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He Refused Them More Drink

Mom’s family was thick as thieves in the Poconos area of Pennsylvania! That includes the families of my 5th great grandparents, John SEELY and Katrin (Katherine) BRINKER. I talked about the BRINKERs in the previous post. Now I want to talk about the SEELYs.

John SEELY’s parents were Samuel J. SEELY, Jr. and Mary DeHAVEN. Samuel was born 4 April 1710 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut. Mary was born in 1714 in Trappe, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Trappe is now a suburb of Philadelphia. Samuel and Mary married sometime in 1729-1730 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. They had 6 children that I am aware of – William, Isaac, John, Samuel, Sarah, and Jonas. The line from Samuel and Mary is: Samuel and Mary’s son John, John’s son George, George’s son Charles, Charles’ daughter Mary and Mary’s son (and my great grandpa) Albert BATES.

Just for background, all the stories I’ve been telling recently about Easton and the Indian raids, etc. – all of that still applies to Samuel so keep it in mind. You can find a brief history and one researcher’s interpretation of the documentation available on Samuel SEELY here. This particular SEELY cousin (Sandra McGINNIS) has a very interesting Facebook blog where she celebrates hers and her husband Ed’s ancestors with biographical Facebook blog posts. In the post I linked above she gives a brief biographical sketch of Samuel SEELY. She and I haven’t come to all the same conclusions but I respect her work and contributions to the family history and encourage you to go take a look at her post about Samuel SEELY. You can also find information about Samuel SEELY on Kevin SHOLDER’s website at https://sites.rootsweb.com/~rdrunner/web_data/p52607.htm.

Some researchers say Samuel was an Ironmaster. He served as a wagon master during the French and Indian Wars. He owned a considerable amount of land including 196 acres plus 68 “perches” of land. At the end of his life, he was a tavernkeeper. This job as a tavernkeeper is what would take his life and that’s what I want to talk about today – the tragic end of Samuel SEELY. Samuel SEELY’s murder was the earliest recorded murder in Monroe County, Pennsylvania.

Smithfield Township map showing the Seely land with Seely Grove and Seely Pond marked. Image found at Ancestry.com.

The Tragic End of Samuel Seely

There is a place in Easton, Pennsylvania called Gallows Hill. Lehigh Valley Live confirms that it takes it’s name from the public hangings that used to take place there very early in Easton’s history. Today you’ll find St. Bernard’s Catholic Church there. It’s on South Fifth Street if you ever get a chance to go to Easton. The most famous executions that took place at Gallows Hill were the executions of three soldiers from General John SULLIVAN’s expedition. Their more immediate commander was Lieutenant Colonel Adam HUBLEY. If you’ll remember, John SULLIVAN was the one that basically took over Brinker’s Mill in Sciota when he went through there on his “take-no-prisoners” quest to quell the Iroquois uprising. Andreas BRINKER’s granddaughter, Katrin or Katherine – my 5th great grandmother – married John SEELY, the son of this post’s Samuel SEELY. It all connects.

The Lehigh Valley Live website briefly mentions the execution of the three soldiers but it’s so sanitized it would be easy to read over it and forget it but don’t! It has so much meaning to our family history.

The most famous executions were the hangings of three soldiers in the Sullivan Expedition. William McCoy, Patrick Drogan and Daniel Monaghan  were hanged on June 12, 1779, for the murder of a tavernkeeper near  Stroudsburg.

Lehigh Valley Live, accessed on 17 June 2022.1

That tavernkeeper that was murdered? That was my maternal 6th great grandfather, Samuel SEELY. Why was he murdered? Who were the people that murdered him? I had so many questions when I learned of his murder.

Off the Beaten Path

Samuel’s tavern was “off the beaten path” – at least for Sullivan’s Expedition, it was. No one that I’ve read or studied is really sure how 3 soldiers from Sullivan’s Expedition ended up at Samuel’s tavern, but they did. Looking at a map, Brinker’s Mill (which, if you’ll remember was taken over by Sullivan for his campaign’s/soldiers’ benefit) is 19 miles away from Echo Lake where Samuel lived (about 30 minutes’ drive time but considerably longer if you’re walking or on horseback). At the time of his murder, Samuel owned 196 acres plus 68 “perches” of land in Lower Smithfield Township.

Locations relevant to Samuel SEELY’s life and murder. Google maps screenshot with my edits.

I want to show you what the Seely Grove/Seely Pond (now Echo Lake) looks like just so you have an idea.

Seely Grove video 1, Middle Smithfield, Pennsylvania.
Seely Grove, Middle Smithfield, Pennsylvania.
Seely Grove/Seely Pond area, Middle Smithfield, Pennsylvania.

I tried researching the three men. It’s as if they dropped onto Earth to murder Samuel and then vanished again. No trace of them whatsoever. They were said to be from Colonel Adam HUBLEY’s regiment. Whatever happened, the men ended up at Samuel’s tavern wanting drinks. Samuel, for whatever reason, refused to serve the soldiers the alcohol they demanded. For this, William McCOY, Patrick DROGAN, and Daniel MONAGHAN killed him.

The Documents That Remain

Only a couple of documents survive from the court case according to Monroe Legal Reporter. In this handful of documents we receive all the information we may ever know about Samuel’s murder. We know he was killed in 1779. The murder happened less than 2 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In fact, one of the Supreme Court Justices who upheld the guilty verdict and death sentence was also a signer of the Declaration of Independence (Chief Justice Thomas McKEAN). We know the Justices met on 17 May 1779 in Easton, Northampton, Pennsylvania for the May term of the Oyer and Terminer Court. In the original trial, all 3 men (McCOY, MONAGHAN, and DROGAN) pled not guilty. The jury was called 18 May 1779. They found all 3 men guilty and the men were sentenced to be hung. The justices upheld the verdict and sentencing and the hanging was set for 12 June 1779. All 3 men were hung on that date at Gallows Hill in Easton, Northampton, Pennsylvania between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Page 1 of Samuel SEELY’s story from the Monroe Legal Reporter.
Outcome of the case where the three soldiers were ordered to be executed on Gallows Hill in Easton, Pennsylvania.

As far as I can tell, the three men who were Justices at that time were Thomas McKEAN, William Augustus ATLEE, and John EVANS.2 Other attorneys and judges were named but these were the Supreme Court Justices. I was surprised that all the jurors were named in the documents. Just something I noted: the anniversary of the hanging of these three men was a mere 5 days ago from the day I started writing this blog post.

In addition to the names listed above, the book Pennsylvania’s Traitors and Criminals During the Revolutionary War3 and also in the Minutes of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania4 (from which I’m quoting), lists the following Esquires so I’m not sure if they’re attorneys or judges:

PHILAD’A, Wednesday, May 26, 1779.

PRESENT:

His Excell’y JOSEPH REED, Esq’r, President. Hon’ble GEORGE BRYAN, Esq’r, Vice President.

Joseph Hart, John Macky, James Read, Jac’b Arndt, & Matt’w Smith, Esqu’rs.

A Transcript of the record of conviction of William McCoy, Dan’l Monaghan, & Patrick Drogan, late of the County of Northampton, before the Judges of the Supreme Court held at Easton, for the County of Northampton, on the seventeenth day of May, inst., of Murder, and the sentence of the Court thereupon “that they, the said Will’m McCoy, Dan’l Monaghan, & Patrick Drogan, be hanged by the Neck ’till they be dead,” being read;

On Consideration,

Ordered, That Saturday the twelfth day of June next be appointed for the execution of the said sentence between the hours of ten of the Clock of the Forenoon & two of the Clock in the Afternoon of the same day, at the usual place of Execution, & that a Warrant, under the less Seal of the State, signed by the President & attested by the Secretary, be accordingly issued.

