Robert Seeley
Encyclopedia
Robert Seeley, also Seely, Seelye, or Ciely, (1602-1668) was an early Puritan
settler in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
who helped establish Watertown
, Wethersfield
, and New Haven
. He also served as second-in-command to John Mason in the Pequot War
.
, Huntingdonshire
, England
in 1602. His father William was a surveyor and trained his son in the trade. In 1623 Robert moved to London
, where he became an apprentice cordwainer
. He married Mary Mason in 1626 and began attending the church of the Puritan
minister John Davenport
that same year.
as a part of the original Puritan expedition
to Massachusetts. Soon after arriving in the New World, Seeley became one of the original forty settlers of Watertown
, one of Massachusetts' earliest Puritan communities. He employed his training in surveying by laying out many of the plots for the settlers. He was granted freeman
status in 1631.
. The group soon established Wethersfield
, the first English settlement on the Connecticut River. Oldham's death in 1636, presumed by the colonists to be at the hands of the Pequot
, helped touch off the Pequot War
in 1637. Seeley served as second-in-command to Captain John Mason in the war. He was severely wounded by an arrow to the head in an attack on a Pequot fort
along the Mystic River
. Captain Mason, who called Seeley a "valiant soldier", wrote of the incident, "Lieutenant Seeley was shot in the eyebrow with a flat headed Arrow, the Point turning downwards. I pulled out the arrow myself." Seeley carried a permanent scar from the wound.
When his old friend John Davenport
arrived in Massachusetts, Seeley joined his group and helped establish the New Haven Colony
in 1638. Seeley served as New Haven's first town marshal and lieutenant of the militia. He was generally known in the community as Lieutenant Seeley. He also participated in Theophilus Eaton
's exploratory expedition in Long Island Sound
.
on Long Island
. He died in New York City
in 1668. In 1695 his heirs received 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) of land in Watertown, resolving a suit which Seeley had filed 60 years earlier after settling in Wethersfield. In the suit he had claimed that he had not been given the area promised to the original settlers of Watertown.
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
settler in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
who helped establish Watertown
Watertown, Massachusetts
The Town of Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,915 at the 2010 census.- History :Archeological evidence suggests that Watertown was inhabited for thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from England...
, Wethersfield
Wethersfield, Connecticut
Wethersfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. Many records from colonial times spell the name Weathersfield, while Native Americans called it Pyquag...
, and New Haven
New Haven Colony
The New Haven Colony was an English colonial venture in present-day Connecticut in North America from 1637 to 1662.- Quinnipiac Colony :A Puritan minister named John Davenport led his flock from exile in the Netherlands back to England and finally to America in the spring of 1637...
. He also served as second-in-command to John Mason in the Pequot War
Pequot War
The Pequot War was an armed conflict between 1634–1638 between the Pequot tribe against an alliance of the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies who were aided by their Native American allies . Hundreds were killed; hundreds more were captured and sold into slavery to the West Indies. ...
.
Early life
Robert Seeley was born in Bluntisham-cum-EarithBluntisham
Bluntisham is a village in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire), England. It is near Earith east of St Ives.The Prime Meridian passes through the western edge of Bluntisham.Also known as Bluntisham-cum-Earith...
, Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1602. His father William was a surveyor and trained his son in the trade. In 1623 Robert moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he became an apprentice cordwainer
Cordwainer
A cordwainer is a shoemaker/cobbler who makes fine soft leather shoes and other luxury footwear articles. The word is derived from "cordwain", or "cordovan", the leather produced in Córdoba, Spain. The term cordwainer was used as early as 1100 in England...
. He married Mary Mason in 1626 and began attending the church of the Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
minister John Davenport
John Davenport (clergyman)
John Davenport was an English puritan clergyman and co-founder of the American colony of New Haven.-Early life:Born in Manchester, Warwickshire, England to a wealthy family, Davenport was educated at Oxford University...
that same year.
The Great Migration
In 1630 Robert and Mary sailed with John WinthropJohn Winthrop
John Winthrop was a wealthy English Puritan lawyer, and one of the leading figures in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the first major settlement in New England after Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the first large wave of migrants from England in 1630, and served as governor for 12 of...
as a part of the original Puritan expedition
Winthrop Fleet
The Winthrop Fleet was a group of eleven sailing ships under the leadership of John Winthrop that carried approximately 700 Puritans plus livestock and provisions from England to New England over the summer of 1630.-Motivation:...
to Massachusetts. Soon after arriving in the New World, Seeley became one of the original forty settlers of Watertown
Watertown, Massachusetts
The Town of Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,915 at the 2010 census.- History :Archeological evidence suggests that Watertown was inhabited for thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from England...
, one of Massachusetts' earliest Puritan communities. He employed his training in surveying by laying out many of the plots for the settlers. He was granted freeman
Freeman (Colonial)
Freeman is a term which originated in 12th century Europe and is common as an English or American Colonial expression in Puritan times. In the Bay Colony, a man had to be a member of the Church to be a freeman. In Colonial Plymouth, a man did not need to be a member of the Church, but he had to be...
status in 1631.
