Monday, April 4, 2011

JONATHAN SEWELL & JOHN ADAMS

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In the Taschereau Family Tree at ancestry.com (which is the focal point of Cousin Sam), the pedigree may be navigated through the Ross / Sewell / Quincy lines to John Adams as follows:

for Halloran: William Ross Halloran (1912-1987) > his mother, Ethel Calfine Ross (1885-1973) > her father, Richard Beamish Ross (1845-1889) > his brother, Henry Ross.

for Kelley: George Foley Kelly (1905-   ) > his father, Albert Edward Kelly (1869-1906) > his sister, Edith Mary Kelly (1874-1951) > her husband, William Edward Drummond Ross (1871-1944) > his father, William David Francis Ross (1836-1902) > his brother, Henry Ross.

for FitzGerald: Edward M. Fitzgerald (1921-    ) > his mother, Ethel Taschereau Ross (1889-1969) > her father, Henry Ross.

for Taschereau: Henry Fleury Taschereau (1900-1976) > Charles Fleury Taschereau (1859-1935) > his half brother, Henry Ross.

Henry Ross was the son of Drummond Ross (1813-1857) and Maria Jane Beamish (1819-1889).  After Drummond died, Maria Jane married Achille-Antoine Fleury Taschereau (1836-1886).

HENRY ROSS (1842-1926) > his daughter, Eva Jane Ross (1872-1939) > her husband, Charles Albert Sewell (1865-1941) > his father, Dr. James Arthur Sewell 2 (1834-1899) > his father, Dr. James Arthur Sewell 1 (1810-1883) > his father, Jonathan Sewell 3 (1766-1839) > his mother, Esther Quincy (1738-1810) > her father, Judge Edmund Quincy (1703-1788) > his father, Edmund "The Subscriber" Quincy (1681-1737) > his half brother, Daniel Quincy (1650-1690) > his son, John Quincy (1689-1767) > his daughter, Elizabeth Quincy (1721-1775) > her daughter, Abigail Smith (1744-1818), who married JOHN ADAMS.

For a biography of John Adams, I recommend
  McCullough, David,  "John Adams"  [Simon & Schuster, New York, 2001].

For the works of John, Abigail, John Quincy, and Charles Francis Adams, including letters, biographies and autobiographies, links will soon be available at Cousin Sam's Library: http://cousinsamslibrary.blogspot.com/2011/07/adams-charles-francis-john-john-quincy.html
Jonathan Sewell (2) (father of Jonathan Sewell (3) and husband of Esther Quincy) and John Adams were close friends. The following slightly edited biography appears on-line in Sewall or Sewell of Coventry,  http://www.sewellgenealogy.com/p459.htm#i68
It is referenced  Lawrence, Joseph Wilson, "The Judges of New Brunswick and Their Times" [St. John, 1907].

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Jonathan Sewell (2)

Jonathan Sewell (2) was born on 24 August 1729 in Boston, Massachusetts.  He was the son of Jonathan Sewall (1) and Mary Payne.  Jonathan Sewell (2) graduated in 1748 from Harvard ranked fifteenth in a class of twenty-nine.  He married Esther Quincy, daughter of Judge Edmund Quincy and Elizabeth Wendell, on 21 January 1764 in Braintree, Massachusetts, (m. intention, though with a date of 1760 is recorded in the vital records).2 Taught school in Salem until 1756 ; then studied law with Judge Russell, and opened an office in Charlestown. While attending Court, he and John Adams lived together, frequently slept in the same chamber, and often in the same bed. He courted the maiden he married several years ; and it was his habit to go to her father's on Saturday and remain until Monday ; and Mr. Adams was generally invited to meet him on Sunday evening. And, besides, the two young men were in constant correspondence. About the year 1767 Mr. Sewall was appointed Attorney-General. The friend already mentioned remarks that, as a lawyer, his influence with judges and juries was as great as was consistent with an impartial administration of justice; that he was a gentleman and a scholar; that he possessed a lively wit, a brilliant imagination, great subtlety of reasoning, and an insinuating eloquence.
In 1774 he was an Addresser of Hutchinson, and in September of that year his elegant house at Cambridge was attacked by a mob and much injured. He fled to Boston for refuge. His name appears among the proscribed and banished, and among those whose estates were confiscated. He attempted to dissuade Mr. Adams from attending the first Continental Congress; and it was in reply to his arguments, and as they walked on the Great Hill at Portland, that Adams used the memorable words: " The die is now cast; I have now passed the Rubicon ; swim or sink, live or die, survive or perish with my country is my unalterable determination." They parted, and met no more until 1788. The one, the high-souled, lion-hearted Adams, had a country, and a free country; the eloquent and gifted Sewall lived and died a Colonist. It is thought that Sewall originally sympathized with the Whigs, and that he was won over to the other side by the address of Hutchinson, after some dissatisfaction with the Otises relative to the estate of his uncle, a deceased Chief Justice of Massachusetts. He is said to have adhered to the Crown at last, as did thousands of others, from a conviction that armed opposition would end in certain defeat, and utter ruin to the Colonies.
In 1775 Mr. Sewall went to England, and was in London previous to July 20th of that year. Early in 1776 we hear of him, in company with several other exiles, " bound to the theatre to see the Jubilee"; next as a member of the Loyalist Club, for a weekly conversation and a dinner; and later, as having a home in Brompton Row. In 1777 we find him at Bristol, and on terms with the celebrated political divine, Dean Tucker, who considered the Colonies a burden to England, and had the courage to advise the Ministry to "cast them off". The next year he was at Sidmouth ; but again at Bristol in 1779 and the year after. While in England he wrote to his fellow-exile, Curwen, " The situation of American Loyalists, I confess, is enough to have provoked Job's wife, if not Job himself; but still we must be men, philosophers, and Christians; bearing up with patience, resignation, and fortitude, against unavoidable suffering." The friendship between Jonathan and John was never interrupted while both lived. In 1788 Mr. Sewall went to London to embark for Halifax, and they met at once, — the Whig laying aside all etiquette to make him a visit. " I ordered my servant to announce John Adams, was instantly admitted, and both of us, forgetting that we had ever been enemies, embraced each other as cordially as ever. I had two hours' conversation with him in a most delightful freedom, upon a multitude of subjects." In the course of this interview, Mr. Sewall remarked that he had existed for the sake of his two children ; that he had spared no pains or expense in their education ; and that he was going to Nova Scotia in hope of making some provision for them. He did not long survive; " evidently broken down by his anxieties," adds Mr. Adams, " and probably dying of a broken heart." At this time Mr. Sewall had been appointed Judge of Admiralty for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and soon after entered upon his duties. In " McFingal" it is asked, —

