I wrote an AI-assisted biography of my 2nd great-grandfather Isaac Seaver (1823-1901) in ABC Biography of #16 Isaac Seaver (1823-1901) of Massachusetts based on a revised genealogical sketch of his life.
Based on the genealogical sketch, I requested Anthorpic Claude Sonnet 4 (a free AI tool) to create a memoir written by Isaac Seaver answering certain questions posed by his sons and grandchildren about his life in 1898. Here are Isaac's AI-assisted memories:
Isaac Seaver's Memoir - Answers to Family Questions (1898)
As told by Isaac Seaver (3rd) at age 75 in 1898 to his children and grandchildren
Tell me about your childhood. Who was in your family, where did you live, did you go to school, did you work, what fun did you have?
My childhood was marked by both tragedy and blessing. I was born on October 16, 1823, in Westminster, Massachusetts, the first son and third child of Benjamin Seaver and Abigail Gates. I had two older sisters, Abigail and Lucinda, and a younger brother Benjamin who came along when I was just two years old.
The greatest tragedy of my early life came when I was only 17 months old - my father Benjamin died in May 1825. I have no memory of him, which has always been a source of sadness for me. My mother Abigail was left to raise four young children alone, which must have been terribly difficult in those days.
When I was nine years old, my mother married my uncle Isaac Seaver - my father's own brother - in 1832. This made for a confusing household, as we now had two Isaac Seavers under one roof! That's why I became known as Isaac Seaver 3rd throughout my life. My step-father was a good man who helped raise us, and he and my mother had two more sons together - my half-brothers Lyman and Loring.
As a boy, I learned the importance of hard work early on. We lived simply in Westminster, and I helped with whatever work needed doing around the place. When I turned 14, I was old enough to choose my own guardian, and I chose my uncle Jeremiah Knowlton Gates - my mother's brother. This was an important decision that helped shape my path forward.
For fun, we boys would explore the countryside around Westminster, fish in the streams, and help with the seasonal work that brought the community together. Life was simpler then, but also harder in many ways.
What occupations did you have?
I've been a working man my entire life, and I'm proud to say I've always made an honest living with my hands. I started as a blacksmith - a trade that served me well throughout my life. There's something satisfying about shaping iron with fire and hammer, creating useful things that people need.
In my younger days in the 1850s, I also worked as a hay fork maker when I was living in Medfield. Later I was called a machinist. These were all related trades that used similar skills - working with metal, understanding machinery, and creating tools that farmers and other working people needed.
When we moved to Leominster in the late 1860s, I continued as a blacksmith but also worked in what they called a "fork shop" - making hay forks and other farming implements. It was steady work that provided for my family, though it was hard on the body over the years.
Even in my later years, up until I was quite old, I continued to work as a blacksmith. It's been the constant thread throughout my working life - a trade I could rely on to put food on the table and a roof over our heads.
What were the hardest challenges in your life?
The hardest challenge came early - losing my first wife Juliet just one month after our daughter Juliett was born. Juliet died of what they called "brain fever" on September 21, 1847, when she was only 20 years old. To have such joy - a loving wife and a beautiful new daughter - and then such devastating loss so quickly... it nearly broke me. Little Juliett had to be raised by her grandparents, the Glaziers, in those early years because I simply couldn't manage as a single father working to support us.
The Civil War was another great trial. In 1864, when I was 40 years old, I enlisted in Company H of the 4th Regiment of Heavy Artillery of the Massachusetts Volunteers. I served from August 1864 until I was honorably discharged in June 1865 at Fort Richardson, Virginia. War ages a man in ways that are hard to describe to those who haven't experienced it. I came home with ailments that plague me still - varicose veins in both legs, rheumatism, heart trouble, and problems with my urinary organs.
(Ambrotype photographs of Isaac and Lucretia Seaver in a Union Case from 1864, from family sources)
Losing my son Benjamin in 1894 was another terrible blow. A parent should never have to bury a child, but I've had to do it twice if you count my little brother Benjamin who died when he was just 11 years old. My son Benjamin was only 40 when he passed, leaving behind a child I barely knew.
Then there was losing my dear second wife Lucretia in 1884. She was the mother of four of my children and a wonderful woman who helped me build a proper home and family. After 33 years of marriage, her death left a great emptiness in my life and our household.
What major life decisions did you make and how did they work out?
