Joshua Seale was born March 26th, 1775 in Mecklenburg, North Carolina.[1. “Family Data Collection-Births,”database, FamilySearch (www.ancestry.com : accessed February 26, 2017), entry for Joshua Seale, citing March 26, 1775 birth, Mecklenberg, North Carolina.] In the period leading up to the pronouncement of the Declaration of Independence, North Carolina was a hot bed of political activity. Citizens of Joshua’s birthplace were signing their own Declaration of Independence, patriots burned British Fort Johnson, and the North Carolina Provincial Congress committed to providing funds for the Revolutionary Army.[2. North Carolina Museum of History (Raleigh, North Carolina), “Eighteenth Century North Carolina Timeline,” report, (http://ncmuseumofhistory.org/learning/educators/timelines/eighteenth-century-north-carolina-timeline : accessed February 26, 2017).] Growing up in this atmosphere of independence would influence Joshua the rest of his life.
Even Charles, Joshua’s father, was part of the Revolutionary movement, collecting taxes to aid his new country.[3. Daughters of the American Revolution, “Genealogy Research Database” (http://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search/?Tab_ID=0 : accessed February 26, 2017), entry for Charles Seale, ancestor #A100915.] Growing up in this atmosphere of change, it makes it easier to understand why, when most of us are retiring, Joshua was off on another adventure! (more on that later)
Joshua and family lived in North Carolina until Joshua was about six or seven years old, and then they were off to South Carolina.[4. Janie Revel, Some South Carolina Genealogical Records (Easley, SC: Southern Historical Press, 1986), 117; Charles Seale, Joshua’s father was an appraiser in the Estate of John Wilson when Joshua was seven years old.] Settling in the village of Winnsboro in newly formed Fairfield County,[5. South Carolina GenWeb, “Brief History of Fairfield County,” report, (http://sciway3.net/scgenweb/altco/scfairfield/ : accessed February 26, 2017).] Joshua grew into a man at the same time the United States grew into a nation.
Then, shortly after his twentieth birthday, Joshua met a girl!