M. W. (Morris Woodruff) Seymour

Morris Woodruff Seymour was an American historian, attorney, and judge from Litchfield, Connecticut. He was born on October 6, 1842, into a prominent Connecticut family: his father, Origen S. Seymour, served in Congress and later became chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court. Seymour studied at Hopkins Grammar School, graduated from Yale in the class of 1866, and went on to Columbia Law School.

Alongside his legal career, he became known for writing about history, especially the history of Litchfield and the Seymour family. Works associated with him include Historic Litchfield and A Record of the Seymour Family in the Revolution, showing his lasting interest in preserving regional and family memory.

Because the surviving online record is fairly limited, many personal details are harder to confirm with confidence. What does come through clearly is that he belonged to the tradition of lawyer-historians who helped save local history in print, leaving behind books that remain useful to readers interested in Connecticut and early American family life.