The biggest decision was leaving Westminster for Medfield in 1850. I was a young widower, and staying in Westminster with all those memories of Juliet was too painful. Going to Medfield led me to meet Lucretia Townsend Smith, who became my second wife and the mother of four of my children. That decision gave me a real family life and many years of happiness.
Moving the family to Leominster in the late 1860s was another important choice. Leominster offered better opportunities for my blacksmith work, and I was able to purchase a good home on the corner of Cedar Street and Lancaster Street where we've lived ever since. The children had better schooling opportunities there, and it's been a good place to raise a family.
Choosing to enlist in the Civil War when I was 40 years old, with a wife and young children at home, was perhaps the most difficult decision I ever made. But when your country calls, a man must answer. I believed in preserving the Union, and I felt it was my duty to serve. It cost me my health, but I'm proud that I answered the call.
My decision to remarry a third time to Alvina in 1888 has been... well, different than I expected. She's a very particular woman about cleanliness and order - I must remove my shoes before entering the house! But she's been a good companion in my later years.
What was your biggest accomplishment?
My biggest accomplishment is raising good children who have made their own way in the world. Frank has done well for himself, marrying and having children of his own. Elizabeth married Frederick Blanchard and they've made their home in California. Even my eldest daughter Juliett, despite the difficult start with losing her mother so young, grew up to marry Edwin Bryant and make a good life.
I'm proud that I've been able to provide for my family through honest work, despite the hardships we've faced. I've owned land, built up a good home, and ensured that my children had better opportunities than I did as a boy who lost his father so young.
Serving my country in the Civil War, despite the cost to my health, is also something I'm proud of. Not every man my age answered the call, but I felt it was my duty.
What are you proudest of?
I'm proudest of the fact that I've been a provider and protector for my family. When tragedy struck - losing Juliet, going to war, facing financial difficulties - I never gave up. I kept working, kept providing, kept the family together.
I'm proud that my children are good people. Frank is industrious and has made a good marriage. Elizabeth has been adventurous enough to make a new life in California. Even my Nellie, who has chosen to remain unmarried, is a fine woman who is a school teacher in Leominster.
I'm also proud that I've been known as an honest man in my business dealings. A blacksmith's reputation is everything - people need to trust that your work will hold up, that your word is good, that you'll stand behind what you make.
How do you want to be remembered?
I want to be remembered as a man who did his duty - to his family, to his community, and to his country. I want people to say that Isaac Seaver was reliable, that he worked hard, that he took care of his own, and that he could be counted on when times were tough.
I hope my children remember that despite the hardships we faced - losing their mother Lucretia, my health problems from the war, the financial struggles - we stayed together as a family. I hope they remember the good times too, not just the struggles.
I want to be remembered as a man who faced his troubles straight on, who didn't complain overmuch about what life handed him, and who tried to leave things better than he found them.
What advice do you have for your grandchildren?
Work hard and be honest in all your dealings. A man's word and his reputation are worth more than gold, and once lost, they're nearly impossible to get back.
Don't be afraid to start over when life knocks you down. I lost my first wife and had to begin again. I left Westminster and made a new life in Medfield, then moved again to Westminster and then to Leominster. Each time, it was difficult, but it led to better things.
Take care of family. Blood is thicker than water, and when troubles come - and they will come - family is what you can count on. I've been blessed with good children who have looked after each other and their old father.
Learn a trade that will always be needed. People will always need blacksmiths, carpenters, farmers - learn to make or fix something useful with your hands, and you'll never want for work.
Don't be too proud to start small. I began with nothing after my father died, worked as a hired hand, saved my money, and built up from there. Success comes from steady effort, not from grand gestures.
Finally, remember that this life is short and uncertain. Love your family while you have them, work hard while you're able, and try to leave the world a little better than you found it. That's about all any man can do.
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I think that these relatively short memoirs are poignant and would be interesting to his family members, especially to his 2nd great-grandchildren.
This format provides a different perspective than a biography, doesn't it? It is historical fiction, but many of the historical facts from the genealogical sketch are included and it rings true to me.
In 1898, Isaac's son Frank was married with three children in Massachusetts, his daughter Elizabewth was married with four children inh California, and his daughter Nellie was unmarried in Massachusetts. Isaac died in 1901.
I will write more of these memoirs or life memories as told by my ancestors as time goes on. This is great genealogy fun for me!
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