Thursday, October 10, 2019

Seavers in the News -- Detective George F. Seaver of Taunton, Mass. Dead in 1895

It's time for another edition of "Seavers in the News" - a weekly feature from the historical newspapers about persons with the surname Seaver that are interesting, useful, mysterious, fun, macabre, or add information to my family tree database.

This week's entry is from the The Boston [Mass.] Globe newspaper dated 1 January 1896:

The transcription of the article is:

DETECTIVE SEAVER DEAD.
---------------
Worked Hard Upon the Borden Murder Case -- 
Appointed Upon State District Police by Gov. Talbot.

"TAUNTON, Dec. 31 -- State detective George F. Seaver died at his home on Winthrop st., this city, about 9 a.m. today.  He has been troubled with his heart for some time, and at a recent session of court had a serious attack.

"Mr. Seaver was a native of Taunton, being born here July 28, 1836.  He received his education at the public schools and Bristol academy in this city.  In early life he learned the carpenter trade, but disliking the business, he looked for a way out of it, and finally drifted into politics, where he has been quite successful.

"He served one year in the council and two years as an alderman, and was finally appointed city marshal of Taunton by Mayor Paige, which position he retained for nearly three years, until appointed to his recent position as state detective by Gov. Talbot, when he resigned it.

"Mr. Seaver as a state officer was successful to a remarkable degree, and was connected with many notable cases, among which was the Borden affair of Fall River, in which he was a very prominent figure.

"He was a war veteran, having enlisted at the beginning of the war in the 3d Rhode Island regiment, from Providence.  At the expiration of his time he returned to Providence, where he enlisted in tjhe 2d R.I. artillery and was commissioned lieutenant on Sept. 1, 1861, and served in that capacity until October, 1863, when he resigned on account of disabilities.

"He was a member of Alfred Bayliss blue lodge of Free Masons, the Royal Arch chapter, and a member of Bristol commandery.  He was also a member of the Masonic relief association.

"Mr. Seaver resided in a beautiful home on Winthrop st., and leaves a wife and two daughters, who have the heartfelt sympathy of the whole community in their affliction.  He has a brother in this city, James F. Seaver, who is chairman of the board of health.

"Mr. Seaver has been troubled with heart failure for the last few years, and had been advised by his physician to take a rest from the excitement, which usually accompanied his situation, but he could not content himself out of employment, and so continued, when by a little relaxation from duty he might have been spared to his family for some years.

"Last night he came home on the midnight train from Winsted, Conn. whither he went on a business trip.  This morning the family say he arose at his usual time, but was not feeling well, and laid down on a sofa for a few minutes, but never arose, as he passed away shortly afterward.

"The funeral will take place at the residence on Winthrop st., Friday afternoon."

The source citation for the article is:

"Detective Seaver Dead,The Boston [Mass.] Globe newspaper, obituary, Wednesday, 1 January 1896, page 6, column 5, George F. Seaver obituary story;  Newspapers.com   (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 10 October 2019).

This obituary lists his survivors as a wife, two daughters, and a brother, James F. Seaver.  It provides his birth date and death date, a cause of death, his street name, and a life history, including service in the military during the Civil War, in politics, and as a state detective.

George Francis Seaver was born 28 July 1836 in Taunton, Massachusetts to Samuel and Lepha (Hodges) Seaver.  He married Jane Montgomery (1840-1919) on  20 November 1866 in Lakeville, Massachusetts.  They had two children:

*  Emma Louise Seaver (1868-????), married 1890 Charles Moore Mason (1865-????).
*  Elizabeth M. Seaver (1872-1918), married 1897 Clarence Alton Briggs (1871-1928).

George Francis Seaver is my 6th cousin 4 times removed.

There are over 8,000 Seaver "stories" in my family tree - this was one of them.   Life happens, accidentally and intentionally, and sometimes folks live an eventful life and die suddenly.

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Disclosure:  I have a paid subscription to Newspapers.com and have used it extensively to find articles about my ancestral and one-name families.



Copyright (c) 2019, Randall J. Seaver

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