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     Ruth Sewall was born on 29 November 1791.¹ She was the daughter of Samuel Sewall and Hannah Moulton.¹ Ruth Sewall married firstly Capt. James Brown Thornton on 27 December 1818 in York, Maine, (intentions recorded Saco 5 December 1818).² Ruth Sewall married Dr. Jeremiah Smith Putnam on 5 July 1827 in York, Maine, the marriage was conducted by the Rev. Mr. Dow.³ Ruth Sewall died on 17 March 1860 at the age of 68.⁴

     Ruth Catherine Sewall was born on 27 May 1894.¹ She was the daughter of Edward Everett Sewall and Catherine Durr.¹ Ruth Catherine Sewall died on 20 October 1897 at the age of 3.¹

     Ruth Devereaux Sewall was born in November 1893 in Illinois.² She was the daughter of George Ward Sewall and Mary F. Cottingham.²

     Ruth McKinley Sewall was born on 2 August 1900 in Urbana, Illinois.^1,2 She was the daughter of Henry Middleton Sewall and Avilla J. McKinley.¹ In July 1927 she applied for a passport to visit Japan as a tourist and China as a missionary. She was unmarried at this time.²

     Samuel Sewall was born on 11 June 1678 in Boston, Massachusetts, (Samuel Sewall tree gives a date of 11 June 1673 and says that he is of Brookland).^1,2 He was the son of Chief Justice Samuel E. Sewall and Hannah Hull. Samuel Sewall was christened on 16 June 1678.³ He was a a bookseller and farmer. Was the proprietor of a large landed estate in Brookline, Massachusetts still called Sewall's Farm (1882). Sewall's Point, so called, was part of it.^4,5 He married Rebecca Dudley, daughter of Governor Joseph Dudley and Rebecca Tyng, on 15 September 1702 in Roxbury.⁴ Samuel Sewall died on 27 February 1750/51 in Brookline, Massachusetts, at the age of 72 of paralysis.^6,7

On 23 June 1726 at Boston there was an advertisement which read, "to be sold by Samuel Sewall at his house on the common, several likely young negro men and boys, lately arrived."⁸

     Samuel Sewall was born on 2 May 1715 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the son of Rev. Dr. Joseph Sewall and Elizabeth Walley. Samuel Sewall graduated in 1733 from Harvard. Merchant of Boston.¹ He was a Deacon of the Old South Church of which his father was Pastor.² He married Elizabeth Quincy, daughter of Judge Edmund Quincy and Elizabeth Wendell, on 18 May 1749 in Boston, Massachusetts, the service was conducted by the Rev. Joseph Sewall D.D.^3,4 Samuel Sewall died on 12 January 1771 or 19 January 1771 of an apoplectic fit at the house of the Rev. Mr. Prentice of Holliston, Mass. where he was boarding.^5,6

     Samuel Sewall was born on 31 December 1745 in Brookline, Massachusetts.¹ He was the son of Henry Sewall and Ann White. Samuel Sewall graduated in 1761 from Harvard.² He studied law, and settled in Boston. His name occurs among the barristers and attorneys who were addressers of Hutchinson in 1774; and in the Banishment and Proscription Act of 1778. He went to England, and in 1776 was a member of the Loyalist Club in London. Two years later he was at Sidmouth, a " bathing town of mud-walls and thatched roofs." In 1780 he seems to have lived in Bristol; and on the 19th of June amused himself by loyally celebrating Clinton's success at Charleston, in the discharge of a two-pounder in a private garden; and, three days after, was shot at by a footpad and narrowly escaped with his life. Early in 1782 he was at Taunton, and again at Sidmouth.³ He died on 6 May 1811 in London at the age of 65 after a day's illness. Since he was unmarried administration of his estate was granted to his sister Hannah Wolcott.⁴

     Samuel Sewall was born in 1630.² He was the son of Richard Sewall and Mary Dugdale.¹ In 1646 by the terms of the will of his Aunt, Margaret Randell, he was due to receive "my close or pasture called Quarry field, without Newgate on the West side of the Cawsey or pavement leading from Coventry towards Whitley on the London road."³ Samuel Sewall died after 1664.¹

