Mary Sarah Brisben

• Daughter of Admiral James Brisbin and Margaret C. Carruth
• Birth: 1740 in Rensselaerwyck, Albany County, New York
• Alternate Birth: 1740 - 1744 • County Antrim, Ireland
• Death: October 03, 1808 in Elizabethtown-Kitley, Leeds and Grenville, Ontario, Canada
• Residence Date: 1784 in Residence, Place: Schaghticoke, Rensselaer, New York, United States
• Seeley (Seelye), Augustus and Mary Brisbin Loyalists in Elizabethtown Leeds, Upper Canada
• 1797 Elizabethtown Twp, Leeds Elizabethtown, Leeds Greville, Ontario, Canada

Married

• Married: Augustus Seeley, UEL in 1759 in Albany, Albany, New York, United States. Son of Obadiah Seely and Mary Angell. Met Mary Brisbin while serving with her brothers.

Children

• Margaret Seeley (1761, married Philip Lebbeus Wickware and Benjamin Salts), born in 1761 in Albany County, New York, United States. Margaret Seeley Wickwire: To his Excellency the Governor in Council The Petition of Margaret Wickwire Daughter of Augustus Seely Most Humbly Shewith That by virtue of an order of His Excellency the Governor n Council for the 9th of November 1787 your Petitioner being married and the Daughter of Augustus Seely who joined the Royal Standard before the Treaty of Separation in 1783 conceives herself entitled to Two Hundred acres of land. An Prays it might be granted her. County of Grenville Augus 20 1793] Margret Wickwire X, RG 01, Series C13, Vol 080 p 002
• Carrie Seeley (1763), born in 1783 in Saratoga, Albany, New York, United States. She must of died early.
• James Seeley (1765, married Elizabeth Manhard), born about 1764 in Schaghticoke, Rensselaer, New York, United States. James Seely: …Maketh oath and saith that his Father's name was Gustice Seely his brother's name is Joseph his sons are as follows: David Seely, James Seely, Joseph Seely Philip Seely Gustice Seely and Peet Seely. My daughters names are as follows. Polly Jane Margrett and Anny Seely . All the above vhildren drew land from the government with the exception of my son James that was killed and…that now maketh appreciation James X Seely.
• Ruth Seeley (1768, married Samuel Judson), born about 1766 in Albany, New York, United States. Ruth Seely Judson: Her petition is so light it can't be read. It is recorded in National Archives RG 01, Series C 14, Vol 002, p 037.
• Jane Seeley (1771, married John Elliot), born in 1771 in Albany County, New York, British Colonial America. Jane Seely Elliott: RG 01, Series C 14, Vol 001, p 132. Her 200 acres were in Wolford Twp on Concession 3, Lot 19.
• Mary Seeley (1774, married Joseph Falkner), born on October 20, 1774 in Schaghticoke, Rensselaer, New York, United States. Mary Seely Falkner: RG 01, Series C13, Bol 080, p 011, Her 200 ares were in Elmsley Twp. Her children were christened in St Andrews Presbyterian Church at Glengarry, Williamstown.
• Elizabeth Seeley (1776, married Samuel Nichol), born on February 5, 1776 in Schaghticoke, Rensselaer, New York, United States.
• Anny Seeley (1779, married David Lakin), born on April 14, 1779 in Schaghticoke, Rensselaer, New York, United States. Anna Seely Lakin: In the property owners book for Leeds and Grenville, Co. Kitley Twp… there is an Anna Lakin noted on Concession 5, Lot 19, 200 acres 30June 1801. Her petition is the same as the others. 166a.
• Sarah Seeley born on November 16, 1780 in Saratoga, Albany, New York, United States (Married Hazard Wilcox Jr.). born on November 16, 1780 in Saratoga, Albany, New York, United States. Baptized on June 14 1783 in Albany, Albany County, New York, United States. Sarah Seely Wilcox: The Petition of Sarah Willcox, wife of Hasard Willcox, of Loughborough in the Midland District, Yoeman, Humbly Shewith…That you Petitioner is the daughter of Augustus Seeley deceased, a U. E. Loyalist, that she is if the age of twenty one years, and that she has never received any land, or order for land from the Crown. Your Petitioner, therefore, prays your Excellency will be pleased to grant her 200 acres of the Wasteland of the Township of Earnest Town [now Bath] and permit William Willcox of the Twp of Earnest Town, Yeoman, to…take on this…when completed… Ernest Town, Jany 30th 1811…Sworn before me at Etnest Town …William Faifield JP [William's wife was Sabra Fairfield daughter of William Fairfield, whose house is still standing in Bath.] William Willcox maketh oath and saith that she is the person she describes herself to be…signed by Wm. Willcox.