" Who made that wit of water-gruel
A Judge of Admiralty, Sewall ?3 "

Jonathan Sewell (2) was appointed on 17 October 1768, judge of the Vice-Admiralty Court for Lower Canada by Commission under the Great Seal of the High Court of Admiralty of England. In fact this was published in the Annual Register as being the 27 November 1768.4 He died on 27 September 1796 in St John, New Brunswick, Canada, at the age of 67.5 He was buried on 28 September 1796 at the Loyalist Burying Ground

St. John, N. B., 9th Oct., 1796.

My Dear Sons,
Before this reaches you, the afflicting news of the death of your affectionate father will have reached you and your brother, Mr. Winslow kindly undertaking the office. Your dear father made his exit on Tuesday, 27th September, and had it pleased Heaven to have lengthened his years, I should still have been happy to have discharged the duties of a wife with affectionate attention, which I trust I have faithfully done through life, and have reason to believe your dear father thought so. I was much afflicted Mr. Chipman could not be at the funeral of your dear father, but he was obliged to meet the commissioners at Passamaquoddy Bay. I must add, in justice to our friends, Dr. Paddock, and Ebenezer Putnam, it was conducted with respect and propriety. They followed as mourners Attorney General Bliss and little Chipman in deep mourning; and what, my sons, will afford you both great satisfaction, and what I have received much for myself, your dear father much wished to be interred with Judge Putnam in his vault. Mrs. Putnam readily complied with his desire; of this he was informed. I am grieved to have your joy dampened at the time of your nuptials; I should be very deficient if I did not mention the particular attention I have received. Mrs. Chipman has been particularity kind to me, Madame Putnam, her son and daughter, Col. and Mrs. DePeyster; each of their families putting themselves in mourn ing. A letter of thanks to Dr, Paddock and Mr. E. Putnam would not be amiss.

Unalterably your afflicted and affectionate mother,
Esther Sewell
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Jonathan Sewell (3) was the chief justice of Lower Canada, a short biography of whom is given in the previous post.  His biography in the above mentioned Sewall or Sewell of Coventry is considerably more extensive, and I highly recommend it.  Dr. James Arthur Sewell 1 & 2 are also of some interest:

Dr. James Arthur Sewell (1)

Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Laval University. He was born on 31 August 1810 in Quebec.  He was the son of Chief Justice Jonathan Sewell (3) and Henrietta Smith.  He married Maria Cornelia Westrene Macrae (1810-1849), daughter of Colin Macrae and Charlotte Gertrude van den Heuvel, in 1833.  Dr. Sewell married Jane Beswick, daughter of George Beswick, on 26 November 1852 in Quebec.  He died on 2 October 1883 at the age of 73 at his residence in St. Ursule Street in Quebec. He was buried on 4 October 
1883 in Mount Hermon Cemetery, Plot 312.

