Seymor is a name that first reached England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Seymor family lived in Monmouthshire. Their name, however, is a reference to St. Maur, near Avranches, Normandy. [1]
"The baronial family of St. Maur, founded by the warrior of Hastings, became extinct in the chief male line at the decease in 1499 of Richard, 6th Lord St. Maur, whose only daughter and heiress, Alice, wedded William, 6th Lord Zouche of Haryngworth. The Seymours, Dukes of Somerset, whose historic greatness needs little of ancestral aid to augment its glory, claim to be a scion of the baronial house, and their pretensions may be sustained by the valuable authority of Camden." [2]
The surname Seymor was first found in Monmouthshire. However, records differ on who was the progenitor of the family. One reference claims that Wido de St. Maur came to England in 1066 but was deceased before 1086 and would have therefore not appeared in the Domesday Book. His son William Fits-Wido held a barony in Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucester and ten manors in Somerset. [3]
"A Gilbertine priory, in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was founded [in Poulton, Gloucestershire] about 1347, by Sir Thomas de Sancto Mauro, or Seymor." [4]
Another reference claims they were descended from Roger Sancto Maure who lived during the reign of Henry I and was Lord of Seymour Castle. [5]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Seymor research. Another 105 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1458, 1509, 1537, 1474, 1536, 1547, 1549, 1528, 1593, 1563, 1613, 1599, 1674, 1663, 1646, 1648, 1632, 1708 and are included under the topic Early Seymor History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Seymor are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Seymor include St. Maur, Seymour, Seymer, Seymar, Seamor, Seamour, Seemour and many more.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was John Seymor, High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1458.
Jane Seymour (1509?-1537), was "third queen of Henry VIII, was eldest of the eight children of Sir John Seymour of Wolf Hall, Savernake, Wiltshire, by Margaret, daughter of Sir John Wentworth of Nettlestead, Suffolk. Her mother's family claimed a distant relationship to the royal family." [6]
Sir John Seymour, of Wiltshire, KB (c.1474-1536), was English gentry, courtier to King Henry VIII, father of the king's wife Jane Seymour; Edward Seymour...
Another 83 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Seymor Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the Seymor family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 64 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Seymor, or a variant listed above:
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: