Nathaniel Seeley (bef. 1627 - abt. 1675)

Born before 16 Sep 1627 in St. Stephen's Church, London, England

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Turney) Seeley — married 6 Oct 1649 in New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut Colony

Descendants

Died about 21 Dec 1675 after about age 48 in Rhode Island

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Biography

Nathaniel Seeley immigrated to New England as a child during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640).

Captain Nathaniel Seeley was KIA during King Philip's War.

Captain Nathaniel Seeley was born in Buckinghamshire, England in 1627. He passed away in 1675. Nathaniel was in New Haven, Connecticut ^[1] about 1646-1656. (SGS) He received £10 and "one parcel of meadow over creeks, being about 1 1/2 acres" as his wife's portion from her late father's estate in 1650. (SGS) After 1656 he removed, with his family, to Fairfield, Connecticut where he became an extensive land owner. He was granted 8 acres in Fairfield and purchased an additional 15 acres of sedge marsh. ^[2] In 1657 he was made a Freeman. ^[1] In 1659 Nathaniel sold land on behalf of his father who was in England at the time. In 1674 Nathaniel was appointed by the General Court to lay out the boundaries between Fairfield and Norwich, Connecticut.

Birth/Christening

Nathaniel Seeley was baptized September 16, 1627 at St Stephen, Coleman Street, London, England.^{[3] [4]}

Marriage

Nathaniel Seeley was married, first, to Mary Turney. ^{[1] [5]} There does not seem to be a record of their marriage, nor where it took place. The Turneys were then living in Fairfield, Connecticut and the Seeleys in New Haven, but according to the New Haven records, Mary testified on 7 June 1650 that she had been married 8 months. ^[3] From this we can suppose that they were married early in October 1649. ^[4]They had nine (9) children (who survived them): ^[1]

• Nathaniel Seeley (died young)
• Robert Seeley
• Sarah Seeley
• Benjamin Seeley
• Joseph Seeley
• Nathaniel Seeley
• John Seeley
• Mary Seeley
• Phebe Seeley
• Rebecca Seeley

Second, Nathaniel was married to Elizabeth Burr about 1674. She is the widow of Obadiah Gilbert which is mentioned in his probate court records (see ancestry probate source below)^{[3] [1] [5]} They did not have children.

Military Service & Death

Captain Seeley was injured 19 December 1675 during King Philip's War at the Great Swamp Fight against the Narragansett Indians in what is now South Kingston, Rhode Island. He died soon after 21 December 1675 from his injuries. ^{[1] [6]} In May 1674 Nathaniel joined the Fairfield militia as a sergeant. ^[3] By October 1675 he had risen to Lieutenant ^[3] and then Captain of the 3rd Company of the Connecticut Regiment during King Philip's War. In mid-October, his company was at Northampton awaiting orders. He was summoned by Major Samuel Appleton to join forces to attack the Narragansett Indians during a major snow storm. It is not known that the Narragansett were indeed intending to join the fighting, but the colonists were convinced they were, so they went on the offensive and attacked their settlement. The Massachusetts and Plymouth colonials attacked through a breach at the rear, and the Connecticut forces attacked from the entrance. At the end of the fighting, it was found that Captain Seeley was among the injured who lay dying. He was 48.

He was said to be buried in a mass grave at Smith's Castle, near Wickford in what is now North Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island. He was probably buried with others who died with him in battle.^[7][8] His estate was inventoried 5 February 1676 ^[3] and accepted 16 March 1676.^[9] His widow came to a mutual agreement with sons Nathaniel and Robert Seeley on 15 March 1676 regarding his estate and his children. (SGS) His widow was also granted 200 acres in recognition of his service to the Colony of Connecticut. She deeded some of it over to her son from her first marriage, Obadiah Gilbert. (SGS)

