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Some Introductory Words.......
Weedon,
Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom.
The history of the Seamons' family could not
be complete without some preamble related to the area in which most
of the early history took place.
Weedon village lies about
half a mile to the east of the road from Aylesbury to Buckingham,
and is located approximately 2 kilometres north of the centre of
Aylesbury township, in the County of Buckinghamshire, England. Some 350 people live in the
village, in 140 houses, the oldest probably being the Manor
farmhouse, which carries several dates in the 1640s on its walls.
Several families have lived in Weedon for many generations; the
Seamons lived there for over 350 years, the Fleets for 200 or so
years, the Finchers for upwards of a hundred.
By the main crossroads is the
tiny village green, and the Five Elms Inn, which is thatched like
several of its neighbours.
Beside the Five Elms a lane called Stockaway leads to the
village pond.
The Five Elms Inn at
Weedon
Although the
name Weedon means 'A place of heathen worship' the village has the
distinction of having been the location of the first place in
Buckinghamshire licensed for Methodist services, and John Wesley
himself is said to have preached from a mound near the
crossroads. There are
two small Churches located within the hamlet; one of
these Chapels was in fact built by Charles Seamons in 1854 for
Methodist services within the village area. A much larger Church, St
Mary's, is located at the village of Hardwick, approximately
one-half a kilometre further north. In parish register records,
Weedon village was considered to be part of the Parish of Hardwick,
and hence many of the early Parish records of births, deaths and
marriages were recorded in the Hardwick register. The history of St.
Mary's indicates that this church was operating as early as 1223,
although the registers did not begin until 1558.
It was not until 1833 that
the first Chapel was established in a barn at Weedon;
previous to this, Weedon villagers attended services at St Mary's
Church in Hardwick.
One
of the large farms in the Weedon area was, and still is, known as
"Lilies". This farm was owned by various well known identities in
English history, including Sir Robert Lee, and Lord Nugent. In the
mid-19th century Lord Nugent, who was the younger brother
of the Duke of Buckingham, lived in the Lilies, and it is rumoured
that in his time the local militia used to march from a row of
cottages (still locally known as "the Barracks"), to be drilled on
the Lilies lawn.
Although the house was rebuilt in 1870, the fleur-de-lys has
been retained in the porch as a reminder that Louis Philippe was
expected to spend his years of exile there, but he went to another
house near Aylesbury.
In the 19th century the village was
almost self-supporting.
Most of the men worked on the farms or at the Lilies, and the
women and girls worked as domestics or as lace makers and straw
plaiters for hats.
There was a baker, a butcher, a blacksmith, bricklayers and
carpenters, and a tailor, and there were several small shops. Nowadays apart from farmers
and farm workers, most people travel to Aylesbury or further afield
to work.
Photos of Weedon and other Bucks
locations, can be found at the following website: http://www.countyviews.com/bucks/village4.htm#W
Early History of the Seamons' Family, prior to
1465
Early history of the family,
prior to 1465, cannot be confirmed due to the lack of written
evidence prior to that time. Details of families in the Aylesbury
area of Buckinghamshire does indicate however that during 1270,
there was a SEMANS
who was a land holder at Great Brickhall,
Buckinghamshire. Other spellings of the name have been recorded as
SIMONS,
SIMMONDS, SYMONS, SEMAN, SEMANS, SERMAN and
SERMANS, and such variations
are consistent with recorded and confirmed different spellings of
the surname until the 1550s. Many of these variations occurred due
to the lack of formal schooling, and the more common phonetic
recording of names by the Parish
Registrars.
It is
known that the Goldneys, who married into the Seamons family during
the 1600s, were originally bondmen (i.e., slaves) on a Weedon manor.
This family was among those whom were numbered at the time of
William the Conqueror in 1066, and the name of Goldney was recorded
in the Domesday book.
Thus,
lines of the Seamons’ ancestry likely had a very humble beginning in
the area of Weedon prior to 1066. The lines are known to be of a
Saxon background, and on this basis it was highly likely that the
family had the beginnings of Villeins during the early Feudal
period.
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