Letter from William Henry Seward, Jr. to Frances Miller Seward, April 20, 1860

  • Posted on: 27 July 2016
  • By: admin
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Letter from William Henry Seward, Jr. to Frances Miller Seward, April 20, 1860

transcriber

Transcriber:spp:mah

student editor

Transcriber:spp:sss

Distributor:Seward Family Digital Archive

Institution:University of Rochester

Repository:Rare Books and Special Collections

Date:1860-04-20

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Letter from William Henry Seward, Jr. to Frances Miller Seward, April 20, 1860

action: sent

sender: William Seward
x

Person

Name: William Seward Birth: 1839-06-18 Death: 1920-04-29

location: Auburn NY
x

Place

Name:  City:  Auburn County:  Cayuga State:  NY Country:  US

receiver: Frances Seward
x

Person

Name: Frances Seward Birth: 1805-09-24 Death: 1865-06-21

location: Unknown
Unknown

transcription: mah 

revision: ekk 2015-07-10

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Page 1

Auburn April 20th
My dear Mother
My previous letters to
Father
x

Person

Name: William Seward Birth: 1801-05-16 Death: 1872-10-10
have informed you of our ill fortune
on the 17th. At six oclock on that evening
I went to supper and before dark Dennis
x

Person

Name:   Birth:  Death: 
had
locked the barns and gone home, having no
occasion whatsoever to go into there with a light[ . ]
x

Supplied

Reason: 

About a quarter of eight while I was down town I
heard the first cry of fire. I immediately started
for the barn and reached there within four minutes
from the time the first alarm was given, the
flames had then enveloped the cow shed and
south part of the barn and the smoked had
probably suffocated the horses several minutes
before. Before I could bust the lock from
the door the whole inside was one mase of smoke
and flame, and almost as soon as the door
was opened the floor had fallen in, the cows
in the mean time had broken through the
fence & made there way into the garden unharm- ^ed^
I immediately directed the things to be removed
from the carriage house, which was only half
Page 2

accomplished when we were driven out
by the fire. I then went to the house
locked the main part entirely up, and
with the exception of the kitchen and office
openend neither room or passage, Mr McClallen
x

Person

Name: Hugh McClallen Birth: 1791-09-07 Death: 1860-11-16

and Mr Warden
x

Person

Name: Ethan Warden Birth: 1803-10-21 Death: 1861-03-22
kindly assisted me so that
but few persons were let in at all & these only
to bring in books &c taken from the carriage
house, nothing whatsoever about the house
was either damaged or broken & the garden
was equally fortunate. Four Policemen
whom I found were immediately busied and
kept during the night, as soon as the fire
has subsided the yard was cleared and
so far as I can see nothing has been
stolen. Next morning I commence at five
oclock and before night had cleared away
& piled up the burnt timbers and had the
yard enclosed by a high tight board fence[ . ]
x

Supplied

Reason: 

Today I have been repairing the fence between
our yard & Mr Woodruffs
x

Person

Name: Paul Woodruff Birth: 1833-06-11 Death: 1895-08-09
. Tomorrow I
shall commence & hope to finish a shed
for the cows, at Pisgah
x

Place

Name:  City:   County:   State:   Country:  
, as there is no
room for them at Aunt Clarys
x

Person

Name: Clarinda McClallen Birth: 1793-05-01 Death: 1862-09-05
. Before
Page 3

you reach home I hope to have things
in tolerable good order again. Aunty
x

Person

Name: Lazette Worden Birth: 1803-11-01 Death: 1875-10-03
has
been very unwell but is notw much better &
quite busy about the house, since the fire
she has concluded to remain here. Jenny
x

Person

Name: Janet Seward Birth: 1839-11-18 Death: 1913-11-09
has
been staying with her for the past day or
two and has promised to remain during next
week, the week after or about the first
of May she goes to New York
x

Place

Name:  City:  New York County:   State:  NY Country:  US
with her Mother
x

Person

Name: Margaret Watson Birth: 1812-03-30 Death: 1893-11-13

& Libbie
x

Person

Name: Elizabeth Pomeroy Birth: 1834-03-20 Death: 1892-02-25
.
The fire first originated in the cow shed and
was discovered by a son
Unknown
& daughter
Unknown
of Blanchard Fosgate
x

Person

Name: Blanchard Fosgate Birth: 1809 Death: 1887-09-11
. I have been to see them today and
learn enough to fully satisfy me that the
barn was set on fire.
I was not quite sure but what Father might
be at Tarrytown
x

Place

Name:  City:  Tarrytown County:  Westchester State:  NY Country:  US
, so I telegraphed him there
in hopes that perhaps he would come up here
but I hear or see nothing as his being there
so I suppose he did not go[ . ]
x

Supplied

Reason: 

Love to all, Jenny, send love
Your affectionate son
Will
Page 4

Mr Laughtlin
Unknown
a foreman in the prison
slipped & fell from the wood shed while in
the act of putting water on the roof, his shoulder
& [ w ]
x

Supplied

Reason: 
rist were dislocated but not broken. I had
him brought into the house & afterwards taken
to his boarding house. He is now under Dr Briggs
x

Person

Name: Lansingh Briggs Birth: 1807-12-05 Death: 1888-04-24

care & doing finely[ . ]
x

Supplied

Reason: 
I have been to see him
several times[ . ]
x

Supplied

Reason: 

seward-pen
x

Person

Name: Frances Seward Birth: 1805-09-24 Death: 1865-06-21
Will April 20
1860

date: 
Friday, April 20, 1860
year: 
place_node: