Obadiah Seely (bef. 1620 - 1657)

Born before 1620 in England

Husband of Mary (Unknown) Seeley — married 1647 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut

Descendants

Died 25 Aug 1657 after age 37 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut

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Obadiah Seely migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Disputed Relationships

It had been presumed that Obadiah Seeley was either a son of Robert Seeley of Stamford, Connecticut, or William Seeley of Birmingham, England.

Concerning Robert Seeley as father, Anderson, in his The Great Migration Begins, says that the notion that Obadiah Seeley of Stamford was the son of Robert Seeley should be rejected. Since Robert's first son, Nathaniel, was born in 1627, Obadiah must have been born after about 1628 if he was Robert's son. Obadiah's first son seems to have been born in the late 1640s, which would have made Obadiah younger than 20 when he married. Although that is not unheard of, it is unlikely. Additionally, Anderson notes that Robert and Obadiah "lived in different towns...do not appear in the records together...the name Obadiah does not appear among the immediate descendants of Robert, nor does the name Robert appear among the immediate descendants of Obadiah."^[1] Y-DNA testing seems to confirm that there is no genealogically significant connection between Obadiah and Robert as found in "Seeley DNA Lineage Results" which tested Obadiah against the Robert-Nathaniel line (Nathaniel being the son of Robert).^[2]

An Obadiah Seeley, son of William Seeley, was baptized 5 Jun 1614 in Birmingham St. Martin, Warwickshire, England.^[3] The question is, was that Obadiah the same as Obadiah the immigrant to New England? Concerning the question, much research has been done by the Seeley Genealogical Society, having hired at least two genealogists to research the line of Obadiah: first hiring Frederick C. Hart Jr. and then Clifford L. Stott (AG, CG, FASG). The results of their work do not include any direct evidence conclusively showing that Obadiah was William's son. However, Stott lists six areas of overlap between the two Obadiahs (see Research Notes" below), as well as correspondence he had with Jerry Anderson, whose "research [is] among the finest in the field...," claimed in 2006 that he had "all the evidence necessary to prove the identification of Obadiah Seeley..." and had " traced the parents of Obadiah Seeley — both the father and mother — for several generations." Stott asked to see the research but Anderson claimed he was planning on publishing it in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register.^[4] Such an article has never appeared.

Until there is a consensus from researchers on whether or not the circumstantial case is strong enough, or direct evidence emerges showing paternity, William Seeley and Alice (Bissell) Seeley have been removed as this Obadiah's parents.

Anderson in his "The Great Migration Begins" says that the notion that Obadiah Seeley of Stamford was the son of Robert Seeley should be rejected. "Robert Seeley married for the 1st time in 1626, and had son Nathaniel in 1627, so Obadiah if he was a son of Robert, must have been born in 1629 or later. But the eldest son of Obadiah was born in the late 1640s, when Obadiah, under this hypothesis, could have been no more than twenty, and perhaps even less." Anderson goes on to say, "This chronological impediment is not fatal, but it makes the connection highly unlikely... Beyond this we see that Robert Seeley and Obadiah Seeley lived in different towns, that they do not appear in the records together in any action, and that the name Obadiah does not appear among the immediate descendants of Robert, nor does the name Robert appear among the immediate descendants of Obadiah."

"All these clues indicate that Obadiah was not son of Robert."^[5]

Biography

Birth

The exact place and date of Obadiah's birth is unknown, although probably in England, and based on his marriage in about 1642, probably by 1620. (For more info, see "Disputed Relationships" above.)

Marriage

Obadiah married Mary (Unknown) Miller, widow of John Miller, sometime after John's death in 1642,^[6] in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut.

Obadiah and Mary had four children:

1. Obadiah Seeley (b about 1648/49, Stamford, Fairfield Co. CT; d 25 Jul 1679/80, Stamford, Fairfield Co., CT) m 1669, Esther Stevens (b about 164&9). Daughter of Thomas and Ann Stevens of Stamford.
2. Cornelius Seeley (b about 1649/50, Stamford, CT; d after 1714/15, Bedford, Westchester Co., NY) m before 1674, Priscilla Osborn (b 3 Mar 1650; d after 1710, probably Bedford, Westchester Co., NY). Daughter of Richard and Mary Osborn.
3. Jonas Seeley (b about 1653, Stamford, CT; d 1703, Stamford, CT) m 1st, Sarah/Mary Slawson/Slason m 2nd, about 1689, Mary Wicks/Weeks Waterbury (b about 1660; d 31 Dec 1738, Stamford, CT). Daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Wicks of Stamford, CT. Widow of John Waterbury. Son of John Waterbury.
4. Habakuk Seeley (b about 1655, Stamford, CT; d Jun 1658, Stamford, CT)

Life Events

Obadiah was an early resident of Stamford, CT, as several entries in the records show. On Feb. 20, 1648 it was recorded that John Holly had 9 acres of land in Rock Neck, Stamford, bounded by lands of Obadiah Seeley on the north. Obadiah lived in a house he built on the east side of South Street, which is now Atlantic Street.

In 1649, Obadiah was listed as a citizen of Stamford. In 1651, Obadiah acknowledged payment of a debt due him from John Lareson.

Emigrants from Watertown, MA, founded Wethersfield, the first English settlement in Connecticut, in the winter of 1634-35. Stamford, in New Haven Colony, was founded in 1641 by secessionists from the Wethersfield church.

Obadiah built a house on land willed to Mary by her first husband, John Miller, to be enjoyed by her for life. His will left the house to the children of John Miller after Mary's death, they paying it's value to the Seeley children.

