from the farm by the sea - Seaton

Finding family names, making the connection, well it's arduous work.

I have struggled nearly every step of the way with my paternal side. Am thankful to have the further assistance of DNA matches, as most of this would have been impossible for me to do before.

WHY?
My father did not even know the first names of his grandparents.
My father did not even know his mother's birthday (it's the same day as my eldest son's!_
My father did not even know that his mother was born in Scotland, not Ireland, blocks away from where he himself was born.

I am reconstructing those broken ancestral walls, the ones in ruins, with windows to our shared past. I feel my ancestors come alive as I learn their names.



My latest find is the name SEATON - meaning - from the farm by the sea...the name whispers its romantic spirit, its connection to land and sea - a connection I am seeking.  It intrigues me that several members of this family worked on the sea, or worked on the farm. I don't know where this name fits in yet, I just know it is one of mine.  That is enough for now. To sit with this name, knowing that documents may fail me, but the promise of finding that connection drives me forward.

This will not be the first time I will write this, with the heavy feeling of tears pooling in my eyes...
I wish my father was still alive for this, so I could quietly whisper these names, and hold his hand, even as he slipped away.

The details I know:
SEATON possibilities:

Alexander Seaton, father of John Seaton who left county Tyrone in 1729 for Stafford Virginia. Could Alexander be my ancestor?
- Alexander would have been born in the mid-late 1600s, originally from Lethanty Scotland, and moved to Londonderry. Could this connect with the Douglas line?

George Seaton - Scotland
- immigrated to Virginia colony. Son James born c1690 in Stafford, his son was Captain James

DNA finds -- I have found tree matches for the following Stafford Virginia Seatons in SEVERAL trees:
James - 1723 Stafford Virginia - 7 Jun 1779 Carmichaels Greene PA
John Dishman - 16 Jul 1736 St Pauls Stafford Virginia - 24 Oct 1803 Farquier VA
William - 4 Oct 1743 St Pauls Stafford Virginia - 8 May 1782 Farquier VA

possible additional locations:
Dranity, Tyrone
Londonderry
Lethanty, Scotland