Figure of the Week

Thomas Seddon (1779-1831) was the son of John Seddon (c.1735-c.1812) of Stafford County, Virginia.  Early in his life, Thomas was a merchant in Falmouth.  His home there stood on the north side of Washington Street very near the bridge over Falls Run.  Later, he moved to Fredericksburg where he became the cashier of the Farmers Bank of Virginia.  His father divided his Potomac Run plantation, called Oakland, between Thomas and his sister, Nancy Seddon (c.1769-1854).  Nancy, who never married, seems to have inherited the house.  This tract stretched from Glencairne northward to include the Crane’s Corner area as well as much of the land around the site of Potomac SMC Mulch Company.  Thomas was a magistrate in Stafford from at least 1806 to 1810.  His obituary stated that he was “remarkable for great strength and rapidity of mind; clear-sighted and penetrating in affairs of business; he was eminently gifted with useful talents.”  He died as a result of “a protracted fever” (Virginia Herald, Aug. 17, 1831).