Who was William Seale?

This post is intended for those who, by sharing family information, might help me break through a genealogical “brick wall.”

For many years I have been researching my patrilineal genealogy, with an eye to writing a book on the life and times of the generations on either side of my family’s move from England to Virginia.

Starting with myself and working back, this genealogy goes:

1. Avrel Bret Seale, b. 1967, Harlingen, Texas, m. Kirstin Books
2. Bradford Carl Seale, b. 1936, Athens, Texas, m. Jan Epton
3. Horace Harold Seale, b. 1907, Sabinal, Texas, m. Annah Hewett
4. Horace Bradford Seale, b. 1877, Benchley, Texas, m. Belinda Browning
5. Bradford Thomas Seale, b. 1832, Greene Co., Alabama, m. Mary Henry
6. Elias Seale, b. 1793, North Carolina, m. Susannah Davis
7. Thomas Seale, b. 1759, Cumberland, N.C., m. Rachael Baxter 1783
8. Charles Seale, b. 1729, Stafford, Virginia, m. Lydia Muse c. 1750
9. Anthony Seale Jr., b. c. 1695, Virginia, m. Ann Bristow
10. Anthony Sale, b. 1659, Virginia, m. Dorothy Hannah Hughes

None of the above is in dispute. 

Confusion begins with the next generation back, the immigrant, William Seale/Sale/Seile. This man, presumably my 8th great-grandfather, is widely referenced in books and online databases, but there seems to be considerable disagreement over his birth year, birth place, and wife, and no record of his death, presumed to predate 1704. Furthermore, there seem to be two competing theories/camps of his parentage. One theory, found on FamilySearch, gives William’s genealogy as:

11. William Seale, 1636-1704 • G4FC-Z3C (London) 
12. John Sealy, 1594-1664 • LBFF-9RZ (London)
13. Anthonie Seale, 1565-1610 • L1MQ-K5F (NW of Manchester)​​
14. John Seeley Jr., 1539-1644 • L524-F97 (Staffordshire, W. Midlands)
15. John Seeley Sr, 1519-1579 • LLW8-DJL (London)
16. William Seeley, 1465-1565 • L29Y-82X (Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire)
17. Isaac Seeley, 1447-1465, G641-M66 Herefordshire 
18. Nathaniel Seeley, 1420-1447 • LT93-YVT 
19. John Seeley, 1393-1442, LY47-1GK, Cambridgeshire
20. Thomas Seeley, ?-1418 • GDSP-P3S

However, these online claims appear to be entirely unsourced.

The other theory seems to have come from research by author Nancy Kuehl, and the second edition (1990) of her book A Seale Anthology, as well as her book Henry Seale, The King’s Bookseller, also 1990. It gives William’s genealogy as: 

11. ​​William Sale, (birth range 1620–36). probably London, immigrated 1655-56, m. ________ Berry/Bury ​​

12. Henry Seile, b.1595, Osleston, Derbyshire, a London Stationer

13. ​​Humphrey Seile, b. Abt. 1540, Stone, Staffordshire, England, d. 18 May 1608.) m. Margaret Carter, a surgeon

14. Henrye Sayle, b. 1505, m. 1539

15. Thomas Seall / Sayle, b. 1485,  Bentley Arksey, Yorkshire; m. Katheryne Bradford

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This Kuehl genealogy appears to have been propagated by Madge Pettit’s 2001 book Some Alabama Pioneers, as she lists two books as sources in her Seale section, neither of which I have been able to access: Seals from all Around, by Joyce Jones Seal, and the 2nd (1990) edition of A Seale Anthology, by Nancy Kuehl. There seems to be some synergy between the Kuehl 1990 theory and the Pettit Theory, but there are differences as well, such as that Kuehl lists the children of Henry and his first wife as William, Edward, and Henry, while Pettit gives the immigrant brothers as William and Thomas. As of now I am most attracted to the Pettit narrative because it is carefully written, is relatively recent, and uses Kuehl 1990 as a source, and I consider Kuehl to be the most painstaking and thorough of all the authors whom I have read.

Here are my primary research questions:

• What are the life facts of my immigrant ancestor, William? When was he born (dates range from 1620-1638)? Whom did he marry? When did he immigrate? Was he a glassblower (as claimed here: http://jliptrap.us/gen/seal.htm) or a tobacco worker, as claimed in most other sources, or both? In what occupation was he indentured? Can we gain any clarity about his path, for instance, was it from England to Virginia then to Baltimore then back to Virginia?
  
• Is there any evidence of William the Immigrant or his brothers fighting in the English Civil War? Is there any evidence of an escape to Scotland? (per Seale and Allied Families by Ida Carrie Seale) Or any record of their emigration, such as a ship name or from which port it sailed? Variously I have found:
  • There was a William Seale, glassblower, imported to Charles City County 1655 by Howell Pryse.  
  • John Wood received land on the Potomac River in 1656 for transporting 20 persons, including a William Seale.  
  • A William Seale was among 115 convicts shipped from Newgate Prison aboard the York, date not given, in 1650s.  
  • One of these apparently bought 400 acres of land in Westmoreland County, VA, in 1679.  
  • William Sale, b. 1638 was brought by John Stevens in 1657 from England. Sale worked as a planter for seven years, after which he was granted 130 acres of land. Seven years was a common indenture for which he probably served in exchange for passage from England. (Robert Byrd Congressional record)
  • One unsourced online account has him fleeing from an Irish garrison to Barbados and then to Virginia.
    
• Critically, was the father of immigrant William Seale/Seile/Sale 1. London publisher Henry Seile 2. John Sealy (per FamilySearch) or perhaps another William? This is the log-jam I most need to break.
  
  In parallel to traditional genealogical research, I have taken the most comprehensive Y DNA test available on the market, FamilyTreeDNA’s Big Y 700 test. That test gave my terminal haplogroup as I-BY1330, which arose in Great Britain about 2,000 years ago.
  
  If you have any information that might help me break through this brick wall and answer the question “Who was William Seale?” I would very much like to hear from you at avrelseale@gmail.com. Thanks!
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