Valentine Seaman II

     Valentine was born on Thursday, 30 September 1802 at the family home at 90 Beekman Street, City, County & State of New York. Valentine married Anna Amelia Ferris, daughter of Elijah Ferris and Amelia Livingston, on 30 October 1838. The couple are first cousins. 1 September 1850, Valentine and his wife, Anna, were listed on the U.S. Federal Census in Newburgh, Orange County, New York. Enumerated in this household were Valentine Seman [49 New York], Anna [35 New York], Vernon [10 New York], John [6 New York], Lindley [3 New York], Anna [78 New York], Percival [37 New York], Hannah [55 New York], Rosa [20 New York], Julia [16 New York] & servants: Ellen Sheeler [52 Ireland], Ellen McDonald [22 Ireland], Catherine Murray [39 Ireland], Mary Sivert [14 New York] and Andrew Pennel ]22 Ireland - farm laborer].³ 11 June 1860, Valentine and his wife, Anna, were listed on the U.S. Federal Census in Newburgh, Orange County, New York. Enumerated in this household were Valentine Seaman [58 New York], Percival [56 New York], Anna [40 New York], Lindley J. [13 New York], Lewis [10 New York], Fanny [5 New York], William [3 New York], laborer: Joseph Brown [40 New York], and servantS: Joanna Barry [22 New York], Julia Smith [25 New York], & Bridget Forgarty [16 New York]. Valentine & Percival are a master farmers.⁴ 16 June 1880, Valentine and his wife, Anna, were listed on the U.S. Federal Census in the town of Westchester. Enumerated in this household were Anna Ferris [66 New York], her daughter: Anna A. Ferris [35 New York], brother-in-law: William L. Ferris [70 New York], borders: Anna A. Seaman [66 New York], Valentine Seaman [76 New York], Lindley F. Seaman [33 New York], Fanny L. Seaman [24 New York] & Percival Seaman [75 New York], servants: Joseph Korkoski [30 New York], Ann B. van Zandt [50 New York] & Louisa Thomas [31 New York].
Anna is a bording house keeper.⁵ Valentine departed this life on Wednesday, 29 March 1899 in New York City, New York County, New York.

Obituary: Valentine Seaman Dead - He was thought to be the oldest native New Yorker
Valentine Seaman who was undoubtedly the oldest native New Yorker, died yesterday afternoon at his apartments no. 12 West Twenty-second-st. Had he lived only another eighteen months he would have reached his one hundredth year. He was born on September 30, 1802, in Beekman-st., nearly opposite the Old Brick Church. When he was born Beekman-st. was one of the most fashionable thoroughfares of the city. Its aspect was, however, from that of an uptown street or avenue today.
Mr. Seaman's earliest recollection of his birthplace was a house surrounded by large flower gardens and vineyards, and the first impressions of the child of the first decade of the century who lived to almost the end of the last decade, were of quiet and shady walks, flanked by apple and peach trees in brilliant bloom.
Although Mr. Seaman had outlived his generation he was widely known, and thanks to the attention of his sons and a host of friends, the quiet and contented life he lived in his bachelor quarters was not devoid of animation. He was an interesting man, not alone because of his great age, but because of the charm of his disposition, his remarkabe mental activity, his reminiscences of old-time New York and because also of his historic family associations. He was a descendant of Captain Seaman, who sailed from Brightling sea, on the south coast of England in 1620, in his own ship to this country. Charles I issued to him a grant of a great part of Long Island. His twenty-three sons by two marriages were the ancestors of Americans prominent in the Indian and Revolutionary Wars. Captain Seaman himself, although a Quaker, led a troop of militia against the Dutch when they attempted to take possession of Long Island.
Mr. Seaman's father, Dr. Valentine Seaman, was a man of great distinction. The intimate friend of Chief Justice John Jay and Jenner, he was the first man to teach clinical surgery in this country, he was the first also to introduce vaccination. His children were the first persons vaccinated in America, and for his faith in Jenner's discovery, he was threatened with death by a New York man. He was president of the Medical College, the forerunner of the present College of Physicians and Surgeons, and wrote the first pharmacepedia published in the New World.
For many years he wa0s chief surgeon in the New York Hospital, and a fine case of imported surgical instruments presented to him by John Jay is still in the possession of Dr. Lewis Livingston Seaman, his grandson. Although his father was so famous a surgeon, Mr. Seaman would often recount, with a merry twinkle, that he was so weak up to his fourteenth year that his father used to say he would not live long. Mr. Seaman's mother was born in the homestead at Throgg's Neck, a structure about 121 years old and still standing. The house was used by Lord Howe as headquarters in the War of the Revolution.
Mr. Seaman wa educated at the Friends school at Nine Partners. Until the great fire in New York in 1835, He was amember of the firm of Seaman Brosam in Water-st., the largest wholesale drugist in the city. Since 1835 he has not been connected with any business, say for a brief interest in the old publishing firm of Seaman & Jenkins. For the last quarter of a century his principal occupation, practiced purely as a pastime, was the painting of landscaped in monochrome. With remarkable skill he would with the aide of a sheet of celluloid, little ivory black, some turpentine and a piece of cloth execute with his forefinger pictures that were greatly admired for their artistic merit. He was an expert backgammon and chest player, and could defeat three times out of five, his son, Dr. L. L. Seaman, although the later was president of the Cornell Chest Club.
Mr. Seaman married Miss Ferris of Throgg's Neck, whose mother was a member of the Livingston family, in 1838. He leaves four sons, the eldest Vernon Seaman. The others are F. Seaman, a merchant in Shanghi; Lindley Ferris Seaman and Dr. L. L. Seaman. In a course of a published conversation about two years ago, Mr. Seaman chatted cheerly about himslf. "I supposed" he said to a reporter, "That I am the oldest native New Yorker now living, there are only two of my classmates left. They are the Jenkins boys and they live in the next street. William L. Jenkins used to be president of the Bank of America but does not do anything now. I guess he is eighty-eight or eighty-nine years old. Sylvanus Jenkins is younger, and he is still down in the Seaman's Savings Bank. We went to a Quarker School in Pearl-st. My family were all Quakers. No, I don't read as much as I used to it makes my eyes smart, newspapers are printed in such fine type now a days."
"I don't know whether I am sick or not," replied he in reply to a question regarding his health. "I have no appetite, I eat because I have to eat. I don't live to eat, I eat to live. I sleep pretty well. Go to bed about ten o'clock at night unless I have company, then I stay up later. I generally wake up about six o'clock in the morning and get up at eight o'clock. I have a pretty good time. One or the other of my sons takes me out to the park and I sometimes meet George Francis Train over in Madison Square."
"Stimulants? No, I never take anything strong. It make me sick. I don't smoke and never use tobacco, accepting in the for of snuff. When I was young, I used to do as the rest did about drinking. In those days everybody drank wine. It was the custom to keep a decanter of wine on the sideboard all of the time. I can remember when my father bought a cask of Madeira and had it hoisted up into the third floor of our house. I used to draw pitcherfulls out of it." [New York Paper]


His funeral was held at the home of his son, Dr. Louis Seaman.⁶ He was buried in The Bronx, City, County & State of New York, in the Woodlawn Cenetery. His will was probated on 24 April 1899 at 10:30 am at the Surrogate's Court in the chambers of S. Fitzgerald.⁷