Col. John Seward on his farm with log cabin, split-rail fence and horse. (AI photo rendered on data by Bill Truran, who endorses it as historically representative)
During this prelude to the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we are looking at some of our local people who put their possessions and lives on the line for freedom for America. These are patriots of the United States. Today, we recognize Col. John Seward.
Seward of Hardyston Township was a patriot during the Revolutionary War and one of the most outstanding.
He was the progenitor of a well-known and broad lineage, especially in New Jersey and the Midwest. His grandson, William Seward, was a senator from New York, then governor and later Abraham Lincoln’s secretary of state. The nickname “Seward’s Folly,” associated with the purchase of Alaska, came from William Seward. (I know, you went to look that up, ha!)
John Seward certainly was one of the most experienced patriots. He was born in 1730 in Black River in Morris County. Some of the farm of his father, Obadiah, now is a park and sports center.
John Seward was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel in 1777 and later was promoted to full colonel. He was in command of the 2nd Regiment of Sussex County Volunteers.
According to the family book, he and his young wife, Mary, went further “into the wilderness where he would hue their home out of the virgin mountainsides and there built their log cabin upon land still known as the ‘Old Seward Farm’ in the highlands of Hardyston four miles from Hamburg and a mile or more from Snufftown, New Jersey.” It also says that “logs from trees, felled by John’s axe, formed their house which stood near a stream that forms a head branch of the Pequannock River.”
He was 5 feet 10 inches tall, erect with much dignity of manner and had the appearance of being a leader. He was a captain, then the colonel of the militia. From his letters home, now in the Rochester (N.Y.) Library, we know that he was involved in the war early on, engaged in the Battle of Long Island, and part of the retreat through Manhattan and White Plains. At the Battle of Princeton, he obtained a Hessian rifle.
He was hounded by Tories, who infested the area, and an attempt or two on his life took place on Tory Rock nearby his house. Attempts by Tories and Indians took place in the woods nearer his house as well.
John Seward was a member of the Sussex County Board of Freeholders from 1767 to 1779. He also was a member of the secretive Committee of Safety for our area; these members put their lives at great risk by opposing the king.
He led his troops to the Battle of Minisink, which turned out to be disastrous for the Americans.
John Seward made a very valuable contribution to the beginning and continuity of our nation.
Bill Truran, Sussex County’s historian, may be contacted at billt1425@gmail.com He is the author of “Franklin High School: Two Basketball Dynasties.”