American Seymour Genealogy

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====== Clinton Henry Seymour ======

//Note: This information was supplied by Paul Carleton Seymour.//

HENRY Clinton (Clinton)<sup>10</sup> SEYMOUR (//[[gilbert9|Gilbert]]//<sup>9</sup>,
//[[willet8|Willet]]//<sup>8</sup>,
//[[william7|William Jr.]]//<sup>7</sup>, //[[william6|William]]//<sup>6</sup>, 
//[[038.samuel|Samuel]]//<sup>5</sup>, //[[015.samuel|Samuel]]//<sup>4</sup>,
//[[006.Matthew|Matthew]]//<sup>3</sup>, //[[002.Thomas|Thomas]]//<sup>2</sup>,
//[[001.Richard|Richard]]//<sup>1</sup>), born 1872 in Thompkins, Delaware, NY, 
died 1946 in Cannonsville, Delaware, NY.  Married Carrie M. Cuyle, b. 1872 in Trout
Creek, Delaware, NY, Daughter of Isaac Alvin.

^ Children (born in Cannonsville, Delaware, NY): ^^
| Neita C. | b. 1894 |
| Helena R. | b. 1897 |
| Leila Clara | b. 1900 |
| Kenneth Clinton | b. 1903 |
| Erford Keith | b. 1905 |
| [[westley11|Westley Carleton]] | b. 1911 |
| Clayton Lynwood | b. 1915; killed in a car accident 1939 |

History of Cannonsville, Delaware, New York, and Henry Clinton and Carrie
Cuyle Seymour

{{clinton001.jpg|}}Here's the town that my GGGG Grandpa William helped found
around 1800, and where 4 later generations of our line of Seymours; Willet,
Gilbert, Clinton, and Westley were all born and raised as well.

Cannonsville, New York was acquired and destroyed by the State of New York
in the early 1960's in order to construct a dam and create a reservoir which
provides drinking water for New York City.  Luckily by this time Great
Grandpa Clinton had already died, and Grandpa Wes had left town anyway for
more economic opportunity since he was one of the youngest in his family.  I
don't have any information on how the State compensated those who were
living there at the time.  I think that my Great Uncle Erford had taken over
Clinton's store, but I don't know what he did when the town was destroyed.
He would have been in his 60's at the time.

Headline read:\\ "Cannonsville, Once a Village:\\ Then Came Bulldozers,
Water and Silence"

{{clinton002.jpg|}}

[[http://www.bearsystems.com/cannonsville/cannonsville99.htm]]

{{clinton003.jpg|}}After......

A map of Cannonsville in 1856 showing Willet's property location.

{{clinton004.jpg|}}

A later map in 1956 just a few years before its destruction:

{{clinton005.jpg|}}

It looks like by this time the Seymours had mostly moved on, although I do
see one building marked as Seymour on Main Street.  We know that in 1956
Clinton's store was no longer in the family, so I'm not sure who this is.

Following are some stories written by Cannonsville residents just prior to
its destruction.
[[http://www.dcnyhistory.org/cannonsville17861956hunter.html]]

"Miss Antoinette Owens remembers the store owned by her father, Milton W.
Owens and uncle, Edgar B. Owens, which stood on the river bank near the
bridge, later becoming the Frank Mapes undertaking establishment. Milton W.
Owens built a new store (now the B & V store) in 1880 and sold general
merchandise for many years. **In 1902 Tunis C. Judd purchased the store of
Mr Owens and conducted business there until 1916 when he sold to H. C.
Seymour. At present the store is owned and operated by Donald Bonker and
Harry Vanderlip.**  We recall the old Winters store which stood opposite
Jester's hardware, and the two stores, Teed's and Keeler's up on "back"
street.