The Hon’ble the Congress of these United States having transmitted to this board the following resolution, Viz:

“In Congress, 22d May, 1779.

The final word in the sentencing related to the murder conviction of the men who murdered Samuel SEELY in Smithfield, Pennsylvania, in 1778. This information is also available in the Colonial Records, Vol. 12.5

Digging Deeper: The Officers’ Journals

I decided to continue looking one last time before I published this post and I found a book of Officers’ journals. The journal entries were written at the time of the hanging so I feel the information is more reliable than what I had previously found. Harvard University has a copy of the book of journals online at Hathitrust. It’s entitled, Journals of the Military Expedition of Major General John Sullivan Against the Six Nations of Indians in 1779 with Records of Centennial Celebrations.11 Captain Daniel LIVERMORE’s entry for 12 June 1779 gives a few different details about the execution carried out on this date:

Saturday, June 12. This day, at four, P.M., the troops parade to attend the execution of three criminals, inhabitants of this State, convicted of murder and highway robbery. They were tried before the civil authority, and have been under sentence eleven months. Nothing more worthy of notice this day.

Harvard University/Hathitrust11 Journal of Captain Daniel LIVERMORE, page 180.

This was the first time I saw any indication of a crime other than murder. It’s also the first time I’m seeing information that Samuel was killed in 1778, not 1779. If this journal is to be believed (and I think it would be much more reliable since it was written at the time of the event), a robbery occurred in addition to a murder. Perhaps the murderers had their drinks after all. Even more disturbing though was the entry for the following day in this journal:

Sunday, June 13. This day, one of the criminals executed yesterday, was dug up and dissected of which I was a spectator. Nothing further worthy of notice this day.

Harvard University/Hathitrust.11 Journal of Captain Daniel LIVERMORE, page 180.

This is the only place I’ve found any of these details in a months’ worth of researching. So although the details were grim, I’m glad I stuck with it. There is nothing I’ve found that gives details about these men’s burials other than what is written in this journal. There is no record of their final resting place, no record of family, nothing. While I detest the acts they committed, I can’t find it in my heart to wish them an eternity of anonymity. I wish the journal writer had named the one that was dug up or stated where the three soldiers were buried. I suspect they were buried at Gallows Hill which means they are under the Catholic Church that now stands there. However, no one will ever know unless some other documents are located by researchers in the future. While I’m sad that I don’t know exactly where my Samuel (the murder victim) is buried, I’m glad that at least part of the information is now out there as to the final resting place of the murderers.

Sergeant Thomas ROBERTS gave his account of the triple execution in a journal he kept. I retained the spelling used in the journal:

12th. theare was three Solgers hanged for Murder I never saw so many Specttators in my Life I think. According to my opinion theare was 4,000 that night one was taking up again [the Doctor] Cut his arm and Leg and Examined him and the next night then buried him again.

Harvard University/Hathitrust.11 Journal of Sergeant Thomas ROBERTS, page 240.

Lieutenant Samuel M. SHUTE gave his account stating:

June 12th. There were executed three soldiers of the Pennsylvania Line for murdering a man who refused to sell them more drink.

Harvard University/Hathitrust.11 Journal of Lieutenant Samuel M. SHUTE, page 268.

The triple hanging caused quite a stir in Easton. Sergeant Major GRANT noted that the “whole of the Troops on the ground were present at this melancholy occasion”.9 I am thankful that all these officers kept journals no matter how brief their entries were. It provides just a couple of extra details that would not have otherwise been retained about the murder.

One additional thing I noted in the records were that two of Samuel’s sons, Jonas and Isaac, were called as witnesses in the case. It’s horrifying to think that Samuel’s sons witnessed his murder and then had to testify about it.

