Seth Wyman life of crime

I was born in Goffstown, in the year 1784, and almost from the cradle was addicted to mischief and roguery. ~ Seth Wyman

Goffstown, New Hampshire

the beginnings of Seth's criminal ways

Our cousin Seth Wyman V (4C5X) was born in Goffstown, NH in 1784. He was the fifth in a long line of Seth Wymans. We wrote about Seth Wyman II (2C8X), born in 1786, in our post "Lovewell's Fight." Seth II was famed for having killed Chief Paugus, leader of the Pequawket tribe, during that battle.

In 1843, Seth V wrote a memoir of his life of crime titled “The Life and Adventures of Seth Wyman, Embodying the Principal Events of a Life Spent in Robbery, Theft, Gambling, Passing Counterfeit Money, etc. etc. Written by Himself.”

The book begins with both publisher and author offering disclaimers as to why they would present a book filled with "crimes and follies" before the public. We'll begin with the statement fromf the publisher, whose name is not mentioned in the book.

In laying before the public this simple narration of the crimes and follies of one. . .I cannot but feel a reluctance that would lead me, without other considerations, to consign the work to the shades of oblivion, rather than to offer it to the world. But. . .there are other considerations that outweigh even these, and induce me to sacrifice such feelings, and perform the duty I owe, not only to the determinate purpose of the author, as repeatedly expressed by his latest breath, but to the public, furnishing lessons to my fellow men, in which they may see the heinousness and misery of crime, and thereby strengthen and render impregnable the noble purposes to resist temptation.

. . .The waywardness of the author can only be accounted for on the ground that his mind was so constituted by a wise Being, whether as an example of erring humanity to deter others from a like course, or for some other wise purpose, is not for us to decide. I doubt not it was ordered in accordance with Omnipotent Wisdom; and this reflection should move the hearts of all to the exercise of charity while contemplating the evil of his ways, and lead us to hope that through the repentance of his latter days, he had at length found acceptance into the realms of perfection, where crimes and afflictions never enter.

Seth Wyman begins his narrative with his own disclaimer:

In presenting the following record of crime and folly to the reader, I am aware that I disobey the promptings of selfishness, which would forever confine the succeeding details within my own breast, and thus cause them to die with their author; but a sense of justice due the world, with a desire that a life which has been worse than useless, may yet prove a benefit to the coming generation in deterring them from travelling in the same thorny path which I have trod, urges me to lay them before the world.

In the first chapter of his 1843 memoir, Seth wrote,

I was born in Goffstown, in the year 1784, and almost from the cradle was addicted to mischief and roguery. Nothing was valued by me unless I had succeeded in pilfering it from some other person, and the more trouble I was obliged to take in stealing an article the higher I valued it.

Seth's father, Seth Wyman IV (3C7X) was born in Woburn in 1740. He married Sarah Atwood in 1773 in Haverhill, MA. They moved to Goffstown in 1776 where they bought a farm on Piscataquog River.

(1) Woburn, MA (2) Haverhill, MA (3) Goffstown, NH

About his father, Seth wrote:

Our country was at war with England … and it was impossible to get any work, or a market for any kind of produce. My father, as a last resort, enlisted in the army.

Seth IV was stationed for a time with Washington's Continental Army at Fishkill, NY on the Hudson River. He was serving at Fort Ticonderoga in 1777 when British General John Burgoyne took the fort from the Americans. There he was "wounded in the side by a rifle ball, and at last escaped from the British only by rolling on the ground till out of the sight of the party who were in pursuit.”

After the war Seth IV became quite a wealthy man. Seth V wrote that his father "sustained the character of an industrious, and upright man.”

My mother was a kind, noble-hearted woman, strictly honest, and unsparing in her benevolence to all who came within the reach of her bounty. I leave the contradiction between the character of both my parents and my own, to be accounted for by those philosophers who assert that the moral condition of the offspring depends upon that of their progenitors.

To illustrate his own general orneriness, Seth used the example of his discovery that cutting off the bark around trees was a state offense:

This was sufficient inducement for me to undertake it immediately. My first experiment was on six valuable apple tree, belonging to a near neighbor of my father. They died, of course, and a large reward was offered by their owner for the offender. I was never discovered, however, and was considerable elated by my success. I continued the amusement of killing trees for some time undiscovered. . .  

By the time he was fourteen, Seth "had no eye or ear for anything that did not administer to my passion for thieving." He began using militia training to hone his craft. He stole sugar, money, and jewelry from the soldiers. In addition he was "committing depredations on a smaller scale in our neighbors' orchards and yards," stealing apples and pears from the trees.

