John Seale
MSA SC 5496-51003
War of 1812 Refugee, St. Mary's County, Maryland, 1814
Biography:
John Seale lived on Sotterley Plantation in St. Mary's County, Maryland, as a slave of John R. Plater. Between July 22 and 25, 1814, John escaped from Sotterley by boarding the British frigate Severn, captained by Joseph Nourse, in the Patuxent River. John was one of fourty nine slaves to escape from Sotterley during the War of 1812, and one of fourty four slaves to escape via the frigate Severn. Among the slaves who escaped from Sotterley, 10 slaves share John's surname including: Maria Seale (44 years old), John Seale Jr., Maria Seale (17 years old), Patty Seale, Peggy Seale, Sophia Seale, Ignatius Seale, Franky Seale, Ester Seale, and Benjamin Seale.1
John retained his freedom after the war in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is listed in the official census of the newly arrived Black refugees. He appears in the Halifax List as "John Seals" and is recorded as having a wife and one child.2 The Halifax List identifies John as 33 years old, but both John R. Plater's reparations claim and Captain Nourse's affidavit identify John as 50 years old at the time of his escape.3 John also settled on land in the Northwest Arm of Halifax Harbor conveyed to him by Henry H. Cogswell. In the census taken of the refugees who received land from Cogswell, John appears as "Jack Seale" and is listed as having one wife and five children.4 John R. Plater claimed that John Seale had a wife and two children at the time of his escape.5 John's wife was possibly the older Maria Seale, and the couple's two children from Sotterley were possibly the younger Maria Seale and John Seale Jr. The Seales may have had additonal children in Canada, or taken under their care some of the younger Seale slaves from Sotterley such as Benjamin Seale (5 years old), Ester Seale (4 years old), Patty Seale (1 years old), Peggy Seale (8 years old), or Sophia Seale (15 years old).
The Seale family was joined in the Northwest Arm of Halifax Harbor by the Coursey and Munroe families which had also escaped from Sotterley. The refugee families likely encountered tremendous setbacks during their first year of freedom, such as spending their first Canadian Winter without any spare clothing. A letter from Cogswell to Governor John Sherbrooke indicates that as late as December 24, 1815, the families had not yet received any munitions clothing.6
1. Claim of John Rousby Plater, St. Mary’s County, Case #310, Case Files Ca. 1814-28, 3.5 ft. entry 190, Record Group 76, National Archives, College Park.
2. National Archives and Records Administration NSARM (Washington DC) RG 76 Entry 185 GB 1814 no. 51 G.B. 6 (microfilm copy only available at NSARM, microfilm no. 13577)
3. Claim of John Rousby Plater, St. Mary’s County, Case #310, Case Files Ca. 1814-28, 3.5 ft. entry 190, Record Group 76, National Archives, College Park.
4. Commissioner of Public Records NSARM RG 1 vol. 420 no. 93 (microfilm no. 15464)
5. Claim of John Rousby Plater, St. Mary’s County, Case #310, Case Files Ca. 1814-28, 3.5 ft. entry 190, Record Group 76, National Archives, College Park.
6. Commissioner of Public Records NSARM
RG 1 vol. 420 no. 93 (microfilm no. 15464)
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