• Joseph Seeley (1781). Born on May 21, 1783 in Schaghticoke, Rensselaer, New York, United States. Joseph Seely: "Joseph…was a Militiaman. In 1801 took the Oath of Allegiance. In 1807 he petitioned for 200 acres of land (as a loyalist son), and received a patent for a lot on Lake Gananoque in Leeds & Landsdowne Twp., on March 24, 1812. Here Seely might have spent a life toiling in happy obscurity but for the intervention of the War of 1812. "As became a good subject, "he volunteered for duty and served nine months with Captain Charles Jones' dragoons. He then enlisted in the 1st Leeds Militia., enticed by Captain Adiel Sherwood's "promise of a Sergeants situation and rations for my small family." The higher pay must have seemed a boon to a prospective young farmer and the supply of provisions essential to a family dependent upon the male to clear, sow, and harvest the land. In Qpril 1813 the newly enlisted men were ordered to Prescott where they were divided into companies the following month, Seely's hopes were quickly scotched. Since Sherwood had failed to recruit the required quota for his unit, Seely was assigned to Captain Archibald McLean's company as a private. The promotion to sergeant was not forthcoming and the rations for his family were never issued. After serving briefly under McLean, Seely was transferred to the "Engineer Employ". Aggrieved, dispirited, and no doubt anxious about his family, the young soldier deserted in late August. About 20 November he was captured in the enemy's camp on the American shore by a party of Leeds and Grenville militia led by Captain Herman Landen…Charged with desertion to the enemy while aiding "in piloting the enemies boat he was tried before a court martial at Kingston on 10 Dec. 1813. The court was composed of 13 of the leading militia officers of the Johnstown, Midland and Eastern Districts. The prosecution was handled by the acting judge advocate general. Seely was left to conduct his own defense – a daunting task for a mere private; he pleaded not guilty…he handled his defense with marked aplomb. He did not deny the charges but emphasized a family and personal history of loyalty, a laudable record of military service and a reasonable motive for desertion – the breaking of the promise that occasioned his enlistment. Seely's previous record was not disputed. In testifying to his loyalty, Landen who had known the prisoner for 16 or 18 years, stated, "No one would I have ventured my life with sooner…" He also mentioned that Seely had fought with "some Americans…on account of their celebrating the independence." After his capture Seely's behavior was extraordinary. Landen related how he "cried very much and said although you were a prisoner, you were going to a Country you loved, and that you had not been contented since you left it." Seely's speech in his own defense did not attempt to prove his innocence but rather addressed the circumstances of the case. His loyalty was instinctive, inspired by the attachments of family and by traditions learned from a loyalist father . "I reluctantly left the Country in which I have been brought up from my childhood and to which I was attached by all the ties of Loyalty. Friends and Kindred not with the smallest or most distant ideas of aiding or assisting in the service of an enemy that I have always been taught to detest…With such a parent to instill the principles of loyalty into his family, it is almost impossible for any member of it to have any attachment to any other government than to which he belongs…"His motivation was simply a sense of injustice – "I considered my promise to serve as void." All the conditions of his enlistment had been broken. Although he had been an acting sergeant for a few days. Seely's.

