Introduction

The Seagraves family is well represented in print making our task so much easier.  Currently there are almost 2,000 sources listed on the website and linked to individual items of information.  Some are used frequently such as Findagrave.com and the Social Security Death Index, both of which provide details on many people.   We are also fortunate to have published family genealogies that cover large segments of our ancestor groups such as "The Segrave Family, 1066-1935" and "Genealogy of the Seagrave Family from 1725- 1881", among others.

In particular, this website has been developed to aid family historians interested in a factual basis for their genealogies in the research for the connections between known ancestors of the Seagraves and early ancestral families in North Carolina, New Jersey, and Massachusetts.    Ultimately we may be able to cite sources that connect those early families to their European lines.

Bibliographies are traditionally listed by authors' names, so that format is followed below.

Family Genealogies

Blount, Sidney Wright, "Sampson Stewart His Royal Ancestors and Some of His Descendants", privately printed, Altus, OK, 1961

Day, Savannah Segraves, "The Reverend William Segraves and his Descendants", Pocahontas Press, Blacksburg, VA, 1989

Lubin, Wanda Sanders, "Descendants of William Seagraves and Rebecca Edwards of Wake Co., North Carolina and Rutherford Co., Tennessee/ Goodman Seagraves and Margaret Ellen Sisson of Lafayette Co., Mississippi and Polk Co., Arkansas", privately printed, Omaha, Nebraska, 1983

Seagrave, Daniel, "Genealogy of the Seagrave Family from 1725-1881", Tyler & Seagrave, Worcester, MA, 1881

Seagraves, Faye S., "Genealogy of Seagraves Sampson and Kindred Lines" First Edition, privately printed, Coeur D'Alene, ID, 1969

Seagraves, Faye S., "Genealogy of Seagraves Sampson and Kindred Lines" Second Edition, privately printed, Coeur D'Alene, ID, 1983

Segrave, Charles W., "The Segrave Family, 1066-1935", Novello & Company, LTD, London, 1936

Walker, Johnny D., "Descendants of Sherrod Segraves (1808-1893) of Wilkes Co., NC and Dyer Co., TN" privately printed, Paris, TN, 1983

Watkins, Myra C. Manley, "Segraves/Seagraves and Related Families of Northeast Georgia", privately printed, Georgia, 1993

Local Histories (that mention Seagraves)

Banna, D. D., "Henderson County, Tennessee", A Plus Printing Co., 2004 reprint

Bates, Ed. F., "History and Reminiscences of Denton County [Texas]", McNitzky Printing Co., 1796 reprint

Blankenship, Harold G., "History of Macon County, Tennessee", Monroe County Press, Tomkinsville, KY, 1986

Boddie, John Bennett, Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight County Virginia, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, MD, 1980, reprint

Fairfield, Asa Merrill, "Fairfield's Pioneer History of Lassen County, California to 1870", Higginson Book Company, Salem, MA, reprint

Fleming, W. S., "A Historical Sketch of Maury County [Tennessee], read at the Centennial Celebration in Columbia, Tennessee July 4th, 1876", The Book Store, Columbia, TN, 1976 reprint

Goodspeed Publishing, "The Goodspeed History of Tennessee with biographical sketches of the Counties of Sumner, Smith, Macon and Trousdale", Southern Historical Press, Easley, SC, 1979 reprint

Goodspeed Publishing, "Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Northeast Arkansas" Southern Historical Press, Easley, SC, 1978 reprint

Harris, Mrs. J. M., "112 Years in Little Elm Community", Banks, Upshaw and Company, Dallas, TX, 1957

Historical & Genealogical Society of Randolph County, Indiana, "Randolph County, Indiana, 1818-1990",  Turner Publishing Company, Paducah, KY, 1991

O'Laughlin, Michael C., "The Families of County Dublin, Ireland", Irish Genealogical Foundation, Kansas City, MO, 1999

Robbins, D. P., "Century Review of Maury County, Tennessee 1807-1907", Southern Historical Press, Easley, SC, 1980 reprint

Scott, Betty M. for the Macon County Historical Society, "Macon County, Tennessee History and Families", Turner Publishing Company, Paducah, KY, 2001

Smith, A. Morton, "The First 100 Years in Cooke County [Texas]", The Naylor Company, San Antonio, 1955

Worthy, Marvin Nash, "History of Gwinnett County, Georgia 1818-1993, Vol III", Board of Commissioners of Gwinnett County, Georgia, Stein Printing, 1994

Walker, Laura Singleton, "History of Ware County, Georgia", J. W. Burke Co/, Publishers, Macon, GA, 1934

Lewis Publishing Company, "Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of King County, Washington, Lewis Publishing Company, New York, 1903

 

Websites

Findagrave.com. Findagrave.com, or FAG, is a significant source of primary (name, dates of birth and death, and location of burial) material on many individuals who might otherwise remain unknown.  Usually, when a gravestone photograph is included the information can be accepted as reasonably accurate.  There are exceptions to that rule in a few rare cases when an impossibly wrong date has been given to the gravestone carver and other sources conflict with the engraved data.  Also, persons who have read and interpreted old gravestones can have read and recorded the dates incorrectly (a 6 for an 8 or a 7 for a 1, for example) so a careful inspection of a photograph may correct such errors.  Memorials on FAG without photographs or gravestones surviving to be photographed can have been written by individuals with limited or inaccurate information, so, unless the FAG memorial is the sole available source all data should be checked against other records.

U.S. Public Records Index, Vol 1, Ancestry.com.  It is presumed that the information in this database has been transcribed accurately from original sources.  Ancestry.com describes it as: "The U.S. Public Records Index is a compilation of various public records spanning all 50 states in the United States from 1950 to 1993. Entries in this index may contain the following information: name, street or mailing address, telephone number, and birth date or birth year."  Since this source is limited to the second half of the 20^th century it is of limited use, but tied with other information it can help with birth dates of living people.

Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014, Ancestry.com. "The Death Master File (DMF) from the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) currently contains over 94 million records. The file is created from internal SSA records of deceased persons possessing social security numbers and whose deaths were reported to the SSA.  This file includes the following information on each decedent, if the data is available to the SSA:

Last name

First name

Social Security Number

State issued

Birth date

Death date

Last residence

Lump sum payment

"The absence of a particular person in the SSDI is not proof this person is alive. Additionally, there is a possibility that incorrect records of death have been entered on the Social Security Administration Death Master File (DMF). The Social Security Administration does not guarantee the accuracy of the file."  Even with the disclaimers, the SS Death File seems to be a fairly reliable record that can be used to tie with Findagrave.com information to conform a person's death and birth dates.

U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, Ancestry.com.  "The Social Security Administration Death Master File contains information on millions of deceased individuals with United States social security numbers whose deaths were reported to the Social Security Administration. Birth years for the individuals listed range from 1875 to last year. Information in these records includes name, birth date, death date, and last known residence."

This is a useful source for people born after 1875 with no other source for their birth date.

U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010, Ancestry.com.  "This index contains birth and death dates for more than 14 million veterans and VA beneficiaries who served during the years 1800–2010."  It also shows the service dates for many members of the U. S. Armed forces confirming their active duty dates. 

Other Primary Sources:

North Carolina Birth Indexes, 1800-2000, Ancestry.com

North Carolina Marriage Collection, 1741-2011, Ancestry.com

North Carolina Death Certificates, 1909-1975, Ancestry.