Seawright Beaver Creek Plantation – Lexington County

Basic Information

• Location – Lexington County

  East side of Lewie Rucker Road, north of Big Beaver Creek, and east of the town of Swansea
  

• Origin of name – Named after first owner, Captain William Seawright, and location along the Big Beaver Creek
  

• Other names – None

• Current status – Land has been subdivided and is owned by various private parties.
  

Timeline

• 1748 – Earliest known date of existence – Captain William Seawright petitioned South Carolina Council for headrights for three slaves he had acquired and was awarded land on Big Beaver Creek
  

• ? – House built

• ? – The Seawright family probably departed the property during or shortly after the Civil War.
  

• 1870 – The family of Solomon Seawright (a black man and undoubtedly a former slave) inhabited land in the vicinity of the former Seawright Beaver Creek Plantation.
  

Land

• Number of acres – 2626 acres in 1843. At that time an equity court directed that the plantation land be sold due to probate disputes upon the death of Robert Seawright. However, Robert's widow, Mary Seawright, bought back 333 acres that included the plantation house and rich creek-bottom land used for cultivation.

• Primary crop – Agricultural Schedules of 1850 and 1860 indicate that rice and Indian corn were the primary crops with a small amount of cotton grown.
  

Owners

• Chronological list – Captain William Seawright (b. 1705, d. 1760), Robert Seawright (b. 1714, d. 1767), John Seawright (b. 1747, d.1807), Robert Seawright (b. 1775, d. 1840), Mary (Gibson) Seawright (b. 1803, d. 1880)
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves –
  – 1748 – at least three slaves were on the premises
  – 1752 – an additional two were added
  – 1790 – there were 15 slaves
  – 1800-1830 – the plantation averaged eight slaves
  – 1840 – 16 slaves were enumerated
  – 1841 – an advertisement in the newspaper South Carolina Temperance and Register of Agriculture and General Literature mentioned that 11 slaves were for sale (10 named) from the estate of Robert Seawright (deceased). It mentioned a man named Nero; women named Charlotte, Mary, Celia, and Sophia and her child; girls named Harriet, Louisa, Keziah, and Susan; and a boy named Henry.
  – 1850 – six slaves total
  – 1860 – two slaves
  

References & Resources

1. J. W. Richards, History of the Seawright Beaver Creek Plantation - PDF - includes 1841 and 1843 plat maps
   

2. J. W. Richards, The Baker and Gibson Families and Allied Lines - includes extensive research on the Seawright family of Lexington County and their Beaver Creek Plantation
   

Contact Information

• If you are doing research on Seawright Beaver Creek Plantation or the Seawright family, please write plantations@sciway.net for J. W. Richards' contact information.