APPENDIX IV
RICHARD SEYMER OF THE POPHAM COLONY
THE FIRST ENGLISH PREACHER IN
This paper, in slightly different form, was published in The New England Quarterly, June 1938, vol 11, pp. 367-372.
On 10 April 1606, King James I granted a charter for the continent of North America, which provided for a home Council of Virginia, with two companies, one of North, the other of South, Virginia, Sir John Popham, Chief Justice of England under Queen Elizabeth, became the patron of the company; his son, Sir Francis Popham, was appointed one of the Council of Virginia, and his brother, George Popham, became commander of the expedition which sailed from Plymouth, 31 May 1607, to colonize the northern part of Virginia, later known as New England.
William Strachey was the historian of this expedition. His "History of Travaile into Virginia Britannia" was written about 1618, and was published in 1852 in the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society (4th Series, vol. 1, pp. 240 et seq.). His account in brief was as follows:
The two ships, Gift of God and Mary and
John, bearing 120 persons, came to anchor under an island on the coast of
These laws were the constituent code set forth in
the seventh section of the charter of
1. Each colony may elect associates, and annually elect a President for one year; and assistants or councillors for the same time.
2. The Christian religion shall be preached and
observed as established in the realm of
In accordance with the first article, according to Strachey's account, "George Popham, gent., was nominated President. Captain Raleigh Gilbert, James Davies, Richard Seymer, Preacher, Captain Richard Davies, Captain Harlowe, were all sworn assistants; and so they returned back again."
In view of the second article of the constituent
code, and the social status of the colonists, it cannot be doubted that the
religious services conducted by Richard Seymer were in accord with the ritual of
the Church of England. This was of course the ritual used at
It has been generally assumed that Richard Seymer
(or Seymour, as most printed authorities spell his name) was an ordained
clergyman of the Church of England. In 1862 the Popham Celebration was held, to
commemorate the planting of a colony on the west side of the
By an odd coincidence, the later
Whether Richard Seymer was an ordained clergyman or not, it is very probable, as Bishop Burgess thought, that he was a young university man. Certainly no untutored person would have been chosen even as lay reader by the socially prominent leaders of the Popham Colony, and it must not be forgotten that Seymer was also chosen as one of the five governing Assistants of President Popham, which is indicative of his social status.
It is a fact that no ordained clergyman of the
name has been found among all the Richard Seymours of that period. Only one
university man of the right age has been found. He was Richard Seymer of Dorset,
gent.; Brasenose College, Oxford, matriculated 22 June 1599, aged 15; student of
Middle Temple, 1602, when he was described as third son of John Seymer of
Handford, Dorset, gent. His eldest brother, Sir Robert, was also an
Here then was a young college graduate, only twenty-three years of age at the time of the Popham expedition, not yet settled in his career; just the type of man to whom such an adventure would appeal. The younger son of a family of gentle-folk of but moderate affluence, he may well have felt that close association with the brother of the wealthy Chief Justice Popham would mean much to his future career. A devout young man of his background and education would doubtless have been entirely acceptable to Popham and his associates as lay reader during the experimental stage of their colonization project.
It will be noted that Strachey always refers to Seymer as a preacher, never as a minister or clergyman. It was not usual for an ordained clergyman to hold civil office, as Seymer did. For these reasons, and because no Presbyter of the name has been found at that date, it is believed that the Popham chaplain was, strictly speaking, a lay reader.
The Dorsetshire family, following the pronunciation, spelled the name Seymer, but their arms indicate that they were a branch of the same family from which the ducal house descended. They are described technically as: Quarterly - 1st and 4th Or two wings conjoined in lure Gules on a chief azure three martlets argent. Seymer.
The "Berrry Pomeroy" coat, used by the Dukes of
Somerset; 2nd and 3rd Gules two wings conjoined in lure Or.
The arrangement is different, and the colors reversed, but both families used the ancient wings of the St. Maurs of Penhow. It was quite common for branches of the same family to differentiate the arms in details while retaining the same basic concepts.
In connection with the arms, it is of interest to
observe that Thomas Seymour, eldest son of Richard the Connecticut Colonist, and
himself of English birth, sealed his will in 1712 with the
It is worthy of note that William Strachey
spelled the preacher's name Seymer. Strachey was an educated gentleman, hence the spelling employed carries more weight
than would the phonetic vagaries of half-literate scribes. Furthermore, he wrote
of the Popham expedition with such minute detail that, not being himself a
member of the colony, he must surely have had before him a contemporary written
account or diary. Strachey's spelling of the name is therefore an additional
piece of evidence for identifying Richard Seymer of
The entire subsequent career of Richard Seymer shows that through influential connections he obtained secretarial posts with the great or the near-great, serving in such capacities Sir Henry Wotton and the Earl of Northampton. We may hazard the guess, therefore, that he came with the Popham expedition as secretary to its leader, George Popham, which explains not only his services as preacher, but also his elevation to the Council of President Popham. In that capacity, he may have taken notes of the Council meetings and orders as colonial secretary, and it may indeed have been Seymer's own notes which Strachey had before him when he wrote his account.
