circa 1672 and letters from friends of the family confirm this. The 'myth' of Henry of Virginia having two sons both named Henry was apparently first generated by Warfield's confusion between the use of 'senior' and 'elder' and is contradictory to his own statements within his book. Worley Levi Sewell apparently accepted this error and, due to, perhaps, inadequate editing / verification, repeated Warfield's error almost verbatim.^[3]

• Notes for Henry SEWELL of Severn River:

Henry Sewell (c1620-1691) arrived in Ann Arundel, Maryland by 1661and in 1672 married Johanna Warner. She was the daughter of James Warner and his wife Elizabeth. In 1680 Henry Sewell was granted a 537-acre tract on the North side of the Severn River in Saint Margaret's Parish lying on the North side of Ann Arundel River East of Sewell's Cove. Henry Sewell was schooled in England and arrived in America as part of the Puritan colony along the Severn River in Maryland. It is not known if he fought in the Battle of the Severn in 1655 which decided the argument of who would be able to live in Maryland -- either religious freedom or a Catholic colony. He was noted for making surveys along the north bank of the Severn in 1661, and eventually married into the prosperous Warner family not once but twice. He was also partners with the Marriotts in growing tobacco in Anne Arundel County.^[4]

Exact copy of photostat of will of Henry Sewell, of the Severn, 29th September 1691:
I, Henry Sewell, being weak in body but yet in Sound and Pfct memory I make this my last will and testament.
It:I give and bequeath my Soul to my Lord that made me and all mankind and my body to the earth from whence it came.
It:I leave my loving friend, Abraham Child and Mr. John Marriott, my two ex-ers,or guardians to see this my last will pformed.
Item:I give and bequeath to my son James Sewell one hundred acres of Land out of this dividend that I now live on on the out side of the line and fower acres.
Item:I give and bequeath unto my son Henry Sewell one hundred and fifty acres of this divident and to have it in Beard Neck and the upper end Bear Branch to be his bounds and not to come over the Branch.
Item:I give and bequeath to my son Philip Sewell one hundred and fifty acres. His bounds is the two branches that is Bear Branch and the Cabben Branch and to run his course out between the two Branches until yt he has his complement of one hundred and fifty acres.
Item:I give and bequeath to my son Joshua Sewell one hundred acres of Land out of the said divident beginning at the lower side of the said Cabbin Branch and the said branch and the Lower Line to be his bounds and so out until he has his compliment of the said hundred acres.
Item:I give and bequeath to my daughter Elizabeth one feather bed one rug one blanket one shoat one crap bottle four pewter dishes four pewter plates one pewter Casen one Crap skillett.
Item:And as for the remainder of my personall Estate after the payment of my debts to be equally divided between my sons Henry, Philip and Joshua Sewell,and my daughters Sarah and Ann Sewell.
Further my desire is that my Sonns shall have the benefit of their Labour at nineteen years of age and the instruction of their guardian-If they or the Court shall see fit or that they are capable. Not having more to add I now-changeably Sett my hand and Seal this 29th September 1691.
Henry Sewell (Seal)
Sealed and delivered in the presence of
Jn Farthing
Robert Hinwood
Dec y 8th 1700
on the back of the aforst and going with was this and o251 (viz)
Then came John Farthing and Robert Harwood witnesses to this will and made
oath that they saw the within named Henry Sewell sign, seal publish and declare the within to be his Last Will and testament and that at the doing thereof he was of sound perfect mind and memory. Jurat Crammo W. Sayland Reg.

Sources

1. ↑ Entered by Ralph Rogers, Dec 23, 2011
2. ↑ Note by: Rod Wood, 4 Jan 2018
3. ↑ From Martin Sewell (moles1776 @yahoo.com)
4. ↑ SEWELL, Worley Levi, History of the Sewell Families in America, Pages 54-55

• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=3257731&id=I95641
• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=stafa&id=I72927
• C.M. Wright Family Group Sheets @ Georgia FGS Project website as listed: -The Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, MD, J.D. Warfield, 1973.
• Will info from Hall of Records, Annapolis, MD.
• Martha Walters Acker, Sewell, Maryland to North Carolina, Georgia and Westward (Birmingham Public Library),
• J. D. Warfield, A.M., Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland (Kohn & Pollock, Baltimore, Maryland 1905), 135, 137, 138.
• Peter Wilson Coldham, SETTLERS OF MARYLAND, 1679 - 1700 (Tuscaloosa County Library, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc.), 151. Sewall, Henry, gent: AA Henry's Increase 43 acres 1 Jul 1680 28/41, AA Sewall's Increase 500 acres 23 Sep 1680 28/75.
• Worley Levi Sewell Senior, History of the Sewell Families in America (Birmingham Public Library, Birmingham, AL, Privately Printed in 1955, Stuart Daily News, Inc., Stuart, Florida), 40-49, 55-59.
• Jane Baldwin Cotton, The Maryland CALENDAR OF WILLS, Wills from 1685-1702, Volume II (Kohn & Pollock, Baltimore, Maryland 1906), Page 206. Probated: 5 December 1701.Entered by Gail Byler 9-23-12.
• Lyon Gardiner Tyler, www.dinsdoc.com/tyler; William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, 6 January 1898), p. 173.
• Genealogies of Virginia Families, Vol. IV, pp. 380-381.