     Samuel Sewall was born on 8 November 1714 in York, Maine.^2,3 He was the son of Nicholas Sewall and Mehitable Storer.¹ Samuel Sewall married Hannah Kelly, daughter of Elisha Kelly, on 28 February 1736/37.⁴ Samuel Sewall died on 7 January 1758 at the age of 43.⁵

     Samuel Sewall was born on 28 December 1748.² He was the son of Samuel Sewall and Hannah Kelly.¹ Samuel Sewall married Hannah Moulton, daughter of Colonel Jeremiah Moulton and Hannah Sayward, on 20 May 1773 in York, Maine.³ Samuel Sewall died on 19 January 1824 in York, Maine, at the age of 75.³

     Samuel Sewall was born on 12 July 1794 in Farmington, Franklin County, Maine.^2,3 He was the son of Rev. Samuel Sewall and Abigail Trask.¹ Samuel Sewall married firstly Harriet Drummond on 12 July 1821 in Phippsburg, Maine.⁴ Samuel Sewall married Clara P. Prescott on 26 December 1832.⁵ Samuel Sewall died on 18 May 1847 at the age of 52.²

     Samuel Sewall. "Student of Physick".² He was born on 26 June 1791 in Twenty-five Mile Pond.³ He was the son of Thomas Sewall and Priscilla Coney.¹ Samuel Sewall died on 10 April 1812 in Chebacco at the age of 20.²

     Samuel Sewall. Farmer.³ He was born on 29 November 1819 in Burlington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.⁴ He was the son of Rev. Samuel Sewall and Martha Margaret Marrett.² Samuel Sewall was baptised on 26 December 1819 at Burlington.¹ He married Elizabeth H. Brown, daughter of Samuel Brown and Elizabeth Tuttle, on 21 March 1844 in Burlington, Massachusetts.^4,5 Samuel Sewall died on 16 November 1903 in Burlington, Massachusetts, at the age of 83 of senile gangrene.⁶ He was buried on 19 November 1903 in Burlington, Massachusetts.⁶
He served as town treasurer from 1856-1892 and 1895-1896; town clerk from 1863-1893 and 1895-1900; church and parish treasurer for 40 years; church and parish treasurer for 35 years; and church deacon for 35 years.⁷
"He resides on the old Jones, Marrett, and Sewall parsonage, which he has improved by additions and adornments since those of his Grandfather Marrett. With commendable regard for the memory of his ancestors, he has left untouched by the barbarism called modern architecture, that "best room," where Hancock and Adams were disappointed of their "savory breakfast," and where some of these memoranda were written. Its walls are adorned with the painted portraits of Chief Justice Sewall and other worthies, carrying one back to old times when ministers were not ashamed to walk to meeting on Rackets. Those magnificent elm and chestnut trees, four feet in diameter, which adorn the lawn in front of the house, were mere saplings when Rev. John Marrett first visited his "lady love." On one of those occasions, he tied his horse to one of them. Perceiving this, Mr. Jones' colored servant removed it to a more proper place, and, with a native politeness known only to his race, announced: "I'se fetched the gemmans horse and hitched him where folks allers put um, cause he'd eat up the trees me & Massa planted." Faithful and considerate man, he appears to have been the trusted executive of the estate after Mr. Jones' death. Honorable mention is often made of him in Mr. Marrett's Diary. He now reposes in the adjacent cemetery, borne to his grave by the selectmen of Burlington, personally, as a mark of respect for him and the ministerial families he had served so long; and in the Family Bible it is written of him: "Cuff, the faithful Negro Servant of the above Thomas & Abigail [Jones] died April, 1813, having lived in the family about 60 years." " Letter dated 15 March 1847, from Rev. Samuel Sewall of Massachusetts to Rev. Henry Doyle Sewell.¹

     Samuel Sewall. A soldier during the Civil War. Co. E. 24th Maine Regt. otherwise a farmer at Farmington, Maine.^2,3 He was born on 24 August 1822 in Maine.⁴ He was the son of Daniel Sewall and Martha Tolman.¹ Samuel Sewall married Susan H. Holland on 29 June 1868 in Farmington, Maine.⁵ Samuel Sewall died on 3 March 1889 in Farmington, Franklin County, Maine, at the age of 66.⁶