//Picture of Clinton Seymour's store.  Not sure of date, but the car down
the street looks like it's from the 1920's which would be about right://

{{clinton006.jpg|}}

Picture of Westley Carleton Seymour in front of the store by the gas pumps,
I guess in the snow.  This was taken about 1928 when he was around 17 years
old:

{{clinton007.jpg|}}

//Back to the stories from the historical website--//"We have fond memories
of Fred (Bubbie) Cuyle (related to Clinton's wife and my G Grandmother
Carrie Cuyle), the congenial barber and shoe repair man whose business was
in Abe Constables store - our present Post Office and Card's store."

Photo in newspaper of Bubby Cuyle:

{{clinton008.jpg|}}

//He looks like a rugged old character, doesn't he?  Below is an article
explaining the above://

{{clinton009.jpg|}}

"CHURCHES OF CANNONSVILLE

The Baptist Church

**About the year 1830 there was organized at Cannonsville a branch of the
Deposit Baptist Church** with fifteen members: Thomas Durfee, Alice Durfee,
John Randall, Ann Randall, Zebina Hancock, **Dorothy Seymour (William jr.'s
wife, gggg Grandma),** Jeannette Lowry, Affia Crawford, Electa Darrow,
Mahala Hathaway, Benjamin Hathaway, Lebbeus Teed, Electa Teed and Betsy Day.
The membership increased to fifty and on September 28, 1831, they were
recognized as an independent church, and thus the Cannonsville Baptist
Church came into existence.

The first deacons were Thomas Durfee and J. L. Babcock, and the first
regular pastor was the Reverend Mr Baldwin, commencing his ministry in
January 1832 and remaining about six months. In August of that year Deacon
Thomas Durfee was licensed and preached as the main supply for six years.
Then Stephen Stiles, E. L. Benedict and Elder Richmond were pastors until
1850, and again Thomas Durfee in 1851.

The meetings were held in schoolhouses in Cannonsville, Trout Creek, the
Huyck neighborhood, Johnny Brook, at the stone schoolhouse four miles up the
river, and in the "den" ten miles above Cannonsville on the river.

Miss Antoinette Cannon writes:

"Although I never lived the whole year around in this village, I think of it
as my home, and whenever I have been homesick the images that have come to
my mind have been in large part scenes of Cannonsville. There are several
reasons, but chiefly two: the gifts of nature which I began for the first
time to enjoy there, and the story of the early settlement of the valley in
which my fathers grandfather, Benjamin Cannon Sr., played a part.

"I was ten years old and we had come to Deposit to live when Chestnut Point
came into my father, Robert Cannon's possession, and he brought his family
to his old home. We must have spent five successive summers at Chestnut
Point and always afterward returned when we could with a sense of belonging
to Cannonsville.

"Our grandfather, Benjamin Cannon, Jr., who built the house and set out the
trees at Chestnut Point had died before we children were born, and he was
only a legend to us. He must have taken great pains to plan the "Queen
Anne's Cottage," as it was called, in every detail of architecture and
ornament. Some of his drawings for it still exist. A large chestnut tree
stood on the point of ground where Trout Creek comes into the Delaware River
and this was the origin of the name Chestnut Point. The story of the grounds
around the house was that when my grandfather was building the house a
traveling nurseryman came by with a varied stock of trees and my grandfather
bought the entire stock and set them out. The place when we lived there had
reverted almost to Natural woods, but with many trees unusual in the region.
Among them, and surrounded by old but still vigorous chestnut trees one came
upon an open flat oval which was a croquet ground designed and made by my
father when he was a boy. A huge swing with ropes perhaps twenty feet long
was suspended from the limb of one of these big trees to add to the fun of
the Sunday School picnics that were sometimes held there.

"Part of the family history went back to my great grandfather and the
farmhouse he had built on the left bank of the river. It stood, and still
stands, on the flat directly opposite Chestnut Point, and belongs now to the
Leland Boyd family. In our time it was the home of the Samuel Hathaways.
That big family of able farmers soon became an important part of our life,
as they were of the life of the community. I remember having dinner in the
old house with Bessie Hathaway and her parents and what seemed to me an army
of great strong brothers who came in hungry and jolly from the fields.