Final Notes

While I have not found any information that I can say is definitively about the three men who murdered Samuel SEELY, I have found some intriguing information that future researchers may want to follow up on. I believe the possibility is strong that this book talks about the same William McCOY who murdered Samuel. The book is William McCoy and His Descendants by Lycurgus McCoy. You can find the book online at the link. I believe the correct William McCOY can be found beginning on page 22.8

I like to walk away from a story with a lesson or principle to make your life (and mine) better. The thing that’s on my mind tonight is that life is so precious and so fleeting. Treat everyone as though you’re speaking to them for the last time because when it really is our “last time”, we don’t typically get advance notice of that. You never know when the last time is THE “last time”. So speak with love, show charity to others, and pray for forgiveness for yourself and others. Life is so short. Love your people.

Until next time,

Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog

Resources

  1. https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news/g66l-2019/01/a7e3ea84774575/how-15-lehigh-valley-places-got-their-weird-names.html, accessed 17 June 2022.
  2. https://www.pacourts.us/learn/history/historical-list-of-supreme-court-justices, accessed 17 June 2022.
  3. Corbly, Don. Pennsylvania’s Traitors and Criminals During the Revolutionary War. Accessed on Google Books on 18 June 2022.
  4. Minutes of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania. Supreme executive council, Minutes. 1853. Accessed online at Google Books on 18 June 2022.
  5. Colonial Records, Vol. 12. 1853. Accessed online at Google Books on 18 June 2022.
  6. Hayburn, Timothy. Who Should Die?: The Evolution of Capital Punishment in Pennsylvania,1681-1794. Accessed online at the Lehigh University Library website on 18 June 2022.
  7. The History of Easton, Penn’a, from the Earliest Times to the Present, 1739-1885. Accessed online at Internet Archive on 18 June 2022.
  8. McCoy, Lycurgus. William McCoy and His Descendants. Accessed online at Forgotten Books on 18 June 2022.
  9. Zellers-Frederick, Andrew A. “Maj. Gen. John Sullivan and the Occupation of Easton, Pennsylvania, May 7-June 18, 1779.” Journal of the American Revolution, Frontier, Native Americans, The War Years (1775-1783). February 13, 2020. Accessed online at https://allthingsliberty.com/2020/02/maj-gen-john-sullivan-and-the-occupation-of-easton-pennsylvania-may-7-june-18-1779/ on 18 June 2022.
  10. Hoffman, Luther S. The Unwritten History of Smithfield Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Accessed online at Digital Books and at Penn State University Library. Both accessed on 18 June 2022.
  11. Cook, Frederick. Journals of the Military Expedition of Major General John Sullivan Against the Six Nations of Indians in 1779 with Records of Centennial Celebrations. Accessed online at Harvard University/Hathitrust on 7 July 2022.

Foundations

Once again this year I’m doing Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. This year she is offering a once monthly option as well so when I get too busy to post once a week, I’ll revert to once a month and hopefully that will at least keep me writing. This week’s theme is ‘foundations’. When I was thinking about types of foundations I already had in mind that I wanted to do another DNA blog post and so what better ‘foundation’ to write about than the very foundation of human life? Today’s DNA post will relate to my SEELY family since they are my annual focus this year.

My SEELY family member nearest in relation to me is my 2nd great grandmother, Mary SEELY who was married to George Columbus BATES. I’ve written about them in a number of posts on this blog if you’d like to go back and get some background information. If you’ve read my blog for any length of time you know that for a few years I’ve been trying to figure out a way to utilize my DNA to create a more complete genealogy. I wasn’t willing to pay for classes or videos so everything I’ve learned has been trial-and-error or free information so it’s taken me a while to get it figured out. Today I want to talk about what I’ve discovered that works.

Modified Triangulation

What seems to be working for me right now is a modified triangulation of sorts.

SEELY family tree – screenshot from Ancestry.com.