The death of this well-known physician of Quebec took place at his residence, St. Ursule Street, on the 2nd inst. Dr. Sewell was born in Quebec in 1810, and was a son of the late Chief Justice Sewell. After receiving his professional education in Edinburgh, where he graduated in 1833, he settled in his native town, and had there been engaged in active practice to within a few months of his death. He was one of the original members of the Faculty of Medicine of Laval University, and held the chair of Medicine, and was also Dean of the School. He was chairman of the Marine Hospital Commission, and one of the physicians to the Hotel Dieu. As a governor of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, he took an active part for many years in all the affairs of the Board. At the organization of the Canada Medical Association in 1867, Dr. Sewell was President of the Quebec Medical Society, and took the chair on the first day of the meeting. Subsequently, in the year 1871, he was elected President of the Association. For many years Dr. Sewell was a constant contributor to the British-American Journal and the Canada Medical Journal, in the files of which many of his interesting cases and communications will be found. He was an ardent advocate for the use of tea as a stimulant, and as an antidote to the effects of opium and in uraemia.
Dr. Sewell was twice married, and leaves a large family. Two sons are in the profession, both graduates of Edinburgh. One, James A., practices in England ; the other, Colin C., at Quebec. He was a cousin of the late Dr. Stephen C. Sewell, Professor of Materia Medica in McGill College, and of Dr. E. C. Sewell.
Dr. Sewell will be greatly mourned and missed in Quebec, where his kindly disposition and professional skill endeared him to people of all ranks. The Montreal Medical Journal, Volume 12, p. 188

Dr. Sewell was one of the first surgeons in Quebec to use chloroform in an amputation of the legs of a French sailor in the Marine Hospital in January 1848.


Dr. James Arthur Sewell (2)

Dr. James Arthur Sewell was born on 27 August 1834 in Quebec.  He was the son of Dr. James Arthur Sewell  (1) and Maria Cornelia Westrene Macrae.  He was baptised on 12 October 1834 at Chapel of the Holy Trinity, Quebec, by E.W. Sewell. He graduated in 1856 from Edinburgh M.D. and became L.R.C.S. in the same year. He married firstly Cornelia Janetta Elizabeth Thierens, daughter of Albertus Adriaan Mennes Theirens, on 25 March 1862 in St. Thomas's Episcopal Church, Edinburgh, the service was conducted by the Rev. D.T.K. Drummond. In the notice of the marriage the groom is described as "Assistant Surgeon Bengal Army." Dr. James Arthur Sewell married secondly Elizabeth Ann Ainslie, daughter of Robert Ainslie, on 26 April 1879 in St. Thomas's English Episcopal Church, Edinburgh, In the marriage register the address of the groom is given as 119 Westbourne Terrace, Hyde Park, London and that of the bride as 8 South Castle Street, Edinburgh. Dr. James Arthur Sewell and Elizabeth Ann Ainslie appeared in the 1881 census at 41 Oxford Terrace, London,, also recorded were a cook, nurse and housemaid. Dr. James Arthur Sewell died on 2 January 1899 in Mentone, France, at the age of 64.

James Arthur Sewell, M.D., L.R.C.S.Ed.

"Dr James Arthur Sewell died at Mentone on the 2nd. of January. He belonged to a family long settled in Canada, which produced some distinguished lawyers. His grandfather was the Honourable Jonathan Sewell, Chief Justice of Lower Canada. His father was a physician in Quebec. Dr. Sewell graduated at Edinburgh 1856, and at the same time took the diploma of the College of Surgeons of that city. He entered the service of the Honourable East India Company in 1857. During the mutiny he was amongst the slender garrison which held the Fort at Agra, the only place remaining to us in the North-West until after the capture of Delhi. Dr Sewell was present at the action with the Nemuch Brigade and other fights with the mutinous Sepoy regiments about Agra. He remained eight years in the Indian Medical Service, after which he resigned his commission and went Quebec, where he married a Canadian lady who only lived a few years after the marriage. About twenty years ago, he went to London where he set up in practice. He married for the second time Mrs Elizabeth Ainslie, daughter of the late Robert Ainslie, Esq of the Elvingston. Everything seemed to promise a prosperous career, when there appeared symptoms of phthisis. Against the attacks of this disease Dr Sewell struggled with heroic fortitude. He tried many health resorts, the South of England, Pau and the Engadine, but finally settled at his residence, Villa Blanche, Mentone, generally spending the summer months in Savoy and Switzerland. Dr Sewell was above six feet in height, a remarkably fine looking man. He was of a cheerful and lively disposition and kind and faithful friend. He had a ripe knowledge of his profession, and from his general culture and travels his conversation was most agreeable. He had much power of wit and humour, and a large fund of anecdotes. His long and often trying illness was cheered by the care and company of his wife and daughter. His only son is now in Canada." Scottish Medical and Surgical Journal, Vol. 4. 1899, pp. 165,166

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1 comment:

  1. "... he resigned his commission and went Quebec, where he married a Canadian lady who only lived a few years after the marriage." I thought his first wife,Cornelia, was born in Guyana to Albertus Thierens and his Scottish wife Jane Margaret Bell. Am I mistaken?

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