Frederick William Seward
Frederick William Seward | |
|---|---|
| Assistant Secretary of State | |
| In office 1861 – 1869 1877 – 1881 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 8, 1830 Auburn, New York, USA |
| Died | April 25, 1915 |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Anna Wharton |
| Occupation | Lawyer Author Editor Assistant Secretary of State |
Frederick William Seward (July 8, 1830 – April 25, 1915) was born in Auburn, New York, the son of United States Secretary of State William Henry Seward, Sr. and Frances Adeline Seward. His siblings were Augustus Henry Seward (1826-1876), Cornelia Seward (1835-1836), William Henry Seward, Jr. (1839-1920) and Frances Adeline "Fanny" Seward (1844-1866) along with one adopted brother Oliver Risley.
Summary
Fred Seward attended Union College and graduated in 1849 and was admitted to the bar in Rochester, New York in 1851. He served as a secretary to his father from 1849 to 1857 along with working the as associate editor of the Albany Evening Journal from 1851 to 1861. When his father was appointed Secretary of State in 1861, Seward became Assistant Secretary of State in charge of consular service under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. In 1874 Seward was elected to the New York State Assembly and once again served as Assistant Secretary of State under William M. Evarts from 1877 to 1881 during Rutherford B. Hayes' presidency. Frederick also edited and published his father's autobiography and letters. 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 he devoted his time to the practice of his profession and to lecturing and writing. He died on April 25, 1915 at age 85. 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.
Lewis Paine Incidence
On April 14, 1865 Seward and several others were injured when Lewis Powell a.k.a. Lewis Paine attepted to kill his father, William H. Seward, in his father's home. Powell was an associate of John Wilkes Booth and was assigned to kill secretary of state Seward to put the government into electoral caos since Vice President Andrew Johnson and President Abraham Lincoln were also to be killed. Powell got in the house by telling servent William Bell he was their to deliver medicine. Fred Seward tried to get Powell to leave knowing he was up to no good, but the assassin was determained to serve his duty and tried to shoot Frederick in the head. The gun had just clicked when the trigger was pulled and Powell quickly smashed the gun over his head, causing several skull injuries to Seward and having him fall to the floor at the top of the stairs. Powell burst into his father's room and stabbed him several times in the face and neck. His sister, Fanny, his brother, Augustus, his father's nurse, Sergeant George F. Robinson and a messenger, E. Hansell, were also injured, but no one was killed. Lewis Powell paid his price on the gallows on July 7, 1865 along with David Herold, George Atzerodt and Mary Surratt who were also involved in the conspiracy.
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