So for instance, in order to see if my SEELY DNA lined up with my family tree as it looks right now, I took the surnames SEELY, BRINKER, SHELLY, and RIDGWAY and searched my DNA matches for people with those surnames in their family trees. I chose those 4 surnames because on the SEELY line I’m certain of my family tree up through Charles George SEELY. I felt my best next move would be to take the surnames of Charles’ 4 grandparents and see if those names were prevalent in my DNA matches’ trees as well (a modified triangulation technique).

Seely

I am confident I’m on the right track on the SEELY line. My family tree lines up really well with information in my DNA matches’ family trees. Understand though – the fact that my tree matches up with other trees does NOT mean any of us have it right. It’s just a clue that I probably am fairly accurate on that line but I’ll need records to back that up and prove it. DNA is just one more clue pointing me in a certain direction. Out of 5 DNA trees with the name spelled ‘SEELY’, I matched 3. One matched to Mary SEELY’s parents; one matched to Mary SEELY’s great-grandparents (John SEELY and Katherine BRINKER), and one matched at 3 generations past John and Katherine – my 8th great-grandparents named Jonas SEELY and Mary WICKS or WEEKES. In regard to common alternate spellings, I had 3 hits (out of 15 DNA matches) with the spelling of ‘SEELEY’. One matched to Jonas and Mary (see couple above) and two matched to my 9th great-grandparents, Jonas SEELY and Mary ANGELL. Of the DNA matches where I couldn’t make a SEELY connection, some didn’t have family trees, some trees didn’t go very far back in time so I wasn’t able to find a connection, and then I’m sure there were others where SEELY wasn’t the line we matched on so I wasn’t able to find a connection on that line. Overall, I am more confident now that my SEELY line is pretty accurate. I just need to make sure my documentation is accurate and organized.

Charles SEELY minister credentials.

Brinker

The second surname I listed was BRINKER. I feel confident I have the correct BRINKER line right now. The DNA seems to back that up. Utilizing both the spelling of the surname my nearest BRINKER relative used (Katherine, my 5th great grandmother) as well as the older alternate spelling of BRUNGGER, I found a total of 12 matches with these surnames in their tree. Of those, I could find the BRINKER/BRUNGGER connection in two of those trees but I found clues in most of the others that leads me to believe that once I know more about the family I’ll be able to connect the remaining 10 matches (or most of them). One DNA match connects to me at my 5th great grandparents, John SEELY and Katherine BRINKER. The other is a double connection matching to my dad’s HUTCHISON family (starting with his 3rd great-grandmother, Lucretia) and to my mom’s family on her BRINKER line.

John and Katherine (BRINKER) SEELY’s home in Ralls County, Missouri. This home was restored by John BARAGIOLA (a descendant) and you can find videos on YouTube. I’ll post one below so you can find them.

Here is the first of many videos of John BARAGIOLA’s restoration of the SEELY-BRINKER log cabin. You can find more on his YouTube channel. John’s a great guy. When you watch his videos please like the videos and subscribe to his channel as this helps his status on YouTube.

John BARAGIOLA’s SEELY-BRINKER log cabin restoration video.

Shelly

The third surname I listed was SHELLY. My SHELLY line is one that I wasn’t as confident about when I started this project. I am still not completely comfortable about the line as it is right now. I found a total of 14 matches on the various surname spellings. Out of 14, I could verify only one and he matched to my 7th great grandparents, Johan “Hans” Michael SHEELY and his wife Elizabeth. Johan and Elizabeth were the great-grandparents of Elizabeth SHELLY, my closest SHELLY relative (and my 4th great grandmother).

George SEELY and Betsy SHELLY marriage certificate, Ancestry.com. Marriage took place 17 February 1814 at St. Charles County, Missouri.