History

They lived in Albany County, New York,

In 1760, during the French and Indian War, Augustus joined the New York Provincial Troops in Queen's County, New York.

In 1772 was listed as a loyalist living in Saratoga.

In 1775 he was listed among the first men to join the Loyalist leader, Sir John Johnson.

September 14, 1777 James and Augustus were hired to herd General Burgoyne's cattle during the Battle of Saratoga.

On October 14, 1777, Burgoyne realized that the loyalist troops were surrounded and advised them to escape to Canada. Augustus and James did not escape and were confined for several weeks until they escaped.

He was in Captain James Campbell's unit during the American Revolution.

In 1783, Sir John Johnson organized an evacuation to Canada with 800 United Empire Loyalists. The families made their way through the wilderness. They used canoes to ford the streams and carried their possessions on their backs. When they got to Montreal they took bateaux up the St. Lawrence River. The Government land office was located at New Johnstown near Cornwall, Ontario. The Loyalists showed their military records and received land grants for their service.

In 1784 Augustus and his son James signed the Land Petition. "That your Petitioners were amongst the first settled on His Majesty's Lands, the year 1784."

In 1792 Augustus Cely, John Ceas, and James Selely signed "The Petition of the Inhabitants of Lancaster Township."

That your petitioners have always been loyal Subjects, and were the first who joined Sir John Johnson, Baronet, the year 1775 and followed him to Canada the year 1776 and served in his Regiment all the time of the late Rebellion, that your Petitioners were amongst the first who settled on His Majesty's Lands, the year 1784, …

They settled in Elizabethtown, Leeds County, Ontario. He was listed on the Elizabethtown census 1796, 1801, and 1802.

In 1804 Augustus sold Lots 20 and 21 in Lancaster to Jacob Snyder and Josef Snyder.

Augustus died in 1811 in Elizabethtown.

History of Saratoga County by Sylvester that has been cited previously.

Yet in the correspondence between Miss Louise Brisbin of Glen Falls, New York, and Samuel G. Taylor, Jr., already cited, Miss Brisbin definitely lists "Mary Brisbin, who married Augustus Seelye" among the children of James and Margaret. The records of the Church of Schaghticoke in Rensselaer County, New York, show the births of five children to Augustus Seelye and Mary Brisbin between the dates of 20 October 1774 and 14 June 1784, 82 and these same records contain notations of births of children to James Brisbin and Mary Taylor, John Brisbin and Mary McCann, John McCarthy and Jane Brisbin, William Brisbin and Elizabeth Ferguson, and Conrad Cramer and Margaret Brisbin. It is therefore the definite opinion of the author that Mary Brisbin must be included as a full-fledged daughter of James Brisbin and Margaret Carruth and sister of the other Brisbins recorded at Schaghticoke. Thee may have been reason why the author has been unable to discover a close association between Seelyes and Brisbins following the American Revolution. In a centennial publication at Toronto (Rose Publishing Company), Ontario, Canada, in 1885 called The United Empire Loyalists' Centennial Celebration (settlement of Upper Canada by the United Empire Loyalists) there appears an "Old List as preserved in the Crown Lands Department at Toronto." On this list of Loyalists is shown the name of Augustus Seelye as being in the East District of Lancaster with a wife and nine children, with the notation "Provision List—Eastern District—1786." If this Augustus Seelye is identical with the one who married Mary Brisbin, this is good evidence indeed for the reason why there may have been lack of communication. If Mary Brisbin was the daughter of James and Margaret Carruth, she would have been born either ca. 1740 or ca. 1744, in either case being able to marry and have four children before the birth of the five already noted in the Schaghticoke Church records. In such case the appearance of nine children in Upper Canada makes complete genealogical sense.

Timeline for Augustus Seeley, Written by his fourth-great-granddaughter, Dian Wilcox Little

(Transcribed and edited by his fifth-great-grandson, Jesse S. Crisler, 29 August 2003)=

• 1739 Augustus Seeley born in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts
• 1740 Mary Brisbin born in County Antrim, Ireland.
• 1754 Augustus served in the French and Indian Wars until 1763; met two Brisbin bothers. Their half-sister Mary, daughter of James Brisbin and Margaret Carruth, hadrecon varrved rom Treland
• 9 Apr 1760 Augustus joined New York Provincial Troops in Queen's County, serving during French and Indian War, under Jeffrey Amherst; occupation hatter; age 21.
• 18 Jun 1761 Listed on muster roll of New York Provincial Troops at Albany under Cpt. Lent with Lt. Bardrick, as age 22, from Boston, 5'9" tall, hatter.
• 1761 Daughter Margaret born in Albany Co., NY.
• 1762 Daughter Carrie born in Albany Co.; may have died young.
• 1765 James, oldest son of Augustus and Mary born, possibly in Saratoga, Albany, New York.
• 1766 Daughter Ruth born in Albany Co.
• 1771 Daughter Jane born in Albany Co.
• 1772 Augustus was living in Saratoga, NY.
• 20 October 1774 Daughter Mary baptized in Schaghticoke, Rennselaer, New York in Dutch Reformed Church; first record of their residence there. Several children had been born before Mary.
• 1775 "Augustus was among the first to join Sir John Johnson, Baronet ... and followed him to canada in the vear 1770 and served in his Regiment all the time of the late Rebellion" (Petition of the Inhabitants of Lancaster Township, 23 Jun 1792).
• 5 February 1776, Daughter Elizabeth baptized in Schaghticoke.
• 14 Sep 1777 James Seeley, aged 12/13, together with his father and several other British subjects, was employed to drive cattle to the army of General Burgoyne at Saratoga.
• 16 Oct 1777 James and Augustus were imprisoned but escaped about two weeks later (Petition to the Crown).
• 14 April 1779 Daughter Anny baptized in Schaghticoke.
• Birth of Sarah Seely on November 16, 1780 in Saratoga, Albany, New York, United States.
• Joseph Seeley born on May 21, 1783 in Schaghticoke, Rensselaer, New York, United States.
• Sarah Seely was Baptized on June 14 1783 in Albany, Albany County, New York, United States.

