Early Years
Seaton was born free early in the 1820s in Alexandria, a part of the District of Columbia until 1847. His parents were George Seaton and Lucinda Seaton, free blacks who, according to family tradition, had been enslaved at Mount Vernon. On July 30, 1841, Seaton registered as a free person of color along with his brothers and sisters in Alexandria, with the registry listing him as "about 19 years" old. He learned to read and write and also trained as a carpenter. On October 6, 1845, he took out a marriage bond and on that date or soon thereafter married Maria Louisa Bryant, a free woman of color. They had at least five sons and four daughters.
Public Prominence
Seaton's reputation was likely a factor in his being one of six African American men appointed by Judge John C. Underwood to the grand jury for the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Virginia. Sworn in on May 6, 1867, the members of what was likely the first interracial jury in Virginia sat during several sessions of the term that lasted until November and were present when Jefferson Davis appeared in court and was served the writ on his May 1866 indictment for treason. Seaton and the grand jury indicted several other Confederate officials for high treason and issued true bills in other cases, including the possession and passing of counterfeit currency. At the court's next term, Seaton was among almost thirty African Americans named veniremen for the petit jury, but whether he sat on a jury then is not known.
Seaton belonged to Alexandria's Fourth Ward Radical Club, of which he was elected president in January 1868. Infighting among the city's Republicans led to the nomination in June 1869 of two tickets for seats in the General Assembly. At the election, held on July 6, 1869, voters ratified the new state constitution and elected members of the assembly. Seaton was elected to one of Alexandria's two seats in the House of Delegates, receiving 1,807 votes of about 3,500 cast.
On February 7, 1871, he proposed an unsuccessful amendment to allow the city of Alexandria's new charter to be submitted to the voters for ratification. Ten days later he presented a resolution regarding the management of the city's public schools. He was not present in March when the House voted in favor of the Funding Act of 1871, which provided for the payment of Virginia's antebellum public debt and later had a disastrous effect on the state's finances.
Republicans in the city and county again disagreed about candidates for the House of Delegates, although Seaton eventually became one of the nominees. He lost his bid for reelection on November 7, 1871, by fewer than 100 votes. He continued to participate in party politics throughout the decade, attending local and state conventions, and was named an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1872 in Philadelphia. Three years later he declined election to the party's executive committee in Alexandria.
Later Years
Seaton remained a strong supporter of Alexandria's public schools throughout his life and was a trustee, and sometimes president, of the Colored Public School Building Association until his death. He was a member and deacon of Alfred Street Baptist Church and the founding president in 1873 of a Young Men's Christian Association chapter for African Americans.
Seaton's wife died on July 25, 1869, and on March 18, 1874, he married Catherine Turley, in Alexandria. They had two sons and one daughter. Seaton suffered poor health during his final years and died of paralysis at his home on July 5, 1881. He was buried in Alexandria. The George Lewis Seaton House was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 and 2004, respectively.
Time Line
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Early 1820s - George Lewis Seaton is born free in Alexandria.
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July 30, 1841 - George Lewis Seaton registers in Alexandria as a free person of color, with his age listed as about nineteen.
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1844 - George Lewis Seaton buys a lot on Washington Street in Alexandria, beginning lifelong property investment.
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October 6, 1845 - On or about this date, George Lewis Seaton and Maria Louisa Bryant, a free woman of color, marry in Alexandria. They will have at least five sons and four daughters.
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1860 - The federal census values George Lewis Seaton's real estate holdings in Alexandria at $1,000.
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October 1866 - George Lewis Seaton contracts with the Freedmen's Bureau to build a school for freedpeople in Alexandria.
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April 17–18, 1867 - George Lewis Seaton attends the Republican Party meeting in Richmond calling for civil rights for African Americans.
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May 6, 1867 - George Lewis Seaton is sworn in as one of six African American members of the U.S. Circuit Court grand jury who will hear cases involving former Confederates, including Jefferson Davis.
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December 3, 1867–April 17, 1868 - George Lewis Seaton attends the Virginia Constitutional Convention.
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1868–1875 - George Lewis Seaton operates a grocery store on King Street in Alexandria.
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April 1868 - George Lewis Seaton advocates the Colored Co-Operative Building Association to help African Americans finance the construction of their own homes.
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July 6, 1869 - George Lewis Seaton wins election to the House of Delegates as a Republican representing Alexandria.
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July 25, 1869 - George Lewis Seaton's wife, Maria, dies.
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October 1869 - George Lewis Seaton votes to ratify the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
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November 7, 1871 - By fewer than 100 votes, George Lewis Seaton loses reelection to the House of Delegates as a Republican representing Alexandria.
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1872 - George Lewis Seaton chairs a meeting calling to establish an Alexandria branch of the Freedman's Savings Bank and Trust Company. He is later named to the bank's advisory board.
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1873 - George Lewis Seaton is the founding president of an African American chapter of the YMCA.
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March 18, 1874 - George Lewis Seaton and Catherine Turley marry in Alexandria. They will have two sons and a daughter.
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1875 - George Lewis Seaton declines election to the Republican Party's executive committee in Alexandria.
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1875 - George Lewis Seaton's Alexandria grocery store stock is sold off as a result of financial difficulties after the Panic of 1873.
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1879 - Several of George Lewis Seaton's Alexandria real estate lots are sold at auction for delinquent taxes.
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July 5, 1881 - George Lewis Seaton dies of paralysis in his Alexandria home.
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2003 - The George Lewis Seaton House is added to the Virginia Landmarks Register.
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2004 - The George Lewis Seaton House is added to the National Register of Historic Places.
References
Further Reading
External Links
Cite This Entry
- APA Citation:
Julienne, M. E., & the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. George Lewis Seaton (ca. 1822–1881). (2018, April 20). In Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved from http://www.EncyclopediaVirginia.org/Seaton_George_Lewis_ca_1822-1881.
- MLA Citation:
Julienne, Marianne E. and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. "George Lewis Seaton (ca. 1822–1881)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, 20 Apr. 2018. Web. READ_DATE.
First published: April 22, 2015 | Last modified: April 20, 2018
Contributed by Marianne E. Julienne and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Marianne E. Julienne is editor of the Dictionary of Virginia Biography at the Library of Virginia.