Ridgeway

The final surname I researched was RIDGEWAY – a family line I was not well-versed on and didn’t have worked out past my nearest RIDGEWAY relative (my 5th great-grandmother Mary Ann “Nancy” RIDGEWAY). Seven DNA matches were also researching this surname and I was not able to connect to any of them because their RIDGEWAYs were so far back in time compared to mine (and also, some didn’t have family trees at all). So, I didn’t make much headway on this line and information on Ancestry.com is conflicting. Figuring out this line will take considerably more research and documentation and I may find out I’m on the wrong trail altogether. I also have to consider that, due to the way DNA recombines in each individual, it’s possible I just didn’t receive any RIDGEWAY DNA and that’s why it doesn’t show up.

To Sum It Up

Just to clarify, I’ve used this technique on my ‘brick wall’ lines with much greater success in the past so keep that in mind when reading this blog post. I do plan to continue using this modified triangulation technique in the future, especially on brick wall lines where I feel I’ve made all the progress I can with conventional research methods. Please keep in mind that DNA is just a CLUE that points you in a certain direction. You still have to do the traditional research to ensure you have correct information. Having said that, I felt I had less success on these particular lines using the modified triangulation. I was able to come to a point where I feel confident about my SEELY and BRINKER lines. I am less confident that my SHELLY line is correct and am moving my RIDGEWAY line over to ‘brick wall’ status as there is conflicting information on Ancestry and it isn’t matching up to my DNA either. That doesn’t mean it’s definitely wrong, it just isn’t looking good right now. This is definitely a line I need paper documentation and research time on.

I hope you have a chance to try out this modified triangulation technique for yourself. Possibly someone else has already done this and I’m just late to the game because I’m unwilling to pay to learn what to do. That’s fine. This is what I’ve come up with that works for me and I’m sharing it freely with you. I hope you have time to use it and you have great success with it. If you do use it and make some discoveries, I’d love to hear about it in comments!

Until next time,

Lisa @ Days of Our Lives

P.S.- I’ve changed the website again to try and make it more user friendly. Hopefully I’ve accomplished that. In the process, you may have been accidentally unsubscribed from my blog. I’m sorry about that. If you enjoy the blog, please re-subscribe and keep reading! I hope your weekend is fabulous and you make many wonderful genealogical discoveries – or at least make a great memory or two!

I Know What You Did That Day

What if I told you that I know *for sure* that on 15 December 1961 at 2:00 p.m., Troy (“Lum”) and Jessie BATES were in Bentonville, Benton County, Arkansas? Would you believe me? I mean after all, I wasn’t even born yet in 1961. How could I know for sure?! Well, I can tell you I *do* know and they *were* there. I can tell you that bit of information thanks to a warranty deed I found at the Benton County Circuit Clerk’s office this week. Becky (my SIL- you can catch her genealogy blog here), my mom, and I are trying to learn more about the kinds of information we can find at a county courthouse. We started this month with land records. This was our first trip to the courthouse for this learning exercise. I thought (naively) that it would be a quick day trip. Joke’s on me! We were there several hours and hardly scratched the surface of all the land records available. We’ll definitely be going back. In the meantime, I wanted to show you what I found and why I thought it was blog-worthy.
Short version: We found two warranty deeds for Troy and Jessie BATES, a warranty deed for Albert BATES (Troy’s dad), a warranty deed for George and Mary (SEELY) BATES (Troy’s grandparents) and – SURPRISE!- a warranty deed for Charles SEELY! The SEELY deed also happened to involve George and Mary (SEELY) BATES.


Troy and Jessie BATES’ property

Warrant Deed signed by Troy and Jessie (Riter) Bates.
Warrant Deed signed by Troy and Jessie (Riter) Bates.

Troy and Jessie BATES warranty deed, 1961.


This warranty deed tells me that Lum and Jessie sold 200 acres of land (minus the railroad right of way as mentioned in the deed) for $8000 to J. B. and Flora FULLER. Jessie had an aunt who married a FULLER so I am currently trying to figure out whether the FULLERs who bought this land were related or not. I have not found a connection yet but am still looking. This deed was executed 15 December 1961. My mom says that the following summer (1962) they moved to South West City, McDonald, Missouri. One of things that excited me the most about this deed is that Lum and Jessie both signed it so I now have copies of both their signatures.