     Samuel Sewall was born on 12 December 1926 in Minnesota.^2,3 He was the son of Samuel L. Sewall.¹ Samuel Sewall died on 29 July 1990 in Hennepin County, Minnesota, at the age of 63.³

     Samuel Sewall was born on 18 November 1707.² He was the son of Samuel Sewall and Rebecca Dudley.¹ Samuel Sewall died on 18 December 1708 at the age of 1.²

     Samuel Sewall. Surveyor.² He is recorded by Sinnett as Daniel Sewall.³ He was born on 24 January 1813 in York, Maine.¹ He was the son of Joseph Sewall and Abigail H. Gray.¹ Samuel Sewall died on 6 October 1850 in York, Maine, at the age of 37, unmarried. Died of a rupture.^1,2,4

     Samuel Sewall was born on 10 July 1776 in York, Maine.¹ He was the son of Capt. Moses Sewall and Miriam Stone.¹

     Samuel Sewall married Mary Wendell, daughter of Hon. Colonel Jacob Wendell and Sarah Oliver, on 12 December 1745 in Boston, Massachusetts, the service being conducted by the Rev. Joseph Sewall D.D.^1,2,3

     Samuel Sewall. A shoemaker.² He was born on 6 February 1825 in Sumner, Maine.^1,3,2 He was the son of John Milton Sewall and Dorcas Cushman.¹ Samuel Sewall married Mary T. Dunbar, daughter of Thomas Dunbar and Hannah (Unknown), on 5 May 1849 in Brockton, Massachusetts.^4,2 Samuel Sewall and Mary T. Dunbar appears on the census of 1850 in North Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, where his occupation is given as that of shoemaker.⁵ Samuel Sewall died on 17 March 1853 in North Bridgewater, Massachusetts, at the age of 28 of consumption.²

     Samuel Sewall was born on 8 January 1800.¹ He was the son of Rev. Samuel M. Sewall and Mary Lambard.¹ Samuel Sewall married Tryphosa Fuller on 14 May 1835.¹ Samuel Sewall and Tryphosa Fuller appear on the census of 1850 at Lowell, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, together with their last five children.² Samuel Sewall appears on the census of 1880 listed as a machinist and his daughter Mary as a tailoress.³ He died on 7 October 1880 in Lowell, Massachusetts, at the age of 80.⁴

     Samuel Sewall was born on 26 May 1847 in Massachusetts.¹ He was the son of Samuel Sewall and Tryphosa Fuller.¹ Samuel Sewall married Hannah Catherine Marden, daughter of Benjamin Franklin Marden and Betsey Buss, on 27 November 1873 in Fairmount Street, Lowell, Massachusetts.² Samuel Sewall died on 3 February 1900 at the age of 52.¹

     Samuel Sewall was born on 25 January 1853.¹ He was the son of Henry Foster Sewall and Sarah Allyne Rich.¹ Samuel Sewall died on 21 January 1854.¹

     Samuel Sewall was born on 3 December 1827 in Phippsburg, Maine.¹ He was the son of Samuel Sewall and Harriet Drummond.¹

     Samuel Sewall was born circa 1794.¹ He was the son of Thomas Sewall and Sarah Weeks.¹ Samuel Sewall married Betsey Whitney on 31 December 1818 in Canterbury, New Hampshire.² Samuel Sewall died on 15 January 1871 in New Hampshire.²