We append what little is known of Seymer's
career. He was born about 1584, but we lack a record of his baptism because the
Handford registers do not begin until 1669. He was third son of John Seymer
(will proved 1611) by his wife, Agnes Rawles (will proved 1623), and was one of
a family of four sons and nine daughters. His eldest brother, Sir Robert Seymer
of
After the death of George Popham, most of the
members of his Colony returned to
From the fact that Seymer's only child was still
a minor when he made his will in 1641, it is inferred that he did not marry
until he was over thirty-five, and possibly not until he was over forty. After
his return from the Continent, he secured a post, probably as Secretary, with
the Earl of Northampton, and lived in
His will, made 13 April 1641, proved 31 May 1641, calls him Richard Seymor of St. Mary's Savoy alias Strand, Co. Middlesex, gentleman, and mentions his wife Mrs. Jane Seymor, "Mrs. Margaret Washington my wife's mother," and nephew Lawrence Sweetman, gent. The chief legatee was his son Spencer Seymor; Mr. Lawrence Sweetman "my nephew" to be guardian to "my son" during his minority. As supervisors he appointed "the Earl of Northampton my Noble Lord and Master," and "my brother in law Arthur Squibb Esquire one of the four tellers of the Exchequer."
Since a Visitation pedigree of the Dorsetshire
Seymers shows that one of the sisters of Richard Seymer married Arthur Squibb
and that another of them married Lawrence "Swetenham" (of which "Sweetman" is
apparently a corruption), the identity of Richard Seymor of the
Thus ended the career of
Richard Seymer who, if our conjecture is correct, while a pious but adventurous
young university graduate, embarked on the memorable voyage with George Popham
which made him the pioneer preacher of
D.L.J.
NOTE A: LETTERS OF RICHARD SEYMER
Photostatic copies were obtained through the courtesy of the British Museum, of eight letters of Richard Seymer, seven of which were written to his brother, Sir Robert Seymer, between 24 Aug. 1613 and 21 Mar. 1614/15; the eighth was written to an unknown correspondent, 16 Apr. 1619. No direct or implied references were found to his American adventure, but the letters give us a picture of a sober- minded young man, interested in current events, and attending seriously to his affairs. His taste in clothes was conservative, for in the first letter he wishes the color of the broadcloth his brother sent him had been sadder. The eighth letter is the most revealing. His correspondent had asked him to inquire about an Englishman sojourning in Italy, and he made a disapproving report of Sir William's amours, yet wished to have the information considered confidential, "for I haue binn curiouse euer that my pen should doe noe ill offices."
Although inconclusive as evidence, the letters picture Richard Seymer the careerist, as a serious youth and a devout Protestant, not at all out of harmony with the belief that he had served the Popham Colony as "preacher." A brief description of each letter is appended.
I.
II. The Haghe,
III. The Haghe,
IV. The Haghe, last of Aug. 1614. To brother. All politics. He has enclosed a tre [letter] to "my mother in my brother Squibbes tre" [letter].
V. The Haghe,
VI. Zanten,
VII. Zanten,
VIII. Venice,
NOTE B: WOTTON'S FAMOUS LYRIC
ON HIS MISTRESS, THE QUEEN OF
You meaner Beauties of the
Night,
That poorly satisfie our Eyes
More
by your number, than your light,
You Common people of
the Skies;
What are you when the Sun shall rise?
You curious Chanters of the Wood,
That
warble forth Dame Natures layes,
Thinking your Voices
understood
By your weak accents; what's your praise
When Philomel her voice shall raise?
You Violets, that first appear
By
your pure purple mantles known,
Like the proud Virgins of the
year,
As if the Spring were all your own;
What are you when the Rose is blown?
So, when my Mistress shall be
seen
In Form and Beauty of her mind,
By Vertue first, then Choice a
Queen,
Tell me, if she were not design'd
Th' Eclipse and Glory of her kind?
-Sir Henry
Wotton
Reliquiae Wottonianae, 1651.
NOTE C: THE
A BELATED MEMORIAL TO RICHARD THE CHAPLAIN
The President and Fellows of
Gentlemen:
I have the honor to present to
The
The original made 1725 given by George Berkeley, Dean of Derry, afterwards
Bishop of Cloyne, to the Hon. Daniel Updike, of
Richard Seymer, the Chaplain, referred to in the
inscription, is an interesting figure to all American churchmen in particular
because he was using the ritual of the Church of England in
I need hardly apologize for going into these many particulars over a relatively unimportant gift, for such small details are "meat" for the antiquarian brotherhood.
I am, with great respect, Gentlemen,
Faithfully yours,
(Signed) GEO.