When sixteen year old Seth turned his attention to the other sex, one of his dalliances found him "in the limbos on a suit for breach of promise." He managed to wrangle out of that one by "hiring the complainant to change her suit from me to another." That, however, was just the beginning of his wayward way with women.

a trip to Maine

Also at sixteen, Seth decided to take a trip to see some property in Maine his father owned that would eventually be his. Seth IV (4C6X) was quite a wealthy man, which would come in handy for Seth V many times over the years. On his way north, Seth got employment with a man in Newburyport, MA. While there he saw a "small pocketbook" lying on a dresser. He bided his time and was soon able to sneak into the house and grab it. The man never suspected him of taking it and Seth left to find the boat that would take him to Maine scot free.

Aboard ship, Seth met another young man about his age "nearly as great a proficient in roguery." The difference in the two, he wrote, was that the other lacked "the coolness and daring necessay to a successful and profitable course of trickery. . .by coolness of mind and deliberate action I could push bold schemes."

While waiting for the ship to sail, Seth went ashore and was able to steal a cloak made of mink that was "capacious enough to hold a small family and a pig." He mentioned this theft as the cloak would "figure in my future thieving exploits" and he wasted no time trying it out. He went into a goods store and found the cloak worked like a charm to conceal some "handsome knit gloves and feetings."

After landing in Maine, Seth made his way to his father's property. Along the path he took a large otter from some Native traps and took them knowing full well that, if caught, his life "would pay the forfeit."

The land Seth's father owned was in Bucksport, Maine on the shores of the Penobscot River.

(1) Goffstown, NY (2) Bucksport, ME

Seth began his stay in Bucksport by stealing some tins of cake from the store of his father's friend, Mr. Buck. Later, on his way to a party, he saw the ship that he had sailed on with no one aboard. He took the opportunity to steal the captain's watch, clothing and money. After those thefts, Seth began a lifelong practice of finding safe hiding places for his "booty." This practice would save him from arrest time and time again as authorities could find no proof that he was the perpetrator.

After hiding his loot, Seth made his way to the party where he described the action:

My readers have probably all attended an old fashioned kissing party, and have been through the delightful games of forfeits, pledges, &c. - all delightful, because of the end of the whole matter - kissing. . . remember it?. . . Aye, one life is too short to forget even so short a season of bliss.

back in Goffstown

On his journey back to Goffstown, Seth stole a "brace of pistols" from a gunsmith and a roll of cloth from an English goods store in Portland, ME. Cloth would turn out to be one of his favorite items to steal as he could have clothing made for himself. When finally home, Seth continued working for his father but he wrote that "[t]here were only two kinds of business, which I could follow with any kind of pleasure, or even patience, namely: keeping company with the girls, and thieving."

Seth related an incident that involved both of his favorite pastimes. First he told how he stole $34 from Mr. Parker's store, which was one of his favorite places to practice his roguery. He expended "most of the money I could obtain, in waiting on the other sex." One of these was a Miss Hill who would pass by Seth's house on her way home and often, "as the road was lonely," he would accompany her home.

On one of the aforesaid occasions, the father of evil seemed to have been busy with her as well as myself. On passing a piece of woods, she said to me "Seth, don't you think I ought to be kind o' good to you, because you take so much trouble on my account?". . .I hesitated . . .but for an instant. . . I took her horse by the reins, led her into the woods, and accomplished my foul purpose.

This placed Miss Hill completely in my power. . .for fear of exposure. This was very serviceable to me, for I carried all my stelen cloth to be made into cloths by her.

Seth was even so bold as to steal some cashmere from Mr. Parker's store, have Miss Hill make it into pants and then wear the pants in the store.

Instead of attending school, Seth found a tavern where he "spent most of his time, drinking, and playing cards." Even sweeter, he had found a new source of revenue:

There was a Mr. O., a near neighbor, who raised a large quantity of grain. . .I altered a key, so that I could unlock his door, and visited the grainery in the night, taking usually two or three bushels at each visit. . .Mr. Little, who owned the tavern. . .bought my grain of me. . .He never asked questions about where my produce was raised, and I told him no lies.

caught!

It was in the spring ca. 1801, when "a baker, by the name of Loomis, moved into Goffstown from Boston." Our cousin Dyer Loomis (6C6X) descended from a cousin of our grandfather Edward Loomis (10GGF) of Ipswich. Seth began seeing Dyer's daughter Sally (7C5X) but a theft gone wrong ended that relationship. While Seth was pilfering a bundle of cloth belonging to a customer at Mr. Parker's store, one of the clerks saw a "motion" of his arm. After Seth left the store with his stolen goods, "Mr. Gordon, the right owner of the bundle," figured it out from the clerk's story and "went in pursuit."

