Major Henry Seymour

Major Henry Seymour was born in 1764 to Mary Ann Ledyard and Col. Thomas Seymour of Hartford. In 1780, he went to Philadelphia to begin a mercantile career. He was chosen by his employer to carry money to Fishkill and to bring back vouchers for monthly supplies; during this service, he narrowly escaped capture by British forces. Henry, along with brother William, were merchants in Hartford. He exported cattle and horses, and classified advertisements show that he imported rum, molasses, and muscovado sugar. Henry Seymour was living in New York in 1784, but he later returned to Hartford.

Henry commanded the Governor’s Horse Guard and served as a Hartford representative to the Connecticut General Assembly. He married Jane Ellery (daughter of William) in 1804. Their children included Mary Ellery Seymour (1805-1887), Thomas Hart Seymour (1807-1868), and William Ellery Seymour (1810-1883); Thomas Hart Seymour went on to be governor of Connecticut from 1850 to 1853. He died in 1846 and was buried in Hartford’s Old South Burying Ground.