"My grandmother Cannon lived to be well over eighty. Many of her later years
were spent with or nearby my family and she was with us at Chestnut Point,
happy to be in her old home. As long as I can remember I see her as a white-
haired old lady dressed in black and wearing a lace cap. I cannot remember
ever seeing her without the cap. She was sparely built and straight, always
somewhat formal in speech and manner, and usually had a book in her hand. I
remember her interest in the "Merry Delvers" of which group she had been a
member, but I do not know just what they did in those early times.

"Going to church and Sunday School and to weekday hymn-singing practice was
a major social activity in our lives. We would walk to the church and back,
across the creek bridge, often with the minister and his wife, grandmother
discussing the sermon with them. The Presbyterian parsonage was just across
the road from our house. My sisters and I went there to be taught the
"Shorter Catechism of the Westminster Assembly." I still have the small blue
book, then new, "standard edition 1891" from which I studied. The minister,
Mr Kirwan, was a strict man, but he said that it was perhaps not required of
the young to learn the questions in order, as well as the answers. However,
I decided to try it the hard way and did memorize a good part, but I am sure
not all of the 107 questions. Today I cannot get beyond the first one but
the experience made an impression.

"**Besides the Hathaways I remember other families of the village and farms
where there were children of our age. Among them were the Durfees, the
Seymours, the Finches, the MacGibbons, the Owenses, the Spickermans, the
Hulberts.** The Adams children were little then and as cunning children as
could be found anywhere. They were usually playing on the broad steps of
their father's store where we would stop to admire their curly hair.

"**One exciting day during our childhood in Cannonsville stands out in my
memory: the day the old covered bridge across the Delaware collapsed and
went into the river. There had been a downpour of rain the day before and
the river was in flood. Rain was still coming down and we hurried into
raincoats and rubbers and ran to the river when news came that the bridge
was giving way. We were not in time to see the final crash and the tragedy
which occurred when a fine team of horses, Clinton Seymour, and his loaded
lumber wagon went down with the bridge. Mr. Seymour was unharmed but the
horses went down stream and were drowned.**

//This happened in 1900 when G Grandpa Clinton was about 25.  Good thing he
was a decent swimmer.  I'm sure that a fine team of horses and a wagon
(loaded with something) must have been a big financial loss.  I'm no expert
on insurance practices in rural America in 1900, but I doubt that Clinton
was able to contact his local insurance agent and make a claim.  It might
have taken a while for him to recover this loss.//

"The house at Chestnut Point was modern for its time, with every convenience
and many odd features which would appeal to children, such as the porch with
carriage landing, and the other little side porch off my bedroom, the small
fireplaces, the French windows in the parlour, the delightful woodshed, the
dwarf stairway and door to the attic, the pantry where we made bread and
cake, and the big stream of cold water running constantly through the
kitchen sink. My aunt Elizabeth Archibald and my Uncle Charles Cannon had a
persistent feeling for the place where their childhood had been spent and
came there to visit us, so that we children came to share some of their
sense of its being the old home. Aunt Elizabeth used to tell us of driving
to Deposit every day with her father to get the mail before Cannonsville had
a post office. When the roads were good they made the trip in forty-seven
minutes driving the pair of fast white ponies my grandfather took great
pride in. My father however remembered with less pleasure his daily task of
keeping the white ponies curried and washed.

"In our childhood the mail was brought from Deposit by stage and we were
often among the passengers on that long, slow, eight-mile drive with Mr.
Harvey Cogshell as stage driver. My uncle, for some years after his
retirement from business, lived in Cannonsville in the home of Mrs Owens and
her sister Miss Ellen Seymour. Ellen lived with us for some years and was a
valued member of our household.

"My parents first met in Cannonsville. My mother's home was in Deposit. She
taught music and had some pupils in Cannonsville and so spent part of a year
there, boarding in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Ogden when my father's
family lived at Chestnut Point. A severe winter followed that year and my
father (to be) would skate down the river to Deposit to see her, a round
trip of about sixteen miles. They were married in the home of my maternal
grandfather, George Wheeler, where my sisters and I now live.

