William Seward

The Sewards of New York: A New Biography

September 17, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Sewards of New York: A Biography of a Leading American Political Family (Three Hills – Cornell University Press, 2025) by Thomas P. Slaughter shines a light on one of the most important and fascinating political families of the nineteenth century.

Through recently discovered family correspondence, Slaughter unveils the inner lives of the Seward family, tracing their joys and sorrows as the nation grappled with rapid expansion and deepening divisions on its path to the Civil War. [Read more…] about The Sewards of New York: A New Biography

“Locusts of the East”: The Yankee Invasion of New York

March 9, 2024 by Guest Contributor 3 Comments

New York by 1820 was becoming a “colony from New England” to use the phrase of President Timothy Dwight of Yale. The “Puritan Pope,” as he was some times called, estimated that 60 to 67 percent of the people of New York had originated in the “land of steady habits.”

The few thousand Puritans who had established a new Zion around Boston in the 1630s were a remarkably energetic, prolific, and self-assertive people. The thin soils on the hilly lands, the harsh winters, and the stern theology of John Calvin created a distinct community spirit and shaped a unique character. [Read more…] about “Locusts of the East”: The Yankee Invasion of New York

William Bouck & Erie Canal Expansion

December 19, 2023 by David Brooks Leave a Comment

In 1839 the Whigs won the New York Senate from the Democrats, who campaigned against the “reckless building program of the Whigs,” with relation to expanding the Erie Canal.

In response, the Whigs removed the two Democrats remaining on the Canal Commission, Samuel Young and William C. Bouck, reducing the Commission from four to only three, and replaced them with a Whig, Simon Newton Dexter. [Read more…] about William Bouck & Erie Canal Expansion

Social and Religious Movements in Central New York

November 17, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Central New York communities that flourished with canal-related development and rail connections throughout the 19th century also became hotbeds for religious and social movements of the early 1800s as the area’s population rapidly grew.

Religious freedom granted by the United States Bill of Rights combined with rapid societal and technological changes experienced by Americans living through western expansion fueled an American spiritual movement that was exemplified in the newly opened frontier of New York. [Read more…] about Social and Religious Movements in Central New York

Seward House Barn, Carriage House Rehabilitation Project Getting Underway

October 21, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Seward House Museum in Auburn, Cayuga County, NY, is inviting the public to a groundbreaking ceremony for its Barn and Carriage House Rehabilitation Project on Wednesday, October 25th at 11 am in the Seward House Museum gardens.

Designed by William Henry Seward‘s son Frederick and constructed in 1860, the stone barn and carriage house are integral to the stories shared by the Museum. Once completed, the buildings will serve as a gathering place for events and groups, a new exhibit for William Seward’s carriage, and additional staff offices. [Read more…] about Seward House Barn, Carriage House Rehabilitation Project Getting Underway

Albany’s Thurlow Weed: Seward, Lincoln’s Election, & The Civil War Years

October 18, 2021 by Peter Hess 1 Comment

The second Republican Party Presidential election was held in 1860. Thurlow Weed wanted supporters of the recently formed Republican Party to nominate William Seward.

Working against Weed was the fact that the Republican convention was to be held in Chicago, Illinois, home state of Abraham Lincoln. Weed knew that his man, Seward, was far better known throughout the country. In addition to being New York’s Governor, Seward had been a U.S. Senator and as a leading anti-slavery proponent he had received extensive publicity. His biggest drawback was that he had been considered at one time to be the most radical anti-slavery member of the Senate. [Read more…] about Albany’s Thurlow Weed: Seward, Lincoln’s Election, & The Civil War Years

The End of the Whigs: Thurlow Weed & The Birth of the Republican Party

October 13, 2021 by Peter Hess Leave a Comment

Following his political successes in the disputed Election of 1824, Thurlow Weed was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1825 and again in 1830.

In the 1820s, like many in Upstate New York with populist, anti-elite feelings, Weed strongly believed the Masons were trying to control government using secret means. He felt that political affairs should be conducted publicly and particularly opposed the fraternal secrecy of Freemasonry. An alleged conspiracy by Masons to murder William Morgan in Western New York in September, 1826 sparked the anti-Freemasonry movement. Weed began publishing the Anti-Masonic Enquirer in Rochester, NY in February, 1828.