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} Savage, James,A Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, Before 1692 (Boston, 1860-1862)
2. ↑ Schenck, Elizabeth H.G., The history of Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut, from the settlement of the town in 1639 to 1818 (New York : J.J. Little & Co., 1889)Vol. 1, page 136.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5} Larry Daniels, Butts, Knowles & Hills; The Seeleys, Turneys, Sturges & Barlows (Privately printed, Bowie, MD 20715-1336, March 1993), pp. 23, 24, 29. Repository: #R5 Call Number: FH24&CISOPTR=20893&REC=18
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633 (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995), pp. 1649
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Clarence Almon Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (Boston: New England Historical Genealogical Society, 2011), Vol. II. p. 1349
6. ↑ Jacobus, Donald Lines, compiler and editor, History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield (Daughters of the American Revolution, Fairfield, Connecticut, 1930) Vol. 1, page 525. (Link on FamilySearch.org, image 191 of 440.)
7. ↑ Bodge, George M., Soldiers in King Philip’s War: Being a Critical Account of That War, with a Concise History of the Indian Wars of New England from 1620-1677... (Genealogical Pub. Co., 1967), page 191 (Borrow on Archive.org).
8. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/94812716/nathaniel-seeley: accessed 31 July 2023), memorial page for CPT Nathaniel Seeley (16 Sep 1627–19 Dec 1675), Find A Grave: Memorial #94812716, citing Smiths Castle Mass Gravesite, North Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA; Maintained by fred (contributor 47615120).
9. ↑ Ancestry.com Connecticut, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 Fairfield Probate Records, Vol 1-5, 1648-1750, Vol. 3, page 8. Connecticut, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 [database on-line], Fairfield, Probate Records, Vol 1-5, 1648-1750, image 127-128. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data:Connecticut County, District and Probate Courts. (Two free Ancestry.com images: (1). Ancestry Sharing Link ; (2). Ancestry Sharing Link)

See also:

• New England Marriages Prior to 1700, by Clarence Almon Torrey (Boston: New England Historical Genealogical Society, 2011). Vol. II. p. 1349. SEELEY, Nathaniel (1627-1675) & 1/wf Mary [TURNEY] (1631); ca Oct 1649; Fairfield, CT {Keeler-Wood 240; Upton (1893) 179; TAG 9:128, 13:142, 22:194; Fairfield Fam. 1:525, 619; Ackeley-Bosworth 64-65; Briggs-DeGroff 308, 394; Cilley 3; Nichols (#1) 79; Seeley (ms) 1, 22; Trubee 130; Fairfield 1: 405-6, 414; Fairfield Prob. 10; NYGBR 2:9}
• New England Marriages Prior to 1700, by Clarence Almon Torrey (Boston: New England Historical Genealogical Society, 2011). Vol. II. p. 1349. SEELEY, Nathaniel (-1675) & Elizabeth (BURR) (OLMSTED) [GILBERT], w. Nehemiah, w Obadiah; aft 8 Mar 1674; Fairfield {Briggs-DeGroff 308, 394; Gilbert (1953) 70; Fairfield Fam. 1:452, 525; Fairfield Prob. 18, 67; Cilley 3; Seeley (ms) 22; Seeley-Vail 42; Randall Anc. 406; Knapp Anc. 177}
• Nathaniel Seeley, SGS. Page 5,6 I do not yet know what this meansSelvaggio-84 02:44, 9 May 2015 (EDT)
• Ancestry Family Tree Biography
• Yale Indian Papers Project Biography
• p. 541 Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut: Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, and of Many of the Early Settled Families. Higginson Book Company, 1899
• p.532 Jacobus, Donald Lines. History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield, Volume 1
• p. 218 Knapp, Chauncey L. Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War, 1775 to 1783

Vermont: Tuttle, 1904 - Vermont

• New England Ancestors. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2000-2009. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009.) Vol. 6.2 p. 47. for information on DNA of Nathaniel and Obadiah.subscription site
• Descendants Of Robert Seeley 1602-1667 And Obadiah Seeley 1614- Generations One Through Five Compiled and Printed 1995 by the Seeley Genealogical Society page 6
• Crandall Family Tree
• Beckford, William Hale. Leading Business Men of Fairfield County (Mercantile Pub. Co., Boston, 1887)

• Page 15: "The records of Fairfield, in 1669, show the names of the following freemen, who voted in that town, but resided within the limits of Stratfield:... Nathaniel Seeley..."

• SEELEY FAMILY GENEOLOGY compiled by ROBERT SEELEY VAN DUSEN - 1992