52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 26: #33 Abigail (Gates) Seaver (1797-1867)

Amy Johnson Crow suggested a weekly blog theme of "52 Ancestors" in her blog post Challenge:  52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks on the No Story Too Small blog.  Here is my ancestor biography for week #26:

Abigail (Gates) Seaver (1797-1867) is #33 on my Ahnentafel List, and is my 3rd great-grandmother. She married (1) Benjamin Seaver (1791-1825) in 1817, and (2) Isaac Seaver (1802-1870) in 1832.

I am descended through:

*  their son, #16, Isaac Seaver III (1823-1901), who married #17 Lucretia T. Smith (1828-1884) in 1851.
*  their son, #8 Frank Walton Seaver (1852-1922), who married #9 Hattie Louisa Hildreth (1857-1920), in 1874.

*  their son, #4 Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942), who married #5 Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962) in 1900.* their son, #2 Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983), who married #3 Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002), in 1942.

*  their son, #1 Randall J. Seaver (1943-....)

 =====================================================

1)  PERSON (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

*  Birth Name:                Abigail Gates [1-4]

*  Sex:                           Female   

*  Father:                     Nathan Gates (1767-1830)   

*  Mother:                     Abigail Knowlton (1774-1855)   

  

*  Alternate Name:         Abigail Seaver [5–13]

2) INDIVIDUAL FACTS  (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

   

*  Birth:                        24 February 1797, Gardner, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States [1-2]

*  Administration:          8 June 1825 (age 28), petition of widow for administration of estate of Benjamin Seaver; Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States [5]    

*  Guardianship:            1 April 1826 (age 29), petition for guardianship of minor children; Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States [5]   

*  Census:                    1 June 1850 (age 53), Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States [6]

*  Census:                    1 June 1860 (age 63), Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States [7]

*  Census:                   1 June 1865 (age 68), Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States [8]

*  Death:                     4 January 1867 (age 69), cancer; Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States [9]

*  Burial:                     after 4 January 1867 (after age 69), Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States [10]

*  Probate:                  1 February 1867 (age 69), letter of administration granted; Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States [11]

       

3)  MARRIAGES/CHILDREN (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

*  Spouse 1:                 Benjamin Seaver (1791-1825)    

*  Marriage 1:              2 March 1817 (age 20), published; Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States [3-4]

*  Child 1:                   Abigail Seaver (1817-1899)   

*  Child 2:                   Lucinda Seaver (1821-1899)    

*  Child 3:                   Isaac Seaver (1823-1901)    

*  Child 4:                   Benjamin Seaver (1825-1836)

*  Spouse 2:                Isaac Seaver (1802-1870)    

*  Marriage 2:             13 November 1832 (age 35), published; Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States [12-13]

*  Child 5:                   Lyman Seaver (1834-1888)   

*  Child 6:                   Loring B. Seaver (1837-1884)    

 

4)  NOTES (with source citations as indicated in brackets) - revised July 2025:

Abigail Gates was born 24 February 1797 in Gardner, Worcester County, Massachusetts[1-2] to Nathan and Abigail (Knowlton) Gates, their first daughter and sixth child of fifteen.  Abigail’s siblings were: Nathan Gates (1791-1865), Jeremiah Gates (1792-1801), Abel Gates (1793-1870), Asaph Gates (1794-1877), Luke Gates (1796-1796), Luther Gatesw (1798-1847), Amos Gates (1799-1883), Susannah Gates (1801-1881), female Gates (1803-1803), Lucinda Gates (1805-1835), Clarissa Gates (1806-1868), Jeremiah Knowlton Gates (1808-1845), James Eliot Gates (1810-1875) and Benjamin Adderson Gates (1813-1854).

The Gardner, Mass. Town Record that recorded the births of the children of "Nathan Gates and Abagail his wife" included:

"Abigail Born Feb. 24th 1797"

Abigail Gates married Benjamin Sever on 15 February 1817 in Westminster, Worcester County, Massachusetts.[3-4]  The marriage record in the Westminster, Mass. Town Records says:

"Feb^y 15 1817; Mr. Benjamin Sever and Miss Abigail Gates both of Westminster March 2;  published for marriage as the law directs."

Abigail and Benjamin had four children recorded in the Westminster town records:

• Abigail Seaver, born 7 August 1817, Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts; married Samuel A. Monroe, 21 March 1839, Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts, two children; died 21 February 1899, Gardner, Worcester, Massachusetts.

• Lucinda Seaver, born 18 October 1821, Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts; married James Rockwood Bruce, 23 April 1846, Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts, three children; died 27 April 1899, Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts.

• Isaac Seaver, born 16 October 1823, Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts; married (1) Juliet Glazier, 17 September 1846, Rutland, Worcester, Massachusetts, one child; married (2) Lucretia Townsend Smith, 9 September 1851, Walpole, Norfolk, Massachusetts, five children; married (3) Alvina Matilda Bradley, 15 September 1888, Saint Regis Falls, Franklin, New York; died 12 March 1901, Leominster, Worcester, Massachusetts.

• Benjamin Seaver was born on 21 February 1825 in Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts. He died on 26 August 1836 at the age of 11 in Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts. He was buried after 28 August 1836 in Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts.

Benjamin Seaver died in 1825, and Abigail requested the Probate Court to appoint Edward Jackson to be administrator.[5]  The estate was inventoried, Abigail's dower rights were set off to her, and the estate was declared insolvent.  The property was sold at auction, and Abigail was left with $29 in early 1827.  She requested appointment as guardian of her four children on 1 april 1826, and it was granted, with Isaac Seaver, Nathan Wetherbee and Henry Collidge, Jr posting $5000 bond as sureties.