     Capt. Samuel Sewall was born on 9 April 1688 in Newbury, Massachusetts.^1,2,3 He was the son of John Sewall and Hannah Fessenden. In about 1708 he, together with his brother Nicholas, settled in York, Maine, where his sister was then living.^2,4 Capt. Samuel Sewall married first Lydia Storer, daughter of Capt. Samuel Storer and Lydia Austin.² Capt. Samuel Sewall then married Sarah Batchelder, daughter of John Batchelder and Sarah Poore, on 29 November 1723 at Newbury.³ Capt. Samuel Sewall died on 28 April 1769 in York, Maine, at the age of 81 "leaving seven sons and four daughters."^5,6 The inscription on a stone in the old burying ground in York reads " In memory of Samuel Sewall, Esq., four generations in a lineal descent from Henry Sewall, Esq. sometime Mayor of Coventry in O. England, whose grandfather Henry first came to N. England, 1634. For penetration, sound judgment, and wisdom, remarkable; given to hospitality; the widow and fatherless he relieved and protected; various offices, civil, military and ecclesiastical, with honor and reputation he sustained; pious, exemplary and devout, on the 28th of April, 1769, aged LXXXI, he died. His seven surviving sons, with the approbation of his four daughters, this stone erected. "Let brotherly love continue."⁵ "

     Major Samuel Sewall was baptised on 24 November 1689 by Mr. Higgins of Boston.³ He was born on 24 November 1689.³ He was the son of Major Stephen Sewall and Margaret Mitchell. He was a a ship-chandler of Boston. 1720 Artillery Company; 1734 Captain, Artillery Company; 1733 Major in the Boston regiment. Active in town affairs and served on important committees.^4,5 Major Samuel Sewall married Catherine George, daughter of John George and Lydia Lee, on 1 January 1716/17 the marriage being conducted by Dr. Cotton. The bride's name is spelt How in the record.⁴ Major Samuel Sewall made a will on 11 January 1753.⁵ He died on 5 May 1757 in Boston, Massachusetts, at the age of 67 s.n.p. his two step-sons having drowned in 1727/28.^4,5 Probate was granted on 6 May 1757 his wife Katherine was executor. Legatees: to my brother and sister, Stephen Sewall, and Mehetable Robie, and to my wife Katherine, all the rest of my estate.⁵

     Major Samuel Sewall was born on 14 September 1724 in York, Maine, or 24 Sep. 1724 (Sinnett gives 24 October 1724).^1,2,3,4 He was the son of Capt. Samuel Sewall and Sarah Batchelder. Major Samuel Sewall died on 23 July 1815 in York, Maine, at the age of 90 he was unmarried.^1,5 An inscription on a stone in the old burying ground in York, on the west side of York River reads "In memory of Maj. Samuel Sewall, an architect of the first class, from whose fabrications great benefit has resulted to society. He was benevolent, hospitable and generous without ostentation and pious without enthusiasm. He died July 28, 1815, ae. 91."⁶

Little is known about the enigmatic "jack-of-all trades" Samuel Sewall, who built everything from coffins to cradles in town in the late 1700s, but local history buffs are slowly unraveling the mystery. Locals, historians, and even some of Sewall’s descendants packed into the York Public Library’s meeting room last week to hear Old York Historical Society’s curator Tom Johnson present these findings in a brown bag lecture called "Samuel Sewall: The Man and His Work."

Sewall was born in York in 1724 to a father of the same name and his mother, Sarah Bachellor Titcomb. He died on July 23, 1815, at the age of 91, and was buried in his family’s plot on Southside Road, near the Elizabeth Perkins House, one of the many structures in town to which his craftsmanship has been attributed. The Sewall House, which is thought to be his house, is across the street, facing Seabury Road, on Sewall’s Hill. Other structures he built or furnished between the 1740s and 1780s include the First Parish Church, on York Street; the Moulton-Bennett House, on York Street; the Ramsdell House, on Lindsay Road; and the Grow-Steedman House, on Clark Lane. However, said Johnson, the edifice that was truly the "Rosetta Stone" for the identification of Sewall’s work was the Sayward-Wheeler House, on Route 103, which was named after its owner, the wealthiest merchant in town at the time, Jonathan Sayward.