//This is my personal favorite story.  I can only imagine what it would have
been like skating 8 miles down the river back in those days.  Even today,
it's a rural area.  Back then I'm guessing that he didn't see another person
on the way, and certainly wouldn't have had to worry about tripping over an
empty Bud can, or discarded pieces of plastic.  It must have been really
peaceful.//

"I think all who have lived here have a feeling of belonging to the valley
of the Delaware, and I for one find it hard to accept the change which is
about to be made. To me personally it can make but little difference, but
now the whole enterprise is to me as to all the people of our country, a
question of the best use to be made of natural resources, especially of
water. We must hope that the plan which our planners have made is in the
best interest of us all, and when we take leave of Cannonsville we must try
still to make good use of all which the valley had given to us and will give
to coming generations. But that is another story."

Miss Owens relates one of her early experiences riding on a raft from
Cannonsville to Deposit with a group of negro(sic) singers who had given a
concert in the village. Going over the dam was the big thrill.

"And another exciting time," writes Miss Owens, "was when William Henderson
later a merchant in Walton for many years shot a burglar in my father's
store. The mark of the bullet may still be on the old counter//." (This is
now the B & V store, which was also Great Grandpa Clinton Seymour's
store).// "After that my young brother kept a baseball bat at the head of
his bed t o be ready for any emergency.

"**In 1900 when the covered river bridge went down with horses, load and
driver, one of the boys rushed his row boat from the mill pond to help in
the rescue."  H. Clinton Seymour was the driver who was rescued, but the
horses were drowned.  **

Miss Owens also remembers hearing that in the early 1860s a private school
was conducted in the Presbyterian parsonage opposite Chestnut Point. The
ministers wife Mrs Thomas Hempstead was her mother's aunt and her mother and
Mrs Hempstead's sister came to live with their aunt and attend the school.
"Miss Ada Hotchkins of Windsor was an able teacher," writes Miss Owens, "but
what intrigued her pupils was the story that she had Indian blood in her
veins."

Albert M. Adams, who was born in 1888 in the old Maples homestead on the
site of the present schoolhouse, writes about some of the stores and shops
in the early days:

His grandfather, Ebenezer Adams, had a shoe shop in part of the Lines
building near the river bridge (Joe Judd's hardware store) and next to that
was Sam Benjamin's blacksmith shop. **Near this building (which was Ken's
barbershop a few years ago) Charles Banks owned a shoe shop which later
became Wilbur Hulbert's cooper shop and after that Clinton Seymour's meat
market**. Martha Owens operated a millinery shop near the market. She sold
her property to Newton Walley who had a meat market there. The old Pomeroy
drug store stood next and after Mr Pomeroy built his new store, **Arthur
Cook had a shoe shop in the old building and in later years Sanford Seymour
(**//Clinton's big brother//**) used the building as a grocery store.**

//The meat market must have preceded the general store.//

More websites on the life and death of Cannonsville.
[[http://www.dcnyhistory.org/map1869hunter.html]] 1869 map showing Willet
Seymour's farm

[[http://www.dcnyhistory.org/map1956hunter.html]] 1956 map.  A bit blurry
but if you look closely you can see a Seymour building on main street,
probably the Store owned by my G grandfather Clinton, who had already died
10 years earlier.  Maybe with Erford at this time.

[[http://www.bearsystems.com/cannonsville/cannonsville.html]] Story of the
death of Cannonsville.

[[http://www.dcnyhistory.org/hunterpics1and2.html]] A couple of pictures

Now on to Clinton and Carrie.

{{clinton010.jpg|}}

Unfortunately this is the only photo I have of the two of them.  I can't
imagine what possessed them to hide behind a bush for the photo, but that's
what we have.