Signatures of Troy and Jessie (Riter) Bates.
Signatures of Troy and Jessie (Riter) Bates.

Troy and Jessie Bates’ signatures from 1961 deed.


Before we left the building I told mom I wanted to see if they would sell us a Township-Range map of Benton County so we could later locate the properties for which we had deeds. It turns out Benton County will sell you a map- but you can go online and utilize their digital maps for free. I still think I want to buy a map when we go back but the digital maps were interesting and I wanted to show you what you can find with their digital maps. I took Troy and Jessie BATES’ 1961 deed and entered the Section, Township, and Range for part of their property into Benton County’s map database. It pulled up the section. By manipulating the map with overlays I was able to see an aerial view of part of the property as it looks now.

Benton County, Arkansas property maps.
Benton County, Arkansas property maps.

Benton County AR maps homepage. Accessed 24 August 2016.


If you wanted to go to this property yourself, you wouldn’t be able to actually get onto the property but you could drive alongside it. Here’s how you would get there. Take Highway 59 into Sulphur Springs, Benton County, Arkansas. Turn West on Fickinger Street. Keep heading West to South Horse Creek Road. Go South on South Horse Creek Road. This road will turn into Bird Mountain Road. You will continue South and pass North Big Springs Road. You will pass 4 chicken houses sitting in a row on your left. When the road curves back beside the railroad tracks, Troy’s former property will begin. Look to your left to see it. It runs the length between the railroad track and Bird Mountain Road. When the road turns due West again you will be moving away from this section of his property.
I’m hoping to get a chance to take a road trip over to Sulphur Springs, Benton County, Arkansas soon and try to find the property just for fun. It is now owned by NSS Land Company LLC out of Little Rock, Arkansas. They specialize in excavation/grading and building construction.
The Troy & Jessie BATES 1939 deed is equally interesting. In this deed they were buying instead of selling- if you could call it buying. For “One Dollar and other valuable consideration” Lum and Jessie bought 160 acres from “Julia DAVIS, survivor wife of Ben C. DAVIS, deceased”. Typically when a property is “sold” to a close family member it is sold for “One Dollar and other valuable consideration”. Basically, the grantor (Julia DAVIS) is giving the land to the grantee (Lum & Jessie BATES). Jessie’s great-grandmother was Sarah DAVIS so again I’m wondering whether Julia DAVIS was related- especially given the amount “paid” for that amount of land. However, my husband brought up a good point that needs consideration. Lum was a trader- and a good one at that. He made sure he came out on top. It’s possible Julia was someone who owed him money and so she deeded him land in lieu of money. Another possibility is that he promised her work in return for land. These are things to consider.


Albert BATES’ 1962 Deed
Albert L. BATES was Troy’s dad. By the time this warranty deed was executed Albert’s wife, Dettie (GIBSON) BATES, had already passed away. The deed confirms that he was unmarried at the time the deed was executed as it refers to him as “Albert L. Bates, a single person”. In this deed, Albert “sold” his 2 city lots on Block 3 of Pierson’s Addition in the town of Gentry for “Other consideration and One Dollar” to Lloyd C. and Minnie JANUARY. None of my research has ever turned up a JANUARY family connected to our family. I’m working on finding the connection right now. If you know the connection, please let me know in the comments. Mom once told me that she thought his house in Gentry was where a beauty salon is now at the current intersection of highways 12 and 59 at the northwest corner of the intersection. If you happen to hit that light red (or you stop in the parking lot across the road) you can take a minute to view it and reflect. If I remember correctly mom said it has been added on to since Albert lived in it.). Again, one of my favorite things about this deed is it has Albert’s signature.

Albert Bates' signature.
Albert Bates’ signature.