"The talents of Samuel Sewall were rediscovered by scholarly researchers in 1977, when Myrna Kaye and Brock Jobe, of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, identified him as one of the workers on Jonathan Sayward’s house in York Harbor," said Johnson. A Sayward diary entry dated Nov. 10, 1761, notes paying "Samuel Sewell the joiner 45 pounds old tenor toward work on my house," and led to inquiries of molding profiles within the home, which linked Sewall to similar crafts in town. "These molding profiles, in turn, were found to be identical in profile to moldings on a number of furniture pieces in the house," said Johnson. "Thus, for the first time since the 18th century, bridging Sewall with his cabinetwork." Johnson said the most interesting piece found in the Sayward-Wheeler House is a high chest, which has a number of moldings crafted from the same planes in the parlor. To add to the uniqueness of each of Sewall’s projects, he made his own tools and templates, making many of the cuts and curves in local wooden antiques identifiable with his name. "From this first identification has resulted the credible attribution to over 50 known pieces of furniture to Sewall, ranging from sophisticated highboys ... to relatively simple drop leaf tables," added Johnson.

Distinctive corner cupboards, or beaufats, as they were called in the 18th century, are thought to be one of Sewall’s "hallmarks", said Johnson, along with his pilasters with fluting and stop-fluting, pegged drawer bottoms, massive back base brackets, and "horse bone" legs. At a local auction two years ago, Johnson uncovered what may have been his most exciting discovery yet. On the side of the bottom drawer of a Northeast Chest, made of unfigured maple and the familiar top and bracket cut-outs, was a color card of stain finishes used by Sewall. "Every known piece of Sewall furniture, with an original finish I’ve looked at since we found this, have matched one of these colors," he said. These designs are beacons signaling Sewall’s work, but some furniture that has been uncovered reveals only hints of these schemes, leading Johnson and others to believe that they were cut and fashioned by a different hand.

While doing some research on Sewall’s genealogy, Johnson came across an unattributed file stating that his father Samuel Sewall Sr., "had been trained as a furniture maker in Boston." From this, historians now conclude that Sewall learned much of his skill from his father, and that some of the pieces found, which do not exactly match the son’s craftsmanship, may be the work of an older Sewall. "Samuel the younger would have naturally picked up a number of his father’s framing and finishing methods, but with maturation, might have changed some of them to suit his needs and skill," said Johnson. It’s difficult to draw these conclusions, however, because little of Sewall’s physical evidence exists, and few of his personal belongings have been uncovered.

Local private collections include two of his needlework wallets embroidered with his name, pewter plates associated with his ownership and use, and an original survey transit made by him. The tripod to the transit was given to OYHS a year after the Old Gaol Museum first opened in 1900, and the group also has an English gold-cased watch, and a sabre sword which was presented to Sewall by the local militia for his services during the War of 1812, when he was in his late 80s. These artifacts, and others, are currently on display downstairs at the York Public Library.

Of course, Sewall wasn’t known only for his woodworking expertise, he was also celebrated for his engineering work on Sewall’s Bridge, which still spans the York River today. "It was the first pile-driven drawbridge built and engineered in America, in 1761," said Johnson. "This didn’t happen in the leading metropolitan areas of engineering and scientific thinking, such as Boston, New York, or Philadelphia, but it was here in York. In fact, the Boston engineers were so impressed by the design that they brought Sewall to the growing city and had him build a near-duplicate of the structure over the Charles River in 1785-86." Records show that the design influenced similar bridges in New England, and even one in Paris, France. Though the bridge has been reconstructed several times since its creation, five original pieces from the structure are now housed at the OYHS, and many other residents have obtained the relics as well.

Sewall never married, leaving no known descendants that any historian knows of, but as Johnson said, "his brothers and uncles raised large families and the name lives on in town."

by Marci Hait
mhait@seacoastonline.com
The York Weekly, March 3 2004.

