Skip to main content

Seton family photograph album

 Collection
Identifier: Mss 0074

Scope and Contents

The Seton family photo album contains 51 images of the Seton family home, Cragdon Cottage, including the house, grounds, nearby landmarks, and family members.

The majority of the images are of the house, grounds, and area around Cragdon in and near Eastchester, New York. Names given for locations include Rattlesnake Brook, Rattlesnake Ledge, Willie's Rock, Seton Falls, Ting's Bridge, and others.

Images of several family members are included, including several groups; most individuals are identified, as are several dogs owned by the family. William Seton Sr. appears in several images, as do William Jr., Isabel, Elizabeth, and Emily Seton; Thomas Jevons, Thomas Fletcher, and Emma Wardell also appear several times. Alfred Booth is in at least two images, while Lydia Butler, General Guy Henry, General Totten (possibly James Totten), Henry Ogden, Grace Bayley, and Seton cousins Ethelinda and Harry appear at least once. Other individuals whose full names are not given also appear.

The first page of the album includes the inscription "William Seton Esq, from Alfred Booth and Tho. E. Jevons, Cragdon, October 1867." The album binding is missing; some string from the binding keeps sections of the album together, but the cover is missing completely.

The photographer was Alfred Booth (1834-1914). All images in the album have handwritten captions describing the location, individuals, and many give the season in which the image was captured. Winter, spring, and summer are included in the album, and likely all date from 1867.

Two books owned by the Seton family were acquired at the same time as this album and are listed in the catalog: Homer's Odyssey inscribed by William and Emily Prime Seton and by Robert Seton, and Select Pieces on Religious Subjects by Effingham Warner, inscribed by William Seton Sr. and by Robert Seton.

Dates

  • 1867

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

All materials available in this collection (unless otherwise noted) are the property of the Monsignor William Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center and Seton Hall University, which reserves the right to limit access to or reproduction of these materials. Reproduction of materials or content is subject to United States copyright restrictions and may be subject to federal or state privacy regulations. Permission to publish exact reproductions must be obtained from the Director of the Archives and Special Collections Center.

Biographical / Historical

The family of William Seton, Sr. lived at an estate called Cragdon near Eastchester, in Westchester county in New York in the late 1800s.

William Seton Sr. was born 25 November 1796, the son of Elizabeth Ann Seton and William Magee Seton of New York. William Seton was educated at Mount Saint Mary's College in Maryland and then served in the Navy, rising to the rank of Lieutenant before resigning shortly after his marriage to Emily Prime in 1832. The couple had seven children and traveled extensively in Europe for Emily Prime Seton's health; she died in France in 1854. William Seton made a home in New York for the family at Cragdon.

William Seton Jr. was the eldest child of William and Emily Seton, born in 1835. He attended Mount St. Mary's College and became a lawyer; he also served in the 4th NY Volunteers during the Civil War as a Captain. He wrote several books, including some for children, and contributed to scientific journals as a Catholic supporter of evolution. He lived in Europe for a time, including several years in Munich. He married Sarah Redwood Parrish in 1884.

Emily Seton was the eldest daughter of William and Emily Seton, born in 1836. She was educated at Sacre Coeur, Paris, lived at Cragdon with her father and died in 1868.

Henry Seton was the second son of William and Emily Seton, born circa 1839. He attended Mount Saint Mary's College and served as a Captain in the Civil War, remaining in the Army until 1901. Married Anne Foster of New Hampshire with whom he had two sons, John and William. He died in 1927.

Robert Seton was the third son of William Seton Sr. and Emily Prime Seton, born 1839. He attended Mount Saint Mary's College before studying in Rome at North American College and receiving ordination in 1865. He wrote books, essays, and articles, served as the pastor of Saint Joseph's Church in Jersey City, N.J., and was consecrated archbishop of Heliopolis, 1903. He died in 1927.

Elizabeth Seton was the second daughter of William and Emily Seton, born 1840. She was educated at Sacre Coeur, Paris, and later lived in Munich 1870-1883 with her brother William. Afterwards resided with her cousin Nina Prime at Huntington, Long Island, N.Y., and died in 1906.

Helen Seton was the third daughter of William and Emily Seton. She was educated Sacre Coeur, Paris, and entered the order of the Sisters of Mercy in 1876 at New York, taking the name Sr. Mary Catherine. She died in 1906.

Isabel Seton was the fourth daughter of William and Emily Seton. She was educated at Sacre Coeur, Paris, and married Thomas E. Jevons in 1870. The couple had four children and lived near New York City, at "The Drift" in Huntington, Long Island, N.Y., and in Atlantic City. Their children were Reginald, Thomas Seton, Ferdinand, and Marguerite. She died in 1929.

Thomas Jevons was born 1841, the son of Thomas J. Jevons and Mary Ann Roscoe. He graduated from the University of London, then immigrated to New York City in 1865 as agent for Liverpool shipping firm of Rathbone Bros. and Co. He became partner in Busk and Jevons in 1868. He died in 1919.

Alfred Booth was a British businessman involved in shipping, who developed and owned a steamship company (Alfred Booth and Company) with his brother Charles Booth, a writer and philanthropist. Alfred Booth married Lydia Allen Butler and their son, Alfred Allen Booth, was named a baronet in 1916. Lydia Allen Butler was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin Butler, an Attorney General of the United States.

Major General Guy V. Henry was the son of William Seton Henry and Arietta Henry, born in 1839. He served in the U.S. Army and served in the Civil War and the Spanish-American war before becoming the first Governor of Puerto Rico after the invasion of that island. He may have been a nephew of William Seton Sr.

General James Totten served in the U.S. Army during the Civil War.

Sources: Seton, Robert. An old family, or the Setons of Scotland and America. New York: 1899. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Booth_and_Company and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Alfred_Allen_Booth,_1st_Baronet, accessed 13 January 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Vernor_Henry, accessed 13 January 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Totten, accessed 13 January 2014.

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The Seton family of William Seton Sr. lived in New York in the late 1800s, at an estate called Cragdon near East Chester, a part of what is now the Bronx, in Westchester county. The Seton family photo album contains 51 images of the Seton family home, Cragdon Cottage, including the house, grounds, nearby landmarks, and family members.

Preservica Internal URL

Preservica Public URL

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Collection was purchased for the Archives and Special Collections Center by in 2013. Accession number 2013.0028.

Existence and Location of Copies

Select items from this collection have been digitized. To view these items, click here.

Related Materials

Seton Jevons family papers, 1780s-1930, Mss 0005, in the Monsignor William Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center, Walsh Library, Seton Hall University.

Collection on Elizabeth Ann Seton, 1840-2006, Mss 0006, in the Msgr. William Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center, Walsh Library, Seton Hall University.

Seton Family material can be found at Notre Dame University ( Robert Seton Papers), Mt. St. Mary's College, Emmitsburg, Md. and St. Elizabeth's College, Convent Station, NJ.

Processing Information

Collection processed and finding aid created by Tracy M. Jackson, January 2014.

Creator

Title
Seton family photograph album, 1867
Author
Tracy M. Jackson. Revised by Sarah Ponichtera.
Date
2014. Rev 2020.
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.
  • TypeCollection

Repository Details

Part of the The Monsignor Field Archives & Special Collection Center Repository

Contact:
Archives, Walsh Library
400 South Orange Ave
South Orange NJ 07079 US
973-761-9476