Richard Seymour, Hartford Founder

Compiled by Timothy Lester Jacobs, SDFH Genealogist

RICHARD¹ SEYMOUR, HARTFORD FOUNDER (ROBERT^A) was baptized 27 Jan 1604/05 in Sawbridgeworth, Herts, England, and died bef. 10 Oct 1655 in Norwalk, CT (inventory). He married MERCY RUSCOE 18 Apr 1631 in Sawbridgeworth, Herts, England, daughter of ROGER RUSCOE and SARAH ______. She was born abt. 1610 in Sawbridgeworth, Herts, England, and died aft. 04 Jul 1668 in prob Farmington, CT.

Richard Seymour had removed from Sawbridge, Herts, England by 1639, and was in Hartford where he had properties listed in the land inventory of February 1639/40: three roods on which his dwelling house stood, located on the east side of the road from Centinel Hill to the Cow Pasture; three acres in the Pine Field; and five acres on the east side of the Great River, along with five parcels acquired later. He was among the “Inhabitance as were Granted lotts to haue onlely at The Townes Courtesie”.

George D. Seymour in the “New England Historical and Genealogical Register”, Vol. 71, article “The English Home and Ancestry of Richard Seamer or Semer of Hartford, Connecticut”, states that Mercy Ruscoe was the niece of Hartford Founder William Ruscoe, particularly in light of the fact that William’s son John Ruscoe was one of the witnesses to Richard Seymour’s will, but even the considerable skills of Donald Lines Jacobus were insufficient to establish the precise relationship.

Richard Seymour was chosen chimney viewer in Hartford in 1647. He was one of the signers of the agreement for the planting of Norwalk on 19 June 1650, and removed to there soon after. He was chosen as selectman of Norwalk in 1655.

His will was dated 29 July 1655 and was proved 25 October 1655.

Recommended genealogy: “A History of the Seymour Family: Descendants of Richard Seymour of Hartford, Connecticut for Six Generations”, George Dudley Seymour and Donald Lines Jacobus, New Haven, 1939