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2020

Seale Family Papers 1841-1888

DRT Collection at Texas A&M University-San Antonio

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A Guide to the Seale Family Papers 1841-1888

Descriptive Summary Creator: Seale Family Title: Seale Family Papers Dates: 1841-1888 Creator North Carolinian Elias Seale (1793-1857) came to Texas from Alabama Abstract: in 1835 January with his three brothers and participated in the Texas Revolution, serving under Captains Burnett and Lynch. Elias remained in Texas after the Revolution and brought his family to the new Republic. Among the early settlers of Brazos County, Seale was on the committee that selected the first county seat and served on its first grand jury. Content The Seale Family Papers contain letters, legal documents, and land Abstract: records. Papers pertain to Eli Seale, his son Thomas Seale, and others. Included is a letter from Paul Bremond of the and Texas Central Railway Company, seeking to hire slaves for work on the railroad. Identification: Doc 7908 Extent: 9 items (1 folder) Language: Materials are in English. Repository: DRT Collection at Texas A&M University-San Antonio

Biographical Note

Elias (Eli) Seale was born in North Carolina on 1793 April 11. He came to Texas from Alabama in 1835 January with his three brothers and participated in the Texas Revolution, serving under Captains Burnett and Lynch. Elias remained in Texas after the Revolution and brought his family to the new Republic; he and his wife Susannah Davis Seale (1799- 1847) eventually had ten children: Elizabeth Yarborough, Christopher Columbus, Joseph Arnold, Littleton Green, Thomas B., John Davis, Augustus Franklin, Bradford Thompson, Mary Jane, and William Henry. Among the early settlers of Brazos County, Seale was on the committee that selected Boonville as the first county seat and served as the foreman of the county's first grand jury. Beginning in 1848, Seale was the county tax collector and assessor, a position he held for several years. Elias Seale died in Brazos County on 1857 May 2. Elias and Susannah’s son Joseph Arnold Seale was born in Green County, Alabama, on 1822 October 18. He married Mary Ann Buttrill (1829-1912) in 1846 and had seven children, including Thomas Jefferson Seale (1853-1943) and Mary Lena Seale (1866-1961). Joseph served in the Confederate army during the Civil War and died in Brazos County on 1899 December 16.

Joseph’s brother Thomas Seale was born in Alabama on 1826 October 1. On 1859 January 31, almost two years after his father’s death, Thomas was appointed the guardian of his youngest brother William. By the following year, Thomas was residing with his older brother Augustus. Thomas served in the Confederate army during the Civil War and died as a prisoner of war in Chicago in 1863.

The youngest child of Elias and Susannah Seale, William H. Seale was born in Texas on 1841 November 7. While his brother Thomas was appointed his guardian in 1859, by 1860 William was living with his brother Joseph. William married Ruth Palmer or Parmer on 1860 November 22 and died, at age twenty, on 1862 May 8.

References

Daughters of the . Founders and Patriots of the Republic of Texas: The Lineages of the Members of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Volume IV. Austin, Texas: Daughters of the Republic of Texas, 1993.

Daughters of the Republic of Texas. Daughters of the Republic of Texas Patriot Ancestor Album. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing, 1995.

Seale, Ida Carrie. Seale and Allied Families. Panama City, Florida: 1954.

Seale Family Papers, 1841-1888, Col 7908, DRT Collection at Texas A&M University-San Antonio.

Stribling, Johnnie E. Twixt the Brazos and the Navasot: A Study of the Early History of Selected Communities in Northeast Brazos County, Texas (1830-1900s), 1978.

Stribling, Johnnie E., compiler. Glimpses of Life in Early Brazos County, Texas, 1977.

Scope and Content Note

The Seale Family Papers contain letters, legal documents, and land records. Papers pertain to Eli Seale, his son Thomas Seale, and others. Included is a letter from Paul Bremond of the Houston and Texas Central Railway Company, seeking to hire slaves for work on the railroad.

Restrictions Access Restrictions

No restrictions. The collection is open for research.

Usage Restrictions

Please be advised that the library does not hold the copyright to most of the material in its archival collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to secure those rights when needed. Permission to reproduce does not constitute permission to publish. The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of copyright, literary property rights, and libel.

Index Terms

Personal Names Seale family. Bremond, Paul, 1810-1885. Seale, Eli, 1793-1857. Seale, Thomas. Organizations Houston & Texas Central Railway Company. Subjects Railroads--Texas. Slavery--Texas. Locations Brazos County (Tex.)--History--Sources. Genres/Formats Family papers. Correspondence. Land grants. Legal documents.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Seale Family Papers, 1841-1888, Doc 7908, DRT Collection at Texas A&M University-San Antonio.

Acquisition Information Gift of Velma Louise Seale Reeves, 1994 October.

Processing Information

Processed by Warren Stricker, 1994.

Finding aid edited and encoded by Tom D'Amore, 2011 July.

Finding aid updated by Rebeka Delgado, 2020 April.

Detailed Description of the Collection

Seale Family Papers, 1841-1888

The items are arranged chronologically. Folder 1 Military discharge: Samuel B. Killough, Captain Commanding, to Eli Seale,

Washington County Battalion, Franklin, Texas, 1841 March 5. Bond: Eli Seale to William Cleveland, Brazos County, Texas, 1854 October

26. Letter: Job Wright to Eli Seale, 1857 February 2. Letter: P. Bremond, Houston, Texas, to Thomas Seale, Cedar Creek, Texas,

1858 November 24. Legal document: appointment of Thomas Seale as guardian of William H.

Seale, Brazos County, Texas, 1859 January 31. Field notes: H. G. Catlett, assignee of Y. P. Alsbury, 296 acres, Brazos

County, Texas, Jeff F. Mitchell, surveyor, 1883 March 24. Letter: M. A. Seale, Sterling Castle, Texas, to T. J. Seale, 1888 March 10. Land patent: Republic of Texas to H. G. Cattlet [Catlett], assignee of Young P. Alsbury, patent number 418, 320 acres, Brazos County, Texas, 1844. Manuscript copy, undated. Land patent: Republic of Texas to James Pruett [Prewitt], patent number

106, 640 acres, Navasota [Brazos] County, 1842. Manuscript copy, undated.