Wethersfield and the Pequot War
In 1633 or 1634, Seeley joined a ten-man expedition led by John Oldham to the Connecticut RiverConnecticut River
The Connecticut River is the largest and longest river in New England, and also an American Heritage River. It flows roughly south, starting from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. After flowing through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis, it defines the border between the...
. The group soon established Wethersfield
Wethersfield, Connecticut
Wethersfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. Many records from colonial times spell the name Weathersfield, while Native Americans called it Pyquag...
, the first English settlement on the Connecticut River. Oldham's death in 1636, presumed by the colonists to be at the hands of the Pequot
Pequot
Pequot people are a tribe of Native Americans who, in the 17th century, inhabited much of what is now Connecticut. They were of the Algonquian language family. The Pequot War and Mystic massacre reduced the Pequot's sociopolitical influence in southern New England...
, helped touch off the Pequot War
Pequot War
The Pequot War was an armed conflict between 1634–1638 between the Pequot tribe against an alliance of the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies who were aided by their Native American allies . Hundreds were killed; hundreds more were captured and sold into slavery to the West Indies. ...
in 1637. Seeley served as second-in-command to Captain John Mason in the war. He was severely wounded by an arrow to the head in an attack on a Pequot fort
Mystic Massacre
The Mystic massacre took place on May 26, 1637, during the Pequot War, when English settlers under Captain John Mason, and Narragansett and Mohegan allies set fire to a fortified Pequot village near the Mystic River...
along the Mystic River
Mystic River (Connecticut)
The Mystic River is a estuary in the southeast corner of the U. S. state of Connecticut. Its main tributary is Whitford Brook. It empties into Fishers Island Sound, dividing the village of Mystic between the towns of Groton and Stonington. Much of the river is tidal...
. Captain Mason, who called Seeley a "valiant soldier", wrote of the incident, "Lieutenant Seeley was shot in the eyebrow with a flat headed Arrow, the Point turning downwards. I pulled out the arrow myself." Seeley carried a permanent scar from the wound.
New Haven
John Davenport (clergyman)
John Davenport was an English puritan clergyman and co-founder of the American colony of New Haven.-Early life:Born in Manchester, Warwickshire, England to a wealthy family, Davenport was educated at Oxford University...
arrived in Massachusetts, Seeley joined his group and helped establish the New Haven Colony
New Haven Colony
The New Haven Colony was an English colonial venture in present-day Connecticut in North America from 1637 to 1662.- Quinnipiac Colony :A Puritan minister named John Davenport led his flock from exile in the Netherlands back to England and finally to America in the spring of 1637...
in 1638. Seeley served as New Haven's first town marshal and lieutenant of the militia. He was generally known in the community as Lieutenant Seeley. He also participated in Theophilus Eaton
Theophilus Eaton
Theophilus Eaton was a merchant, farmer, and Puritan colonial leader who was the co-founder and first governor of New Haven Colony, Connecticut.-Early life and first marriage:...
's exploratory expedition in Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
.
Later life
In 1659 Seeley briefly returned to England, living there until 1662 when he returned to the New World and settled in present-day Huntington, New YorkHuntington, New York
The Town of Huntington is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, USA. Founded in 1653, it is located on the north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. Huntington is part of the New York metropolitan...
on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. He died in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1668. In 1695 his heirs received 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) of land in Watertown, resolving a suit which Seeley had filed 60 years earlier after settling in Wethersfield. In the suit he had claimed that he had not been given the area promised to the original settlers of Watertown.
Honors
- Robert Seeley's name is featured on three historic plaques listing town founders, in Watertown, Wethersfield, and New Haven.
- He is listed on a historic plaque at the base of a statue honoring John Mason as one who helped achieve victory for the colonists over the Pequot.
See also
- Great Migration (Puritan)Great Migration (Puritan)The Puritan migration to New England was marked in its effects in the two decades from 1620 to 1640, after which it declined sharply for a while. The term Great Migration usually refers to the migration in this period of English settlers, primarily Puritans to Massachusetts and the warm islands of...
- New Haven, ConnecticutNew Haven, ConnecticutNew Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
- 10 Days that Unexpectedly Changed America10 Days that Unexpectedly Changed America10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America is a ten-hour, ten-part television miniseries that aired on the History Channel from April 9 through April 13, 2006. The material was later adapted and published as a book by the same title.-Overview:...
External links
- The Pequot War from The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Connecticut
- 1736 version of John Mason's account of the Pequot War
- The Winthrop Society is a hereditary organization made up of the descendants those who arrived on the Winthrop Fleet or other Great MigrationGreat Migration (Puritan)The Puritan migration to New England was marked in its effects in the two decades from 1620 to 1640, after which it declined sharply for a while. The term Great Migration usually refers to the migration in this period of English settlers, primarily Puritans to Massachusetts and the warm islands of...
ships before 1634. - Passenger list of the Winthrop Fleet (spelling is Seely on this list)