Aside from the stories related above I only know what my Grandparents told
me about Clinton and Carrie.  First and foremost, Clinton was a successful
businessman in Cannonsville, as we saw above, running first a meat shop, and
then it looks like he graduated up to the primary general store in town. The
latter was the only one that I heard about and was pictured from the outside
above.  Here's a picture of the inside with Clinton and great Uncle Erford:

{{clinton011.jpg|}}

It was pretty extensive, selling clothes, farm supplies, food, etc. and had
the gas pumps out front.  As I understand, he was the only supplier in the
small town for many of the goods.  One story which always stuck with me was
that during the Great Depression, many people were suffering great
hardships, of course.  Clinton on many occasions was very generous and
understanding.  On several occasions my Grandfather witnessed people coming
in to the store, and picking out the necessary items for survival.  They
would then humbly tell Clinton that they didn't have any money at the
moment, but would pay as soon as they could.  Clinton would graciously nod,
knowing full well that that day would never come.  To this day, I try to
carry on with that same sense of compassion here in Colombia.  Today in
fact, I gave a little money to a poor lady in the street of Venecia, who was
trying to do so shopping for the week.

Grandma had also mentioned something to the effect that ol' Clint was
something of a lady's man in his day, which also seems to hold true looking
back at the family line.  Grandpa didn't put forth any denial when she said
this, so I assume it was true.

They also made several trips to Sidney to visit my Grandparents late in
their lives, including when my Dad, Westley Francis, was born.  They both
proudly said that Clinton was very taken with young "Skipper" as he was
nicknamed early on.   I guess they made a few visits in his last year, or
so, and he died before Dad turned two, so he never really knew his
Grandfather.

I guess, fortunately for him, Clinton died without ever knowing that soon
his beloved Cannonsville would be destroyed in order to build a dam for
drinking water for NYC.  It had been partly founded by William Jr., then
further grew during Willet's long life while he continued running lumber to
Philadelphia and was the first Seymour to open up a store in town, and
further still while Gilbert was farming, and with his older brother Alonzo,
still running lumber down the river to Philadelphia.  I guess that during
Clinton's time, the lumber business had already died out, with the railroad,
etc., so he continued his Grandfather Willet's tradition of running a store
in town.  I think that Erford continued running the store after Clinton's
death, at least for a while, so in all five generations made Cannonsville
their home.

I know next to nothing about Great Grandma Carrie Cuyle, but have a photo of
her father, Alvin Cuyle, who I learned was from nearby Masonville, by
looking up a Civil War record of his participation.  Grandpa used to always
take us to the old Mason Inn in Masonville for special family dinners, like
Mother's Day, etc.  That would include ten of us.  Grandma and Grandpa, Mom,
Dad, me and Tammy, and Uncle Dick, Aunt Dot, David and Andrew Curtis.  As I
recall, we never really understood the attraction to the little place on top
of a hill in what seemed like the middle of nowhere to us, but it was
important to him, and we gladly went along.  It seemed to be nostalgic for
him, and hey, it was his day, not to mention his nickel.

//Here's the oldest photo that I have, which is of GG Grandpa Alvin Cuyle in
his Civil War uniform.  I was told that it was taken at a World's Fair,
which makes sense based on my research below//  - //This photo was taken in
the first days of photography and is printed on some sort of metal plate,
and I cherish it.//

{{:book:gg_grandfather_alvin_cuyle_1870.jpg?460}}

"The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's
Fair in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to
celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of
Independence in Philadelphia. It was officially the International Exhibition
of Arts, Manufactures and Products of the Soil and Mine. It was held in
Fairmount Park, along the Schuylkill River. The fairgrounds were designed by
Hermann Schwarzmann. About 10 million visitors attended, equivalent to about
20% of the population of the United States at the time (though many were
repeat visitors)."  [[wp>Centennial_Exposition]].