Death and Probate

Obadiah died intestate on 25 Aug 1657 in Stamford, Connecticut and the inventory of his estate was dated Dec. 24 1665.^[7][8] and mentions his widow Mary and their sons Obadiah, Cornelius, and Jonas. The distribution of estate was dated Sept. 3, 1666. 25 Aug 1657 Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut

Burial

1657 Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut.

Research Notes

Clifford Stott's Comparison of Obadiahs

Stott compared the Stamford immigrant and Birmingham baptized Obadiahs. He then listed the following six areas where the two overlapped (see the source for the details for each Obadiah):^[9]

• Name: identical and uncommon.
• Age: Exact age of the Stamford Obadiah is unknown, but he was of age to marry in the 1640s. His English counterpart was baptized in 1614, making him about 26 years old in 1640.
• Occupation: Not an exact match, but both worked with wood. Obadiah Seeley of Birmingham was a turner. Hence, he turned wood on a lathe to produce shaped pieces, probably for furniture. It has been suggested that Obadiah Seeley of Stamford was probably a carpenter given the large number of carpentry tools listed in his inventory.
• Religious proclivity: Like most New England towns, Stamford was a haven for Puritans. Obadiah Seeley of Birmingham was apprenticed to a Puritan, Nehemiah Wallington, who, according to his biographer, Paul S. Seaver, always enlisted apprentices of like persuasion.
• Family and Associates: Obadiah Seeley of Birmingham had a sister Sarah who came to New England. Families often moved in groups. Wallington had a good friend who also came to New England. Hence, Obadiah Seeley of Birmingham and London was exposed to Puritanism and to New England immigration through his own family and his master.
• Chronology: Obadiah Seeley of Birmingham and London disappears from the Turner Company records prior to the appearance of Obadiah Seeley in Stamford records.

This Obadiah is most likely a duplicate of Obadiah Seely as they both have a son named Jonas. The birth and death dates were previously listed as 1630 and 1700 respectively, with no sources corroborating such dates.

Sources

1. ↑ Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn, Jr., and Melinde Lutz Sanborn, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995); entry for Robert Seeley image of p. 1650 by subscription AmericanAncestors.org.
2. ↑ [www.seeley-society.org/research/seeley-dna-lineage/results "Seeley DNA Lineage Results."] Seeley Genealogical Society, 20 Jan. 2019.
3. ↑ Hill, J, and William B. Bickley. Transcript of the First Register Book of the Parish Church of Saint Martin, Birmingham, 1554-1653. (Wallsall: W. Henry Robinson, 1889); image 109 of 356, p. 196 at FamilySearch.org.
4. ↑ [www.seeley-society.org/research/sgs-stott-research-outline "Stott Research Outline on Obadiah Seeley."] Seeley Genealogical Society, 24 Jan. 2019.
5. ↑ Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn, Jr., and Melinde Lutz Sanborn, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995); entry for Robert Seeley image of p. 1650 by subscription AmericanAncestors.org.
6. ↑ Spencer Percival Mead, Abstract of Probate Records at Fairfield, County of Fairfield, and State of Connecticut, 1648-1750 (1929); p. 20 at FamilySearch.org.
7. ↑ Abstract of Probate Records at Fairfield, Connecticut, Down to 1721 (n.p.); image of p. 334 at InternetArchive.org.
8. ↑ Probate Records, Vol 1-5, 1648-1750; U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 image 73 of 861, pp. 14-15 by Subscription Ancestry.com. (Free Ancestry.com image: https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/26238514?h=7f1ed1&utm_campaign=bandido-webparts&utm_source=post-share-modal&utm_medium=copy-url)
9. ↑ [www.seeley-society.org/research/sgs-stott-research-outline "Stott Research Outline on Obadiah Seeley."] Seeley Genealogical Society, 24 Jan. 2019.

See also:

• http://www.ctgenweb.org/county/cofairfield/pages/stamford/seely_data.htm

• https://books.google.com/books?id=TccLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA290&lpg=PA290&dq=mercy+dean,+ebenezer+seely&source=bl&ots=fp1RZyveok&sig=VdVtyByT-e7sczuHgzM0iLBFrFo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj2gIGW49PYAhVDyoMKHaa_CtsQ6AEIPDAF#v=onepage&q=mercy%20dean%2C%20ebenezer%20seely&f=false

• http://www.seeley-society.net/o2gen.html

• Fairfield County Connecticut Probate Records Title: Fairfield County Connecticut Probate Records Note: Stamford Probate District, dated December 24, 1665; added February 2004

• First Seven Generations of Obadiah Seeley of Stamford, Connecticut Title: First Seven Generations of Obadiah Seeley of Stamford, Connecticut Author: Elizabeth S. White; National Chair of DAR, 1923 - 1926

• History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield (1930) Title: History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield (1930) Author: Donald Lines Jacobus

• Seely Genealogical Society Publications (1997) Title: Seely Genealogical Society Publications (1997) Author: Madeline and Katherine Milles

• Stamford Connecticut Registrations Title: Stamford Connecticut Registrations Author: Rev. Elijah B. Huntington Note: Births/Marriages/Deaths of Stamford Families April 6, 1797 - 125 of 181;

• The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620 - 1633 (1995) Title: The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620 - 1633 (1995) Author: Robert Charles Anderson Publication: F.A.S.G. III:1650 Comments Note: see notes for Obadiah Seeley; added February 2004

• The Saga of the Seeleys from Southern New Jersey to Illinois and Texas Title: The Saga of the Seeleys from Southern New Jersey to Illinois and Texas Author: Mary Henrietta Chase