Sealock (Family name)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sealock is a proper family name (surname) that originated within the continental United States. This surname is relatively rare.[1][2] Ancestry of the Sealock family points in various directions including: England, Ireland, Scotland, Prussia, Belgium and genetic research[citation needed] suggests at least tri-racial or Melungeon heritage. Public figures from this family include "Brigadier General Neal Sealock", who negotiated for the release of the US EP-3E Aries plane and crew of 24 who were held by China after being struck by a Chinese F-8 fighter near the Chinese border. See Hainan Island incident.
Several versions of family stories exist that say Thomas the immigrant arrived in America as an orphaned small child and did not know his last name. Someone, perhaps the ship's captain, gave him the surname Sealock, or "child of the sea." Thomas married Susannah Cooper in 1763 in Chester County, Pennsylvania. They later moved to Loudoun County and Fauquier County, Virginia. Their known children were James, John, William, Thomas, Samuel, Robert, and Mary. Descendants of this family are outlined in "The Sealock Story" (Kendrick Grant Jackson & Joan D. Hackett, 2000) which can be found in several libraries. Further DNA testing is needed to determine which lines among their descendants, if any, include American Indian and/or African American in the genetic pool. Thomas, the immigrant, did not live where Melungeons settled. One descendant of William Sealock, son of the immigrant Thomas, had an ethnic DNA test taken by ancestrybydna.com in May, 2008. That DNA test showed 100% European ancestry -- no African American and no Native American.