Albert Bates’ signature from 1962 deed.


I will blog another day about the Charles SEELY deeds. He is my target person this year so I want to spend extra time on them and these deeds are very old and handwritten so it’s going to take me longer to analyze them. The deeds were fun to look at. One of the things I loved most about finding these deeds is that I now have copies of my grandparents’ and great-grandfather’s signatures and what is possibly my 2nd great-grandparents’ and 3rd great-grandfather’s signatures. The women working in the Circuit Clerk’s office were wonderful and the room they gave us to research in was very comfortable. If you’re planning a research trip there, be aware that you should wait until you get onsite to get copies of deeds. The copies are half price if you get them while there as opposed to ordering them from the website.
I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing the signatures and a glimpse of what one of Troy & Jessie’s properties looks like (now versus then- but still interesting). If you’re interested in learning more about courthouse research, I am utilizing Christine Rose’s book, Courthouse Research for Family Historians: Your Guide to Genealogical Treasures . Don’t forget you can also enjoy my friends’ blogs:
Down in the Root Cellar by my SIL, Becky
Recipes from Lena by my friend, Teresa
Theology for Mom by my friend, Rochelle
Digging Genealogy by my distant cousin, Annie
Enjoy your week!


Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives

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Surname Saturday- SEELY

2022 Update:

  1. I made a correction to my 2nd great-grandfather’s name in the original portion of the blog post.
  2. I added images to the original post.
  3. For clarification to my family members who follow the blog, the line goes from Troy Columbus BATES’ dad Albert to Albert’s mom Mary SEELY BATES to Mary’s father, Charles George SEELY who is listed below in the original portion of the blog post.
  4. Since I do have an Ancestry account at this point, I did a quick search for Theodore again. It turns out (if the Ancestry trees I consulted are correct), Theodore Martin SEELY is possibly related to us. It appears we share an English ancestral couple: Sir William SEELEY of Huntingdon and his wife, Lady Grace PRETT SEELEY. William and Grace are my 11th great-grandparents and Theodore Martin’s 10th great-grandparents. I haven’t done the research necessary to solidify this connection but I welcome others to join the search and verify this connection.

Happy searching! Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog

Original Blog Post:

My connections to SEELY: I can only trace my SEELY line back to my great-great grandfather Charles Harvey George SEELY. He was a Baptist preacher. He married Synthia Arrena FOSTER and together they had 8 known children. I descend through their daughter, Mary Ann, who was the sixth of the eight children. Charles and Synthia were married in Lawrence County, Missouri.

A review of online death records for Lawrence County, Missouri shows that Theodore Martin SEELY died on 17 Dec 1944 in the town of Marionville.

Death Certificate for Theodore Martin Seely. Image located at Ancestry.com.

Theodore lived in that area for 1 year and 2 months prior to his death. Theodore was a white male. He was married to Joyce Opal SEELY at the time of his death. He began his life on 28 Dec 1878 in Indiana. He was a retired oil worker. His cause of death was listed as “appoplexy” due to arteriosclerosis, a condition he had for 5 years prior to his death. Theodore’s wife, who was 20 years his junior, was unable to identify Theodore’s parents. I searched HeritageQuest but was unable to locate any information about Theodore with the information that I have from his death certificate. Ancestry listed Theodore and Joyce as living together in McDonald County, Missouri on the 1930 Federal Census.

Theodore Martin Seely family, 1930 U.S. Federal Census. Image located at Ancestry.com.

Beyond these details, I was not able to find anything else by doing a cursory internet search for Theodore and Joyce. If I had a subscription to Ancestry, I would have been able to find more and to possibly find out whether Theodore was a part of my SEELY family that lived for many years in Lawrence County before moving on to other parts of Missouri and nearby Benton County, Arkansas.


For now, Theodore and Joyce will remain a mystery for me. Blessings to all my SEELY’s who are out there. I would love to connect with living relatives.

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