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William Seward biography

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Quick Facts

  • NAME: William Seward
  • OCCUPATION: Lawyer, Governor, U.S. Representative, Government Official
  • BIRTH DATE: May 16, 1801
  • DEATH DATE: October 10, 1872
  • EDUCATION: Farmers' Hall Academy, Union College
  • PLACE OF BIRTH: Florida, New York
  • PLACE OF DEATH: Auburn, New York
  • Full Name: William Henry Seward
  • AKA: William Seward
  • Nickname: Henry Seward
  • AKA: Harry Seward
  • AKA: William H. Seward

Best Known For

William Seward was a New York governor and U.S. senator before serving as secretary of state under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson.

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Later Life, Legacy and Lesser Known Facts

An attempt was made on Seward’s life by an ally of John Wilkes Booth the same night as Lincoln's assassination.

Seward and wife Frances, who had five children together and adopted a daughter, Olive Risley, when she was 19, were active abolitionists throughout their lives. There is evidence that they were involved in the Underground Railroad,

and lent financial backing to Frederick Douglass's North Star newspaper in Rochester, New York. Seward supported Harriet Tubman in the purchase of property in his hometown of Auburn, New York, where he died on October 10, 1872.

Seward's disshevelled appearance and ever-present cigar may conjure Columbo, but the clever and capable statesman’s legacy is one of accomplishment and vision. His most recent biographer, Walter Stahr, author of Seward: Lincoln's Indispensable Man, asserts that Seward is considered an exemplary secretary of state, second only to John Quincy Adams.

William Seward is said to be the first New Yorker honored with a monument in the city: A statue of Seward by Randolph Rogers, located in Madison Square Park in New York City, was dedicated in 1876.

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