Seymour Burr (abt. 1754 - abt. 1837)

Born about 1754 in Africa [uncertain]

Husband of Mary (Will) Burr — married 3 Mar 1792 in Sharon, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States

Descendants

Died about 17 Feb 1837 at about age 83 in Canton, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States [uncertain]

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Biography

Seymour Burr is Notable.

Seymour Burr served with 7th Regiment, Connecticut Militia during the American Revolution.

Seymour Burr was an African-American slave in the Connecticut Colony in the North American British Colonies.

Birth

There is conflicting information regarding his birth. Some citations list him as born in Connecticut, possibly of mixed-race parentage, others claim he was born in Guinea, Africa, captured at age seven, and was possibly of royal birth. His military enlistment documents list his age as both 20 and 28, which places his birth in either 1754 or 1762. An enlistment document indicates that he was born in Guinea, West Africa. In an interview in 1895, his grandson, James Thurston Burr, said Seymour was born in Africa.^[1]

Slavery

Seymour is said to have been captured around the age of 7, and brought to the colonies via the Atlantic slave trade. By the start of the Revolution, he was enslaved by members of the Burr family in Connecticut, relatives of later vice president Aaron Burr.

Seymour was enslaved by the brother of Colonel Aaron Burr, who was also named Seymour. He was known only as Seymour (sometimes spelled Seymore) until he escaped and used the surname Burr to enlist in the British Army in the early days of the American Revolution. However, he was quickly captured and forcibly returned to his owner.

Seymour left the army in 1782, at which time he was freed by the Burrs.

Military Service

There were several African American Revolutionary War heroes that made major contributions on and off the battlefield, but not all of them fought for the Colonists, some fought for their freedom from slavery.

On November 7, 1775, Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of Virginia, signed a proclamation promising freedom to anyone in service to the Patriots, either by enslavement or indentured servitude, who would abandon their masters and enlist in the British army. Within a month, hundreds of enslaved Black men answered Dunmore’s call. This was expanded in 1779 by General Henry Clinton’s Philipsburg Proclamation, which extended the British promise of freedom to any person enslaved by Americans, regardless of their ability to serve in the military. By the end of the war, at least 30,000 enslaved people from Virginia alone had escaped to the British side, along with thousands of others from throughout the colonies. Seymour Burr was almost among them.

His owner, fearing that Seymour would escape again, offered him a different bargain: if Seymour would pay his owner the enlistment bounty given to him by the British and serve instead in the Continental Army, he would be given his freedom at the end of his military service.

On the fifth of April 1781, Seymour enlisted in the Connecticut Seventh Regiment, led by Colonel John Brooks. He fought at Bunker Hill and Fort Catskill, and suffered through the long winter at Valley Forge and his nickname was "Seacracker".

Seymour left the army in 1782, at which time he was freed by the Burrs. He collected a government pension for his military service.

Marriage and Children

In 1792, he married a widow, Mary (Will) Wilbore, daughter of Nuff Will and Sarah Moho (Mohho), a Native American woman of the Ponkapoag tribe, and settled in what is now Canton, Massachusetts. ^[2][3]

Many online sources say they had two daughters: Polly and Sally. They also had at least one son: James Seymour Burr (c.1793-1842), who is named as a brother of Polly on Native Northeast Portal.^[4] They may have had another son: Seymour Burr Jr., who was the husband of Sally (aka Laughing Flood) and the father of Lemuel Burr and Harriet Burr Smith.

Property

Through his wife, Seymour inherited the 6 acres (24,000 m2) of land owned by her previous husband, Jacob Wilbor.

Census Records

In 1800, Seymour Burr is listed in the Census records as living in Canton, Massachusetts, with 1 person in the household. ^[5]Mary and their children might be living with relatives.

In 1810, the household of Seymour Burr was in Canton, Massachusetts, and had four people in it. ^[6] The people are Seymour, probably Mary, and perhaps two of their children.

In 1820, the household of Simo Burr was in Canton, Massachusetts, and had four "free colored persons" in it.^[7]

• 1 Males - Under 14 - ?
• 1 Males - 45 and over - Seymour (age 66)
• 1 Females - 14 thru 25 - possibly Polly (age 22)
• 1 Females - 45 and over - probably Mary, (age 69)

In 1830, the household of Seymour Burr was in Canton, Massachusetts, and had four people in it.^[8]

• 1 Free Colored Male (10 thru 23)
• 1 Free Colored Male (55 thru 99) - Seymour Burr (age abt. 76)
• 1 Free Colored Female (under 10)
• 1 Free Colored Female (55 thru 99) - probably Mary Burr (age 79)

In the 1870 census, Polly (Burr) Croud is living with Sally (Sarah) Burr. Both are age 72 and listed with race: black. ^[9]

Some descendants of Seymour Burr still live in Boston, Massachusetts.[Citation needed]

Death

Seymour Burr died on 17 February 1837, and was buried in an unmarked grave in the Canton Corner, Canton, Massachusetts, or at the graveyard at Burr Lane, Canton, Massachusetts

Sources

1. ↑ The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts 08 Dec 1895, Sun • Page 32
2. ↑ Boston, Massachusetts; Vital Records of Sharon, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850, records for Seme Burr and Molley Wilber of Stoughton.
3. ↑ Massachusetts, Compiled Marriages, 1633-1850, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT, Film # 0873757 item 3.
4. ↑ Native Northeast Portal https://nativenortheastportal.com/ponkapoag-petitions
5. ↑ Year: 1800; Census Place: Canton, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Series: M32; Roll: 18; Page: 130; Image: 140; Family History Library Film: 205616
6. ↑ Year: 1810; Census Place: Canton, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Roll: 18; Page: 431; Image: 00402; Family History Library Film: 0205626
7. ↑ 1820 U S Census; Census Place: Canton, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Page: 502; NARA Roll: M33_52; Image: 316
8. ↑ Year: 1830; Census Place: Canton, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Series: M19; Roll: 60; Page: 286; Family History Library Film: 0337918
9. ↑ Year: 1870; Census Place: Cambridge Ward 2, Middlesex, Massachusetts; Roll: M593_623; Page: 444B

https://prabook.com/web/seymour.burr/1883360

https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Seymour_Burr

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2019/02/09/african-american-revolutionary-war-heroes-seymour-burr/

https://www.revwartalk.com/seymour-burr/