//Alvin Cuyle died in 1915 in Trout Creek, NY, near Cannonsville.//

//If you look closely, you'll see that GG grandpa Cuyle is stoking that
cigar of his for the photo.  Grandpa (Wes), as you'll see in the next
chapter, was a major cigar smoker.  He told me that this photo was what had
inspired him to take up the habit.//

//If you're a photography buff, here's the history of the photo.//
[[http://libwww.library.phila.gov/CenCol/ov-collection2.htm]]

"The Centennial Board of Commissioners awarded the sole license for
photography at the exposition to Edward L. Wilson, editor of the journal,
The Philadelphia Photographer, and his good friend William Notman, a
prominent Scottish-born Canadian photographer. Notman served as president of
the Centennial Photographic Company (CPC) and Wilson as Superintendent and
Treasurer. The other officers of the CPC were W. Irving Adams of New York
City, who served as Vice-President, and Notman's Toronto business partner,
John A. Fraser, who served as Art Superintendent. A CPC catalog lists 2,820
photographs for sale to the public, many in more than one size.
**Stereoviews were sold for $.25** each; 5x8" photographs sold for $.50;
8x10" photographs went for $1.00; 13x16" prints for $2.50; and 17x21"
photographs for $5.00 each. Exhibitors were charged substantially more for
the first print but were offered bulk discounts of up to 20% off the rate
charged the public for 50 copies.

All of the CPC photographs are silver albumen prints and were made using the
wet-plate process in which glass plates were first coated with a collodion
solution of gun-cotton dissolved in alcohol and ether and then sensitized
with a solution of silver nitrate. The glass plate negatives had to be
exposed while still wet and developed and fixed soon after exposure. Contact
prints were then developed in the Company's processing room using albumen
paper (paper coated with a mixture of egg whites and ammonium chloride). The
prints were then mounted on card stock for sale. This process was both
complex and cumbersome. It required lots of supplies, equipment and
manpower. However, the process captured images in exquisite detail on the
negative plates. The exposure times for the treated glass plate **negatives
averaged twenty minutes, according to reports by one of the Company's
photographers, John L. Gihon, whose "rambling remarks" appeared in every
issue of The Philadelphia Photographer during 1877. Exposure times as long
as 2 hours were reported, made necessary by the lack of good** lighting in
many of the Centennial buildings.

The Company was apparently quite successful and their photographs were in
great demand both during and after the Centennial. In the book The World of
William Notman, Roger Hall, Gordon Dodds and Stanley Triggs estimate that
the Centennial Photographic Company made a sizeable profit during the
Centennial."

//The soldiers from Delaware County, NY fought in the 144th Infantry
Regiment//
[[http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/infantry/144thInf/144thInfM
ain.htm]]

"Mustered in: September 27, 1862, Mustered out: June 25, 1865 (//almost
three years, which is a long time to stay alive in those circumstances)//

The following is taken from The Union army: a history of military affairs in
the loyal states, 1861-65 -- records of the regiments in the Union army --
cyclopedia of battles -- memoirs of commanders and soldiers. Madison, WI:
Federal Pub. Co., 1908. volume II.