History of Augustus Seeley, Written by his fourth great-granddaughter, Vearl Guymon Alger (Transcribed and edited by his fifth-great-grandson, Jesse S. Crisler, 28 August 2003)

Augustus Seeley was born in 1738 or 1739 in or near Boston, Massachusetts. In 1760 he was living in New York State and enlisted from Queens County with the New York Provincial Troops for action in the French and Indian War, then in progress. The next year he re-enlisted from Albany County. The information on these muster rolls (New York Historical Society Collections, V. 24) gives his age, birthplace, height (59") and occupation (hatter).

It must have been about this time that Augustus met and married Mary Brisbin. Mary was born in either 1740 or 1744 in County Antrim, Ireland, the daughter of James Brisbin and Margaret Carruth. Mary's parents were born in Scotland, near Glasgow Thus, this family was one of the large number of Scotch-Irish immigrants who played such a prominent role in the settlement of America. The exact date of the Brisbin family's immigration from Ireland is not known. Two half-brothers of Mary Brisbin, William and Samuel Brisbin, probably preceded the others. They were soldiers under British generals Amherst and Abercrombie in the French and Indian War. It may have been that Augustus Seeley became acquainted with the Brisbin brothers and through them met their sister. William Brisbin's first marriage to Selitje Matthis is recorded on 25 February 1755 in the Presbyterian Church of Rumbout-Poughkeepsie in Duchess County, New York. The christening of their daughter, Margaret, is also recorded there on 4 February 1756. Other Duchess County records show William owned land there about this time. Research is continuing to determine where Augustus Seeley and Mary Brisbin were married and where they made their first home.

They were the parents of ten children: Jane, James, Margaret, Ruth, Carrie, Mary, Elizabeth, Anny, Joseph, and Sarah. Christenings of the last five are recorded in the Dutch Reformed Church at Schaghticoke, Rensselaer, New York, between 1774 and 1784. Their residence at this time was Saratoga, Albany County, as proved by copy of a mortgage in the Albany County Courthouse, dated 3 July 1771 and discharged 15 January 1870 (Book 3, p. 235).
This property was described as Lot #5, west side Hudson River, containing 109 acres. The price paid was £120. Their home then was across the river and a little north of Schaghticoke, site of the church where the christenings took place. A deposition recorded in the Public Record Office, London, England (more on this later) states this property included eight acres of wheat and five acres of "good" meadow. Several other Brisbin family members resided near Augustus and Mary Brisbin Seeley, as proved by deeds and mortgages found in Albany County. An early history of Saratoga County lists Mary's father, James Brisbin, as a first settler of Saratoga (now Schuylerville).

Events culminating in the American Revolution were rapidly reaching crisis stage when Augustus and Mary Seeley and their little family settled in Saratoga. Their sympathies were on the side of the constituted authority, the Crown. It is interesting that the issues divided the Brisbin family politically but not in their love for each other. The family patriarch, James Brisbin, now nearing seventy, was an ardent Tory and was brought before the Patriot courts in Albany County.

Links

• https://electricscotland.com/history/nation/brisbane.htm
• https://sites.rootsweb.com/~daisy/bris10.htm
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisbane_Aisle
• http://joe_kelso.tripod.com/brisbane/kelsolandmanor.htm

Sources

• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Aug 31 2022, 15:39:03 UTC
• James Brisbane in the Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots; Volume: 1.
• The Scottish Nation, Brisbane - https://electricscotland.com/history/nation/brisbane.htm
• Largs, Ayrshire – History - http://www.ayrshirepaths.org.uk/largshistory.htm
• Historic Environment Scotland. "Skelmorlie Aisle, Brisbane Aisle (Category A Listed Building) (LB37199)". - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historic_Environment_Scotland
• Latter Day Saints, International Genealogical Index, North America, disk 4, Source information, Title Ontario Census, Repository information, Barrie Public Library in Barrie, Ontario.
• U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989
• Utah, U.S., Cemetery Inventory, 1847-2021
• Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots
• Citation for History of Saratoga County, New York
• Global, Find A Grave Index for Non-Burials, Burials at Sea, and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current.
• New York, Genealogical Records, 1675-1920
• Research by John F. Brisbin, Lansing, Mich., rec'd by corres.
• Seeley family records
• Records obtained from Public Archives of Canada.
• Records of First Presby. Church, New York City, N.Y.
• Records of Ref. Dutch Church, Albany, Albany Co., New York