Gordon immediately came to me, told me what the boys had said, and that their testimony would be sufficient to bind me over to court. He talked to my patents, telling them that if I had taken the cloth it would be the wisest course to settle it, as I was yet young, and it would soon be hushed up. They all entreated me so much, and finding that he had pretty strong proof against me, I concluded to give up the cloth, and pay him four dollars for his trouble.

I regarded it a a death-blow to my credit for life. How it affected my parents, and especially my mother, I need not inform the reader. That broke up the courtship between me and the baker's daughter, and her father, while on a visit to Boston, told his friends there that his Sally had undone herself by keeping company with a thief. His word did not seem to have much influence with them, however, for he had another daughter in Boston, married to a Mr. Chandler, who afterwards became my wife.  

At this time, I was about eighteen years of age. I was obliged to go pretty straight for some time after the event. . .I was then tall, well-formed, and very strong for my age, and accustomed to boxing. There were but very few in the town who could handle me, and I determined to give the first one who mentioned the aforesaid unlucky affair, practical demonstration of my strenght and skill.

back to his old tricks

Seth had begun traveling regularly to Deering, NH, about 20 miles from Gofftown, where he had some property. On one of these trips, he found an intoxicated man lying on the side of the road and took $80 from his wallet. As his life of crime picked back up, Seth's "bump of run-after-and-fall-in-love-with-the-girls-ativeness was very fully developed." He describes an amorous encounter with the lovely Miss White "who was called the belle of Deering:"

I engaged her company for that night, and we had a very pleasant time. We became tired of kissing and being kissed at about midnight, and then started for home, in order to enjoy ourselves in another way. I stayed with her until about daylight. . .

The good times with Miss White ended when the lady was informed of his "former tricks." Within 24 hours, however he had another girl on the line. In this affair, however, he wasn't so lucky. One day when he was at his father's house in Goffstown, he received a letter from the girl, who had found herself in the family way. She wrote that he had "but one alternative, a suit for breach of promise, or marriage." The price for Seth's freedom was $120, of which his father paid half.

By this time, people in town were wise to Seth's antics and his next foray into stealing gave him his first taste of courtroom life. He broke into Mr. K's store, taking "penknives, combs, ribbons, pins, handkerchiefs, and every article I could carry away conveniently," along with bolts of cloth. Since he expected the town to suspect him, he found a place to hide his goods.

Sure enough, the next day the sheriff came asking questions. Seth was taken before a justice and "bound over" until the next court. His father and brother paid his bail. When his court date came around, the only evidence presented to the jury was circumstantial and they were forced to find him not guilty.

trouble of another kind

Seth has described himself as larger and stronger than the average bear. He also had quite a temper which got him into yet another scrape. When a man by the name of Wells made reference to his stealing ways, Seth's temper began a cycle of violence. Seth asked Wells to take it outside:

He drawed upon me, but before he had time to strike, I placed a blow directly over his eye, which laid him sprawling on the ground. I sprang upon him, and pommelled his head and face, until the men, fearing that I should kill him, pulled me off. He face was pounded out of all natural form, into a mere jelly, and looked like a mass of gore and flesh. . .

One of Wells' friends, Houston, decided to retaliate. He accosted Seth in the street but Seth once again turned the tables.

I caught hold of his shoulder with my left hand. . .at the same time striking him with my right hand directly over the eye. This blow felled him to the ground, and I sprang upon him. . .I laid the blows thick and fast until his face was nearly cut to pieces. . .He might have been killed, if the men had not forced me off; for I had become so excited, that I scarcely knew what I was about.  

The upshot of a this was that Houston got a lawyer and filed a complaint against Seth who was lucky once again. Witnesses testified that Houston had started the fight and Seth was once again let off scot free. But life in Goffstown was not roses for him:

Men were pretty careful after this, not to insult me, and treated me civilly, in my presence. I lived, however, in a continual, under handed contention with my enemies, who now numbered in their ranks nearly all of our neighbors.    

Seth didn't take the underhanded abuse lying down. He got his revenge against "Mr. O., who was particulary active in the talking department," by breaking into his store and stealing as much as he could. Again he was suspected. Again, there was no evidence.

The town came up with "what they thought a deeper plan to entrap me--to keep a sharp look-out for the stolen property, and if they saw any of it in my possession, then to nab me." Seth, however, had his own plan:

I was prepared for their game, and was cautious how I used the goods. . .in a form so disguised that they were not recognized. The rogue was never detected, and a portion of the property is still in my possession. . .I was pretty well known as having a determined, dogged disposition, that would stop at nothing if its object was revenge.

Seth's life became an orchestrated series of thefts, the ensuing grilling by the sheriff and a complete lack of evidence always keeping him one step ahead of jail. Nothing was safe from his pilfering eye: tools on a job, merchandise in stores, items left in people's yards and even clothing drying on the line.

We will continue Seth's life of crime in our next post.