James Seale
(c1769 - 1860)
Will of James Seale
Will of Ransom Seale
Descendant List and Notes
Reams have been written about the Seale family, much of it contradictory and undocumented. A quick search of internet genealogy haunts will yield generations of Seales back to the seventeenth century. The accuracy of these reports is always open to question, as very few sources are cited for any of them. This is not to imply that published compilations carry more validity than internet versions, as many hardcopy editions do not offer documention to support their claims, either. Many of the published lineages may be quite correct, but it is difficult to determine unless you find the original sources and verify them.
Ida Carrie Seale, for her book Seale and Allied Families, collected family data from about 1914 to 1954 and published three editions of it. She said she supplied the information on her own immediate family from deeds, wills and other personal documents, but the remainder was contributed by interested and generous cousins and other Seale descendants. Thus, it is only to be expected that many inaccuracies found their way into the mix. Family stories have ways of growing and twisting over the generations, but often there are useful clues that can be followed to pinpoint more accurate information. Ida Carrie, herself, remarked that in "records of some of the other lines, there seem to be doubtful points but they are inserted as sent in."
One value of any genealogical report lies in its utility as a launchpad for further research either to verify or to refute its claims. Useful family history research requires a strong dose of skepticism, a willingness to make use of clues wherever they can be found and the patience to see whether or not the clues and the skepticism can come to terms. Many of the names and dates in this report came straight out of Ida Carrie's work, as indicated in the endnotes, but I have tried to locate as many corroborating or related records as possible.
I have not researched beyond James Seale, but there does seem to be consensus that his parents were Charles Seale and Lydia Muse. One descendant, Timothy D. Hudson, has researched and written an exemplary paper documenting the life, migrations, wives and children of James Seale, to be revised and re-issued in the near future. We are grateful to Tim for allowing this paper to be displayed here for reference. Tim is also working on a paper on Charles and Lydia.
