Person:Charles Seale (1)

PROOF OF THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES SEALE & LYDIA MUSE:Charles Seale (1729-1798), the husband of Lydia Muse, sold 50 acres of land in Fairfield County South Carolina on 11 Sept 1798 to his son-in-law Elias Jones (husband of Charles' daughter Charity) [Fairfield Co SC Deed Book M, pp. 18-19]. This was land Seale had purchased in 1787 from John Wilson. Charles' son James Seale witnessed the signing of this deed. This proves that Charles Seale was alive on 11 Sept 1798. Charles Seale died later that fall, and his heirs sold his remaining land to Daniel Seale, youngest son of Charles & Lydia Muse Seale (Fairfield Co SC Deed Book M, p. 162-163). Only the year was given on this deed (1798); the day/month were left blank. A transcription of this deed is given below. The name of "Charles Seale, Jr." IS NOT found among the heirs of Charles Seale in this deed, nor is "Charles Jr." mentioned in the previous deed of Charles Seale to Elias Jones, as was claimed in the book of Mr. Oswald Smith written in 1965: "Seale and Kindred Families". Mr. Smith's information was very incorrect: I have clear photocopies of both of these deeds from Fairfield Co SC's Deed Book M, and neither made any reference whatsoever to "Charles Seale, Jr."I take this deed as irrefutable evidence that Charles Seale and his wife Lydia Muse were NOT the parents of Charles Seale (c1755-1818) of Cumberland/Moore Co NC. Were they his parents, he would have been named in this deed, and he would have had to sign the deed as did the other heirs. Some have stated that since he lived in NC, he was "excused" from signing the deed. I do not consider this argument valid - to convey proper title of land, ALL heirs were required to sign such a deed. Moreover, Charles & Lydia's daughter Nancy Seale Dickinson lived in Moore Co NC in the 1790s when her father died, and she was named among his heirs. After Charles' children living in SC signed the deed, it was mailed to Moore Co NC to be signed by Nancy and her husband there, and it was then sent to Hancock Co GA for the signatures of Charles' children living there (all of this information is given in the deed).Moreover, the will of Anthony Seale in 1799, Kershaw County SC further proves that Charles Seale of Moore Co NC was NOT the son of Charles & Lydia Muse Seale. Anthony Seale's will reads:"…I do here by Leav [sic] Unto My Brother Charles Seals of More [sic] County in north Carolina the Whole of my Estate Real and Pursonal [sic]…"Anthony's will was written on 23 Nov 1799 and was probated in 1801. Clearly, he had neither a wife nor children to survive him, since all of his property was left to his brother Charles of North Carolina. But Charles & Lydia's son Anthony married his first cousin Ferriba Muse and was alive, apparently well, and living in Fairfield Dist SC in 1800 according to the census; he later moved to Franklin Co TN, where he died in 1818. This is quite confusing due to there being TWO men named "Anthony Seale" living in the same neighborhood: Kershaw/Fairfield Co NC (and the Seales lived near the county line, as evidenced by other postings on this site). One Anthony Seale lived in Fairfield Co SC between the 1780s and mid-1800s; he was the son of Charles & Lydia Muse Seale - he married Ferriba Muse, moved from Fairfield Dist SC to Franklin Co TN between 1800 and 1810. The other Anthony Seale died in Kershaw Co SC 1799-1800 and had brother Charles Seale of Moore Co NC. This is undoubtedly the same Anthony Seale who served with Charles Seale in the company of Captain William Seale (their father) of Cumberland Co NC during the Revolution.

So to reiterate, Anthony Seale's will in Kershaw Co SC proves that Charles Seale of Cumberland/Moore Co NC (the Revolutionary War soldier) was the brother of Anthony of Kershaw, and that Anthony died in 1799/1800 without heirs or a wife. However, it is known that Charles & Lydia Muse Seale's son Anthony married Ferriba Muse and they had many children; moreover, this Anthony moved to Franklin Co TN and lived until 1818.So these two records prove that Charles & Lydia Muse Seale did not have a son by the name of "Charles Seale, Jr." (at least, not such a son who survived past 1798 - they could have had such a son who died before 1798), and thus they prove that Charles Seale of Cumberland/Moore Co NC was NOT the son of Charles & Lydia Muse Seale.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Kuehl, Nancy L. (Nancy Louise Ethridge Ely). A Seale anthology. (Nacogdoches, Texas: N.L. Kuehl, c1985)
   680.

   Second Edition

2. ↑ Sprouse, Deborah A. The Seale family of old Virginia : a genealogy. (White Hall, Maryland: D.A. Sprouse, c1981).

   Charles Seale was born Feb. 10^th 1729.