Abigail Seaver married Isaac Seaver on 13 November 1832 in Westminster, her first husband's younger brother, as her second husband.[12-13]   The Westminster, Mass. Town Record for the marriage of Abigail (Gates) Seaver to her second husband, Isaac Seaver, says:

"Feb 13 1832:  Mr. Isaac Seaver and Mrs. Abigail Seaver both of Westminster

29th:  published for marriage as the law directs"

Abigail and Isaac Seaver had two children:

• Lyman Seaver, born 23 April 1834, Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States; married Ann Sophia Gordon, 1 February 1859, Gardner, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States; died 19 July 1888, Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States.

• Loring B. Seaver, born 15 November 1837, Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States; married Euphemia L. Kirk, before 1880, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States; died 10 November 1884, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States.

Her son, Benjamin died in 1836.

In the 1850 US census, the Isaac Seaver family resided in Westminster, Worcester County, MA.[6]  The household included:

*   Isaac Seaver -age 47, farmer, $1,200 in real property, born MA

*  Abigail Seaver - age 53, born MA

*  Leyman Seaver - age 16, farmer, born MA

*  Loring Seaver - age 13, born MA

In the 1860 US census, the Isaac Seaver family resided in Westminster, Worcester County, Mass.[7]   The household included:

*  Isaac Seaver - age 57, born Mass., farmer, #1,200 in real property, $300 in personal property

*  Abigail Seaver age 63, born Mass.

*  Emma Seaver - age 1, born Mass.

In the 1865 Massachusetts State Census, the Isaac Seaver household in Westminster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, contained:[8]

*  Isaac Seaver - age 62, male, born Westminster, Mass., married, a farmer, ratable poll checked, legal voter checked

*  Abigail Seaver - age 68, female, born Gardner, Mass., married, a housekeeper

*  Cynthia Ray - age 53, female, born Westminster, Mass., single, a domestic

The death record for Abigail Seaver (maiden name Gates) in the Gardner, Mass. list of deaths in 1867, from the Massachusetts Vital Records books, `1841-1915, includes this information:[9]

*  Date of death:  January 4 1867

*  Name and surname of the Deceased:  Abigail Seaver, M.N. Gates

*  Sex:  Female

*  Condition:  Married

*  Age:  69 years, 10 months, 20 days

*  Disease or Cause of Death:  Cancer

*  Residence and Place of Death:  Gardner

*  Occupation:  -----

*  Place of Birth:  Gardner

*  Name and Birthplace of Parents:

       Father:  Nathan Gates, Gardner

       Mother Abigail, Lexington

The gravestone inscription for Benjamin and Abigail Seaver in Whitmanville Cemetery in Westminster, Massachusetts says:[10]

"Benjamin Seaver

died

 May 25 1825

AE. 33

Abigail 

wife of

Isaac Seaver

formerly wife of

Benj. Seaver

died Jan. 4 1867

AE. 69."

Abigail Seaver of Westminster died intestate.  Her husband Isaac Seaver was named administrator of her estate, on 1 February 1867.  Bond was signed by Isaac Seaver, Samuel A. Munroe, Abigail Munroe and John Edgell on 9 February 1867.[11]

In the probate records are a list of relations:

Isaac Seavers (husband, of Westminster)

Abigail Munroe (Daughter of Gordon)             

Samuel A. Munroe (son-in-law of Gordon),

Lucinda Bruce (daughter of Westminster),

James A. Bruce (son-in-law of Westminster),

Isaac Seavers (son of Westminster)

Lyman Seavers (son of Westminster)

Loren B. Seavers (son of Austin, Nevada)

SOURCES:

 

1. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), Gardner Births, page 33 (stamped): Abigail Gates entry.

2. Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Gardner, Massachusetts to the end of the year 1949 (Worcester, Mass. :  Franklin P. Rice,1907), Births, page 27.

3. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, digital images, Ancestry.com, "Westminster Births, Marriages and Deaths," page 299 (penned), image 379, Marriage of Benjamin Sever and Abigail Gates.

4. Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908), Marriages, page 186: Benjamin Sever and Abigail Gates entry.

5. "Worcester County, Massachusetts Probate Court Records" (Worcester County Probate Courthouse, Worcester, Mass.),  Probate Packet 52,866, Benjamin Seaver (1825) estate, widow's petition for administration.

6. 1850 United States Federal Census, Worcester County, Massachusetts, population schedule, Westminster town; Page 63A, Isaac Seaver household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com); citing National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, Roll 340.

7. 1860 United States Federal Census, Population Schedule, Worcester County, Massachusetts, Westminster; Page 17, dwelling # 128, family #136, Isaac Seaver household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), citing National Archives publication M653, Roll 531.

8. "Massachusetts, State Census, 1865", Worcester County, Westminster, Page 36 (penned), Dwelling #320, family #362, Isaac Seaver household; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org).

9. "Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1915," indexed database and digital images,  New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (http://www.AmericanAncestors.org), Deaths: Volume 204, Page 222.

10. Whitmanville Cemetery (Westminster, Massachusetts), Grave Markers, Abigail Seaver gravestone.

11. "Worcester County, Massachusetts Probate Court Records"  (Worcester County Probate Courthouse, Worcester, Mass.), Probate Packet 52,857, Abigail (Gates) (Seaver) Seaver, 1867; letter of administration granted.

12. Massachusetts, Town Records, 1620-1988, digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), "Westminster, Births, Marriages, and Deaths," page 326 (image 393), Isaac Seaver and Mrs. Abigail Seaver entry.

13. Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849, Marriages, page 186: Isaac Seaver and Abigail Seaver entry.

=======================================

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/06/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-week-26-33.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver