Frederick W. Seward | |
|---|---|
 Portrait byMathew Bradyc. 1877–1879 | |
| 6th and 11th United States Assistant Secretary of State | |
| In office March 16, 1877 – October 31, 1879 | |
| President | Rutherford B. Hayes |
| Preceded by | John Cadwalader |
| Succeeded by | John Hay |
| In office March 6, 1861 – March 4, 1869 | |
| President | Abraham Lincoln Andrew Johnson |
| Preceded by | William H. Trescot |
| Succeeded by | Bancroft Davis |
| Member of theNew York State Assembly from the 7thNew York district | |
| In office January 1, 1875 – December 31, 1875 | |
| Preceded by | Alfred Wagstaff, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Isaac I. Hayes |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frederick William Seward (1830-07-08)July 8, 1830 Auburn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | April 25, 1915(1915-04-25) (aged 84) Montrose, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Fort Hill Cemetery Auburn, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Relations |
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| Parent(s) | Frances Adeline Seward William H. Seward |
| Alma mater | Union College |
| Profession | Lawyer,writer,editor,politician |
| Signature |  |
Frederick William Seward (July 8, 1830 – April 25, 1915)[1] was an American politician and member of theRepublican Party who served twice as theAssistant Secretary of State. He served as Assistant Secretary from 1861 to 1869 when his father,William H. Seward, was the Secretary of State under bothAbraham Lincoln andAndrew Johnson, and then from 1877 to 1879 in the administration ofRutherford B. Hayes.
Seward was born inAuburn, New York on July 8, 1830. He was the son ofFrances Adeline (née Miller) andWilliam H. Seward, who shortly became aNew York State Senator, and later the 12thgovernor of New York, aU.S. Senator, and the 24thU.S. Secretary of State). Frederick was the younger brother ofAugustus Henry Seward and the elder brother of GeneralWilliam H. Seward Jr. andFanny Seward.
His maternal grandfather was JudgeElijah Miller and his paternal grandfather was JudgeSamuel S. Seward, who was also a physician and a member of theNew York State Assembly.
From 1839 to 1840, while his father was Governor of New York State, Frederick attended the Pearl Street Academy inAlbany, New York.[2] He graduated fromUnion College in 1849[3] and studied law withHenry E. Davies and William Kent. In 1851, he was admitted to the bar inRochester, New York. In 1878, Union awarded him an honorary LL.D. degree.[1]
After graduating from college, Seward served as asecretary to his father from 1849 to 1857, and served as associate editor of theAlbany Evening Journal from 1851 to 1861.[4]
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On February 21, 1861, Seward arrived at the Continental Hotel inPhiladelphia carrying a letter from his father for President-elect Lincoln. The letter contained information gathered by ColonelCharles Pomeroy Stone and GeneralWinfield Scott.
Stone had stationed three detectives from the New York police department inBaltimore to gather information about plots against Lincoln. Making his way by train from Illinois to Washington for his inauguration, Lincoln had intended to stop next at Baltimore, which was home to manysecessionist sympathizers. According to information gathered by Stone's detectives, secessionists were planning to assassinate Lincoln during his stop in Baltimore.
The warning Fred Seward brought would contribute to Lincoln's decision to pass through Baltimore under the cover of night, rather than stop and appear in public there. AlthoughAllan Pinkerton also warned Lincoln of danger awaiting him in Baltimore, it was Seward's information that confirmed everyone's fears.
When his father was appointedSecretary of State in 1861, Seward became Assistant Secretary of State in charge of consular service under Lincoln andAndrew Johnson. He served in the position until 1869 and "assisted in the negotiations to the adoption of theBurlingame Treaty," which set the attitude towards China when the empire "accepted the principles of international law."[1]
On April 14, 1865, he was injured in an assassination attempt upon his father on the same night that Lincoln was murdered.Lewis Powell, also known as "Lewis Paine," an ex-Confederate and co-conspirator ofJohn Wilkes Booth, attempted to kill William Seward while the Secretary of State was convalescing at home from a carriage accident.
That was Powell's part in the plot to put the government into chaos;Vice President Andrew Johnson and President Lincoln were also to be killed that same evening. After Frederick blocked Powell from gaining access to William Seward's bedroom, Powell tried to shoot Frederick in the head. However, when the gun failed to fire, Powell quickly smashed the pistol over Frederick's head, causing several skull injuries. Frederick then collapsed and fell to the floor at the top of the stairs.
Powell then burst into William Seward's room and stabbed him several times in the face and neck. Powell also injured a number of others who were present, including Frederick's sister Fanny, his brotherAugustus, his father's nurse Private George F. Robinson and messenger Emerick Hansell, but no one was killed. Seward's mother was sure that he was going to die; instead, she died on June 21, 1865, of aheart attack. His sister, Fanny, died soon afterward, in October 1866.
Powell was hanged on July 7, 1865, along withDavid Herold,George Atzerodt, andMary Surratt, who were also involved in the conspiracy.
On April 17, 1868, Sewardtestified inthe impeachment trial of PresidentAndrew Johnson, having been called as awitness by Johnson's defense team.[6]
Frederick's father died on October 10, 1872. Seward was a member of theNew York State Assembly (New York Co., 7th D.) in1875.[7] At theNew York state election, 1875, he ran on the Republican ticket forSecretary of State of New York,[8] but was defeated by DemocratJohn Bigelow. He served again asAssistant Secretary of State, in the administration ofRutherford B. Hayes underWilliam M. Evarts, from 1877 until his resignation in November 1879 due to illness.[9] Seward was replaced byJohn Hay, the diplomat who had been one of President Lincoln's private secretaries.[9]
Seward also edited and published his father'sautobiography and letters in a volume entitledLife and Letters of William H. Seward.[10] Mostly, his life after 1881 was devoted to the practice of his legal profession and to lecturing and writing.
On November 9, 1854, he married Anna Margaret Wharton (1836–1919) ofAlbany, New York and spent the latter part of his life in a house he built inMontrose-on-the-Hudson,[11] nearPeekskill, in New York.[10] The estate had nearly a mile ofHudson River water-frontage.[12]
Seward died at his home in Montrose on April 25, 1915, at the age of 84.[1] He was interred with his family inFort Hill Cemetery inAuburn, New York.[13] Seward left an estate valued at $100,000.[14] In 1916, a year after his death, his bookReminiscences of a War-Time Statesman and Diplomat, 1830-1915, a five-hundred page book about the Civil War and politics, was published by G.P. Putnam's Sons.[15] Also in 1916, his widow sold their 50-acre Montrose estate.[12]
Seward was portrayed byJosh Bowman in the 2024Apple TV+ miniseries seriesManhunt.
The funeral of Frederick W. Seward, formerly Assistant Secretary of State in the cabinets of Presidents Lincoln, Buchanan and Hayes and son of Secretary ... in Fort Hill Cemetery.
| New York State Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | New York State Assembly New York County, 7th District 1875 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | United States Assistant Secretary of State March 6, 1861 – March 4, 1869 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Assistant Secretary of State March 16, 1877 – October 31, 1879 | Succeeded by |
| Inquiries |   | |
|---|---|---|
| Impeachment | ||
| Impeachment trial | ||
| Other | ||
