Please read excellent profile bio and research by Sandy Seay: http://sites.rootsweb.com/~shadywoo/seay/articles/MysteryMathewSeay... Mathew is NOT the father of Jacob Seay, James Seay, or Abraham Seay II dna testing has proven this. See media section for Mathew for the forum by Sandy Seay that proves this. https://www.ancestry.com/boards/surnames.seay/110.113.256.258.260.2...

Re: Seay family Sandy Seay Posted: 25 Jul 2004

It's mid-July of 2004 and a couple of years have passed since my last posting on this board, in which I posited that Mathew Seay was born in County Down and had four sons -- Isaac, James, Jacob and Abraham. Some water has gone under the bridge since then.

First, I underwent a DNA test and had it compared to a member of the County Down Seay family DNA. This test shows that I am unrelated to this family. Thus, this suggests rather strongly that Mathew is not from this family.

Second, I revisited the question of the early spelling of Mathew's surname. From 1685 to 1721, it comes down to us as See (3), Sey (1) and Sea (1). In 1721/22, his name is spelled Seay for the first time, although there are scattered See spellings in the family, even to this day. To my knowledge, Mathew is the only person of the surname whose surname is spelled variously this way.

Third, I have collected a handfull of See spellings in Ireland.

Fourth, I have found a citation for an O'See and an O'Seeye in Ireland, in the mid-1500's.

Fifth, I find that a variant spelling for O'Shea today in Ireland is O'Se.

Thus, the evidence now suggests that, rather than County Down, Mathew is likely from the south of Ireland, that part of Ireland that includes Kerry, Cork, Tipperary, Limerick and Kilkenny. It also suggests that Mathew's name was spelled See or O'See in Ireland and America, and that it evolved into the Seay spelling by 1721/22. This is conclusive evidence of multiple, unrelated lines of the Seay surname.

In addition, I am not now arguing that James, Jacob and Abraham Seay descend from Mathew. I am confident that Abraham is a separate and unrelated line, very likely English, and I have a pretty good idea, based on the land records in Amelia County, that James and Jacob form a third line. There may be more.

Regards,

Sandy Seay

On 19 Sept 2019, Joseph Seay wrote:

Jacob Seay James Seay and Abraham Seay are NOT sons of this man. There are two lines of Seays in early Virginia dna testing has proven this one that is Norman English who James Jacob Abraham and Hezekiah Seay of Hanover belong to and one that is Irish that Mathew See and Isaac Seay of King William belong to.

Pam Wilson, Curator, responded:

Thank you for the update, Joseph. Can you point me to sources and links that present and analyze the DNA results and support your argument?