**"One Hundred and Forty-fourth Infantry**.-Cols., Robert S Hughston, David
E. Gregory, William J. Slidell, James Lewis Lieut.-Cols., David Gregory,
James Lewis, Calvin A. Rice; Majs. Robert T. Johnson, Calvin A. Rice,
William Plaskett. This regiment, recruited in Delaware county, was organized
at Delhi, and there mustered into the U.S. service on Sept. 27, 1862. **It
left the state on Oct. 11, 956 strong**, and was stationed in the defence of
Washington at Upton's hill, Cloud's mills and Vienna until April 1863. It
was then assigned to the Department of Virginia, and in Gurney's division
assisted in the defence of Suffolk, during Long-street's siege of that
place. In May it was placed in Gordon's division of the 7th corps at West
Point, and snared in the demonstration against Richmond. In July it joined
the 2nd brigade, in (Schimmelfennig's) division, nth corps. This division
was detached from its corps on Aug. 7, and ordered to Charleston harbor,
when during the fall and winter of 1863 the regiment was engaged at Folly
and Morris islands, participating with Gillmore's forces in the siege of
Fort Wagner and the bombardment of Fort Sumter and Charleston. In Feb.,
1864, in the 1st brigade, Ames' division 10th corps, it was engaged at
Seabrook and John's islands, S. C It was then ordered to Florida, where it
was chiefly engaged in raiding expeditions and was active in the action at
Camp Finnegan //(Jacksonville).// It returned to Hilton Head in June; was
active at John's island in July, losing 13 killed, wounded and missing; in
Potter's brigade the Coast division it participated in the cooperative
movement: with Sherman, fighting at Honey Hill and Deveaux neck. Its
casualties at Honey Hill were 108 and at Deveaux neck, 37 killed wounded and
missing. Lieut. James W. Mack, the only commissioned officer killed in
action, fell at Honey Hill. Attached to the 3d separate brigade, District of
Hilton Head, it was severely engaged at James island in Feb., 1865, losing
44 killed, wounded and missing. In the fall of 1864 the ranks of the
regiment were **reduced to between 300 and 400 men through battle and
disease**, and it was then recruited to normal standard by one year recruits
from its home county. The regiment was mustered out at Hilton Head S.C.,
June 25, 1865, under command of Col. Lewis. It lost by death during service
40 officers and men, killed and mortally wounded; 4 officers and 174
enlisted men died of disease and other causes total, 218."

//This photo was taken 10 years after the end of the war, so Alvin is
probably into his 30's.  As I study this photo, I try to imagine him on the
battlefield as a 20 year-old.  Based on what I've read of the Civil War,
with 50,000 men, or so, dying in a single day (more than in the entire
Vietnam War), it's difficult for me to get my head around the hell that he
must have endured during his service.  It also helps to bring some life to
the older stories, in previous chapters, of our more ancient ancestors
fighting in metal chain, with battle axes for Christ's sake.  The shear
brutality of actually going through that, I think, is one of those things
that only he, and others who also had the misfortune of being in such a
situation, can speak about.  I somehow can imagine though, that I wouldn't
want to have seen old Alvin charging at me with that sword drawn and a wild
look in his eyes.  The mere fact of his survival makes one think of those he
faced, and their fates.//

Of course as a kid, and then as a young man, I thought that I actually could
have done such things with ease.  The older, more mellow Paul, isn't so
sure.

Also very interesting to me is the fact that during the civil war, two of
our distant cousins, who broke off our family branch in the beginning in
Connecticut, were important players during this era.  Remember that of
Richard's sons, only first born Thomas (our sire) was of age at Richard's
death.  John, Zehariah and Richard were raised as step sons of the first
regional governor of Massachusetts and Connecticut, John Steele, and were
therefore somewhat more privileged, as presumably were their offspring.
John's descendants, especially, included many US Congressmen and Senators.
Same blood line, but with more cash and opportunity, as many went to Yale,
for example.

Both Horatio and Thomas Seymour were Governors of their respective states of
New York and Connecticut at this time.  And both were opposed to the war,
and to centralizing the US government, as both were hard core Jeffersonians,
and therefore favoured a decentralized government.  Although, unfortunately
much less popular these days, as Jefferson himself seems to have been
largely forgotten by the new, mostly immigrant population, I, myself, am one
of the last remaining Jeffersonians.  Maybe that helps explain why I live in
South America. [[wp>Jeffersonian_democracy]]

I also made contact while doing my research with Judy Cuyle, a very
accomplished genealogist and wife of Bill Cuyle, who is a descendent of
Alvin as well.  Bill was in to drag, and stock car racing in a major way.

Grandpa, Dad, and I were/are big speed freaks as well, which may have come
down through the Cuyle line (pronounced like Kyle).  Cuyle, isn't a very
common name, but is also from southern England, almost exclusively found in
Sussex County, England.  This would indicate another family of Norman
origin, I think, and it just looks and sounds French as well, which would
indicate Norman origin.

Now on to generation 11 in America.