Preceded by William H. Trescot Political party Republican Education Union College Succeeded by John Hay Role American Politician | Preceded by John Cadwalader Name Frederick Seward Succeeded by J.C. Bancroft Davis Spouse(s) Anna Wharton Seward | |
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Born July 8, 1830
Auburn, New York, U.S. ( 1830-07-08 ) Died April 25, 1915, New York, United States Books Seward at Washington as Senator and Secretary of State: A Memoir of His Life, with Selections from His Letters, 1861-1872 Parents Frances Adeline Seward, William H. Seward Siblings Augustus Henry Seward, Frances Adeline Seward, William H. Seward, Jr., Olive Risley Seward, Cornelia Seward Similar People William H Seward, Frances Adeline Seward, Olive Risley Seward | ||
Frederick William Seward (July 8, 1830 – April 25, 1915) was an American politician and member of the Republican Party who twice served as the Assistant Secretary of State. The son of United States Secretary of State William H. Seward, he served as Assistant Secretary from 1861 to 1869 under both Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson and then from 1877 to 1879 in the administration of Rutherford B. Hayes.
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Early life
Seward was born in Auburn, New York, the son of United States Secretary of State William H. Seward and Frances Adeline Seward and elder brother of General William H. Seward Jr.
Frederick attended the Pearl Street Academy from 1839 to 1940, which is located in Albany, New York; while his father was Governor of New York State. He attended Union College and graduated in 1849 and was admitted to the bar in Rochester, New York, in 1851.
After graduating from law school, Seward served as a secretary to his father from 1849 to 1857 along with working as the associate editor of the Albany Evening Journal from 1851 to 1861.
Baltimore Plot
On February 21, 1861, Seward arrived at the Continental Hotel in Philadelphia carrying a letter from his father for President-elect Lincoln. The letter contained information gathered by Colonel Charles Pomeroy Stone and General Winfield Scott.
Stone had stationed three detectives from the New York police department in Baltimore, Maryland 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 many secessionist 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. Although Allan Pinkerton also warned Lincoln of danger awaiting him in Baltimore, it was Seward's information that confirmed everyone's fears.
Civil War
When his father was appointed Secretary of State in 1861, Seward became Assistant Secretary of State in charge of consular service under Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. He served in the position until 1869.
Attempt on father's life
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 co-conspirator of John 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 Fredrick's head, causing several skull injuries. Fredrick 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 other bystanders, including Frederick's sister Fanny, his brother Augustus, 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 a heart attack. His sister, Fanny, died soon afterward, in October 1866.
Powell was hanged on July 7, 1865, along with David Herold, George Atzerodt, and Mary Surratt, who were also involved in the conspiracy.
Later life
Frederick's father died on October 10, 1872. Seward was a member of the New York State Assembly (New York Co., 7th D.) in 1875. At the New York state election, 1875, he ran on the Republican ticket for Secretary of State of New York, but was defeated by Democrat John Bigelow. He served again as Assistant Secretary of State under William M. Evarts from 1877 to 1879. Seward also edited and published his father's autobiography and letters.
Personal life
He married Anna Wharton of Albany, New York and spent the latter part of his life in a house he built in Montrose, New York. Mostly, his life after 1881 was devoted to the practice of his legal profession and to lecturing and writing.
Seward died at the age of 84. He was interred with his family in Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, New York. In 1916, a year after his death, his book Reminiscences 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.