Soon Weed was hired as editor of the newly formed Anti-Masonic Albany Evening Journal, which began publication on March 22, 1830. The move to Albany made him a statewide leader of the fledgling Anti-Masonic Party. [Read more…] about The End of the Whigs: Thurlow Weed & The Birth of the Republican Party

Albany’s Ira Harris: From Rights Advocate to Lincoln’s Assassination

September 27, 2021 by Peter Hess 3 Comments

Ira Harris was born at Charleston, Montgomery County, NY on May 31st, 1802 to Fredrick Waterman Harris and Lucy Hamilton. When he was six years old, his family moved to Preble, NY where his father became one of the largest landowners in Cortland County.

Harris attended Homer Academy and graduated from Union College in 1824. He studied law for one year in Homer, New York and then moved to Albany where he assisted one of that city’s most highly regarded jurists, Ambrose Spencer. [Read more…] about Albany’s Ira Harris: From Rights Advocate to Lincoln’s Assassination

Seward Assassination Attempt Reconsidered In Auburn

October 11, 2018 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Seward House Museum has announced a program, Murder and Medicine: The Seward Assassination Attempt Reconsidered, has been set for Wednesday, October 17th, from 7:15 to 8:30 pm, at the Carriage House Theater, located behind the Cayuga Musuem on 203 Genesee St, Auburn. [Read more…] about Seward Assassination Attempt Reconsidered In Auburn

William Seward’s and Horatio Seymour’s Gettysburg Addresses

October 16, 2017 by Dr. Bruce W. Dearstyne 1 Comment

The dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 1863, is mostly remembered for the short speech that President Abraham Lincoln delivered there that day. At the time, however, most of the public attention went to a much longer, formal oration by Edward Everett, former Massachusetts governor, U.S. Senator and Secretary of State.

But there were other speakers at Gettysburg as well, including two New Yorkers, Secretary of State (and former U.S. Senator and governor) William H. Seward, and Governor Horatio Seymour.

At the time, Seward and Seymour were nationally recognized and influential leaders and their short speeches were widely noted and reprinted in the press. [Read more…] about William Seward’s and Horatio Seymour’s Gettysburg Addresses

Seward Family Treasures On Exhibit In Auburn

June 22, 2015 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Two of Auburn’s leading cultural institutions, the Cayuga Museum of History and Art, and the Seward House Museum, have joined forces to create a new exhibit, “Untold Stories: Treasures from the Seward Family Collection” will be on display at the Cayuga Museum from until August 30, 2015.

Showcasing items from the collections of the Seward House Museum in the spacious galleries of the Cayuga Museum, this unique collaboration explores the themes of family life in the Victorian era and the Seward family’s world travels. [Read more…] about Seward Family Treasures On Exhibit In Auburn

New Book On The Life Of Fanny Seward

February 7, 2015 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

On April 14, 1865, the night of President Lincoln’s assassination, Booth’s conspirator Lewis Powell attempted to assassinate Secretary of State William Seward in his home just blocks from Ford’s Theatre.

The attack, which left Seward and his son seriously wounded, is recounted in poignant detail in Fanny Seward’s diary. Fanny, the beloved only daughter of Seward, was a keen observer, and her diary entries from 1858 to 1866 are the foundation of Trudy Krisher’s Fanny Seward: A LIfe (Syracuse Univ. Press, 2014), a vivid portrait of the young girl who was an eyewitness to one of the most tumultuous periods in American history. [Read more…] about New Book On The Life Of Fanny Seward

Cuomo Eulogy Echoes Lincoln, Seward

January 12, 2015 by Peter Slocum Leave a Comment

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s eloquent eulogy last week for his father, Mario M. Cuomo, echoed both Abraham Lincoln and former New York Gov. William Seward, one of the leading abolitionists in political life.

“Mario Cuomo was the keynote speaker for our better angels,” Andrew Cuomo said at the funeral on Wednesday, invoking the memory of his father’s famous San Francisco Democratic National Convention speech and, at the same time, recalling the historic closing lines of Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address. [Read more…] about Cuomo Eulogy Echoes Lincoln, Seward

William Seward

We Need Your Help Now More Than Ever

New York Almanack receives no public funds.

It’s supported only by readers like you.

Please give today (a monthly recurring gift is best)