Friday, October 25, 2024

52 Relatives: 2nd Great-GrandUncle Benjamin Seaver (1825-1836) of Westminster, Massachusetts

Benjamin Seaver[1–4] was born on 21 February 1825 in Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, the 4th and last child and the second son of Benjamin Seaver and Abigail Gates.[1-2]  He had sisters Abigail Seaver (1819-1899) and Lucinda Seaver (1821-1899), and a brother, Isaac Seaver (1823-1901).

Benjamin's father died 25 May 1825 in Westminster when Benjamin was only 3 months old.  His mother married, secondly, his father's brother, Isaac Seaver, in 1832 in Westminster.

He died on 26 August 1836 at the age of 11 in Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States.[3-4] He was buried after 28 August 1836 in Whitmanville Cemetery in Westminster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States.[4]

SOURCES:

1. "Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988," indexed database and digital images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com), "Westminster Births, marriages and deaths", page 246 (penned), image 223, Family of Benjamin and Abigail Sever, Benjamin Sever birth entry, 21 February 1825.

2. Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Worcester, Mass.: F.P. Rice, 1908), Births, page 83, Benjamin Sever entry, 21 February 1825.

3. Systematic History Fund, Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849, Deaths, page 247, Benjamin Seaver entry, 26 August 1836.

4. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/146330599/benjamin-seaver : accessed October 24, 2024), memorial page for Benjamin Seaver (21 Feb 1825–26 Aug 1836), Find a Grave Memorial ID 146330599, citing Whitmanville Cemetery, Westminster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA; Maintained by Jay Janell (contributor 48370707).

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Benjamin Seaver (1825-1836) is my 2nd great-granduncle and the brother of my 2nd great-grandfather, Isaac Seaver (1823-1901).  His mother, Abigail (Gates) Seaver (1797-1867), lost her first husband in 1825 when she was age 28, remarried to her husband's brother in 1832, and lost her last child, Benjamin Seaver, in 1836.  I hope that little Benjamin provided joy and love to his mother, uncle, and siblings in his short life.  I'm sure that they had fond memories of him all of their lives.

I had Claude Sonnet 3.5 write a poem based on the information above:
Benjamin's Brief Light

Sweet Benjamin, a winter child,
Born when snow lay deep and wild,
To Benjamin and Abigail Gates,
In Westminster would meet his fate.

Abigail and Lucinda fair,
Isaac, too, were waiting there,
But fate would deal a crushing blow—
His father Seaver laid so low.

Three months old when father died,
His mother's tears could not subside,
Yet life moved forward, as it must,
Through grief and change and love and trust.

Seven years passed, and mother found
New love upon familiar ground—
When Uncle Isaac Seaver came
To share their hearth and share their name.

But destiny's mysterious hand
Had different paths already planned,
For in his eleventh summer's heat,
His journey here would be complete.

In Whitmanville he rests today,
Where marble marks his brief stay,
A testament to life so brief,
Yet filled with love beyond its grief.

Beneath Westminster's watchful trees,
His memory drifts upon the breeze,
A boy who lived but eleven years,
Yet still his story draws our tears.

I have posted over 500 genealogical sketches of  my ancestors back through the 7th great-grandparents and a number of close relatives. 

The "52 Relatives" theme is a weekly series to document the lives of siblings of my ancestors with relatively short genealogical sketches, including important events, and with source citations.  These relatives lived and died within a family structure, and deserve a genealogical sketch - they were integral parts and important persons in the lives of my ancestral families.  

I post the 52 Ancestors and 52 Relatives sketches on the 52 Ancestors/Relatives Biographies page, in my Ancestry Member Tree, in WikiTree, and in the FamilySearch Family Tree. 

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