     Rev. Samuel Sewall was born on 1 June 1785 in Marblehead, Essex County, Massachusetts.^1,2,3 He was the son of Chief Justice Samuel Sewall LL.D. and Abigail Devereaux. The Rev. Samuel Sewall, graduated from Harvard in the class of 1804 and went on to study divinity. He was ordained Deacon in the Episcopal Church at New York, and officiated there for about a year. He renounced his connection with that church, and was subsequently ordained pastor of the Congregational Church in Burlington, Mass., April 13th, 1814. Dr. Henry Ware, Senior, preached the sermon; Rev. Dr. Holmes, of Cambridge, made the ordaining prayer, and Rev. President Kirkland gave the charge to the pastor. That was just previous to the separation of the Trinitarian ministers and churches in the commonwealth of Massachusetts from the Unitarian; and it may be proper to mention a fact, which occurred at Mr. Sewall's ordination, as it illustrates the manners and customs of that day. The council adopted the rule, that, in the examination of the candidate, each member of the council might ask the candidate three questions, provided they were approved by the council. The Rev. Samuel Stearns, of Bedford, who was one of the few Orthodox members of the council, inquired if he might ask the candidate this question: "Do you believe that the punishment of the wicked in the future world will continue as long as the happiness of the righteous ? " And the council decided, that it was a question which was not proper to be put! Mr. Sewall left the Episcopal Church because he could not adhere to the Thirty Nine Articles, and when he was ordained at Burlington his theological views were indefinite and undetermined, but during the latter half of his ministry he became decidedly evangelical, and he always had a large share of that charity for others which "hopeth all things."

It is an interesting fact, that Mr. Sewall lived and died in the parsonage which had been occupied as such by his two predecessors, the Rev. Thomas Jones and the Rev. John Marrett, and the entire ministry of these three men covered a, period of more than 107 years. It is another interesting fact, that Mr. Marrett married the daughter of his predecessor, Mr. Jones, and that Mr. Sewall married the daughter of his predecessor, Mr. Marrett. Another coincidence is that Mr. Marrett died on the same month and the same day of the month as Father Sewall, namely, 18th February 1813. Mr. Sewall was pastor of the church in Burlington for twenty-eight years. He was dismissed from his pastoral charge in 1842. Since that time be supplied the church in North Woburn for a further six years. He preached his last sermon in Carlisle, 11th August 1867, and performed his last public service on 19th December 1867, at the ordination of his successor in Burlington, Rev. Mr. Hudson, when he offered the ordaining prayer.

Father Sewall, as he has for many years been deferentially called, was a gentleman of the old school, of affable and accomplished manners, and was one of the few remaining links which connected the active habits of the present generation with the quiet habits of the past. He was a man of great conscientiousness, and of remarkably consistent deportment. He was distinguished as a scholar, especially in the ecclesiastical history of New-England, and his judgment upon any point in the polity of the Congregational churches was entitled to great respect. He prepared and published in the American Quarterly Register for 1839, 1840, and 1841, several articles relating to the ministers and churches in the county of Middlesex, which indicate great breadth of research and accuracy of statement. But the most elaborate literary work of his life is his History of Woburn, which he lived to complete, but did not live to see published. It will long remain a monument of indefatigable labour, and may be depended on for its correctness. Sewall was one of the earliest members of the New England Historic-Genealogical Society having been elected 12th June 1845.⁴ Rev. Samuel Sewall married Martha Margaret Marrett, daughter of Rev. John Marrett and Martha Jones, on 1 January 1818 in Burlington, Massachusetts.⁵ Rev. Samuel Sewall died on 18 February 1868 in Burlington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, at the age of 82 of old age.^6,7,3

     Rev. Samuel Sewall was born on 21 December 1765 in Georgetown, Maine.² He was the son of Henry Sewall and Mary Stinson.¹ He was apprenticed to a tanner and followed that trade from the time he was twelve years old until he was eighteen. He then lived in Bath, Maine, until he was twenty. After clearing a farm on Sandy River he married and the couple's home was between Farmington and Chesterville, Maine, in the wilderness. He was a millwright. In 1796 he became interested in the ministry and held meetings in Farmington in 1800. He was licensed to preach in Lincoln, Maine, as a Congregational minister, and in 1805 he moved to Edgemont, being ordained pastor there in 1807. (Edgecomb and a date of 30 September, according to Jotham p. 168 ). He moved to Phippsburg, Maine, in 1814, and in 1824 was the first missionary to the Isle of Shoals.^3,4 Rev. Samuel Sewall married Abigail Trask, daughter of Thomas Trask, on 4 January 1787 in Bath, Sagadahoc, Maine.⁵ Rev. Samuel Sewall died on 16 March 1826 in Rye, New Hampshire, at the age of 60 whence he had gone from the Isle of Shoals where he had been preaching.^6,7 He was buried in Rye Center Cemetery.