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Horatio Seymour.

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Hon. HORATIO SEYMOUR, LL.D.,

EX-GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

LATE PRESIDENT

OF THE

Oneida Historical Society,

ISAAC S. HARTLEY, D. D.,

SECOND VICE PRESIDENT

O. H. S.

Capax imperii nisi imper&sset. Tacitus.

UTICA, N. Y.:
PRESS OF L. C. CHILDS & SON, 33 AND 35 CHARLOTTE STREET.

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NOTE — With a few additional sentences, the following pages are
taken from the "American Magazine of History," May, 1886. Great
thanks are due and are herewith extended to Mrs. Martha J. Lamb, the
accomplished editress of the same, for the accompanying accurate illus
trations.
Cc£1. 7-54-

HORATIO SEYMOUR,
1810-1886.

The rapidity with which death, during the last few
months, has removed some of the more distinguished
of our countrymen, is quite phenomenal. The in
vasions have been especially among those who in
military and civic service have contributed largely
to the perpetuity and integrity of the Union.
On as beautiful an August day as ever shone,
General Ulysses S. Grant, amid the sincere grief
of the entire nation, and followed by the slow
march of many thousands, found his last resting
place on the banks of the beautiful Hudson. On
the first day of December, Vice President Thomas A.
Hendricks was carried to his home in Crown Hill
Cemetery, nigh unto Indianapolis. A- few weeks
later, loving hands bore General George B. Mc
Clellan from his Orange Mountain home to his
sepulchre in Trenton. Last February numbered
among its eminent dead, General Winfield S.
Hancock. The day following the funeral of this
valiant soldier, the black camel knelt at the door of
Horatio Seymour. Thus has the nation been be
reaved since the summer solstice. What is quite as

4 HORATIO SEYMOUR.
remarkable, the last four of this distinguished group
were removed aft,er less than seven days' serious
illness. That the remaining noble and faithful sons
of the republic may long be preserved is the prayer
of the united and prosperous nation.
Horatio Seymour came of an honored and patri
otic ancestry. The family was among the earlier
settlers of Hartford, Connecticut ; and contributed
not a little to the glory and development of that
State. In the War of the Revolution his grand
father was captain of a troop of horse ; in which
capacity he served in some of its more important
struggles, winning at Stillwater special praise. Of
his five sons one became distinguished as a financier
and president ; two became high sheriffs of the
county of Litchfield ; one was a Representative,
Senator and Canal Commissioner in the State of New
York, and one represented the State of Vermont
for twelve years in the United States Senate. His
maternal ancestry was none the less noted. His
mother's father, Lieutenant Colonel Forman, served
in the Revolution with the New Jersey troops; arid
her uncle, Colonel William Ledyard, was in com
mand at Groton, when in 1 781 it was destroyed by
the traitor Arnold. In the early part of the
century the father of Mr. Seymour removed from
Connecticut and made his home in Pompey, Onon
daga County, New York. Though now living

HORATIO SEYMOUR. 5
among strangers he soon, however, won their affec
tions, and but a few years passed before he received
from them a practical expression of their confidence,
in selecting him to represent the western district in
the State Senate for the years 1816-19. At this
period, as the project of the Erie Canal was receiv
ing considerable attention, he was appointed a Com
missioner for the same, which he retained till 1831,
when he resigned. On his removal to Utica in
1820, he was immediately elected to the Assembly ;
two years later was returned again to the Senate.
In 1833, he became mayor of his adopted city, and
subsequently discharged the duties of president of
the Farmers' Loan and Trust Company till 1837,
when he died.
Horatio Seymour was born in Pompey, May 31,
1 8 10. Though he had seen but ten summers when
his father removed to Utica, these early years were
improved by attending the academy of his native
village. When Utica became his home he was sent
to the Oxford Academy ; from there he went to
Geneva and entered what is now known as Hobart
College, where, however, he remained but two years:
He was neither rugged nor strong in youth and
early manhood. His parents believing therefore
that an institution which had connected with it
enforced drill and exercise might contribute to his
strength, sent him to a military school at Middle-

6 HORATIO SEYMOUR.
town, Connecticut. This change proved highly
beneficial, as it contributed greatly to the establish
ment of his health, and led also to the door through'
which he was subsequently to pass to his many
honors. The principal of this school, an officer in
the army, was accustomed to take some oL his
pupils occasionally on a visit to Washington, and
as young Seymour availed himself of this oppor
tunity before he was sixteen years of age, he became
thus early acquainted with the capital and its historic
associations. The academical curriculum completed, he returned
to Utica, and after a little delay entered the law
office of, Greene C. Bronson and Samuel Beardsley,
with whom he remained till admitted to the bar in
1832. It is questionable whether he ever possessed
a natural fondness for the law, or for that close
application which success in the more learned pro
fessions plainly requires. During the following
year (1833) he was invited and became the private
secretary of Governor Marcy, serving in that capac
ity seven years. Albany was then the resort of the
more influential in politics, as the government was
in the hands of the most distinguished men fn fhe
State, and many families of the officials made the
city their temporary home. Mr. Seymour was not
long in imbibing the atmosphere of his surroundings,
and receiving impulses which throughout his life

HOME OF HORATIO SEYMOUR AT DEERFIELD. FRONT OF HOUSE, SHOWING THE BROAD PORCH.
[Eng aved from n Pliotografliy\

HORATIO SEYMOUR. 7
never forsook him. He received his military secre
taryship through the kindness and at the solicitation
of Martin Van Buren, and from the personal friend
ships and intimacies which now began with ^this
great statesman, and other Democratic leaders in
the State and nation, he became imbued with those
broad and patriotic sentiments which he subse
quently illustrated. Governor Marcy loved him as
though he were his own son, and selected him as the
most fit in his wide circle of acquaintance to bring
in due time to a successful issue the great principles
which underlie the government of the people by the
people. It was at this early period that he acquired
his love for the Constitution and Republican institu
tions. The more clearly he discovered their neces
sity and became acquainted with their benevolent
purport, the more firmly was he convinced that they
should not only be maintained, but wisely developed
and yield their legitimate and desired fruit.
In 1 84 1 he received his first office, being selected
by the Democrats of Oneida County to represent
them in the Assembly. At this time New York
was somewhat disturbed by political jealousies, and
but few dared to predict their outcome. His fellow
Assemblymen included the historic names of Sanford
E. Church, Levi S. Chatfield, John A. Dix, David
R. Floyd Jones Michael Hoffman, and others
who a few years later received the highest political

8 HORATIO SEYMOUR.
positions in the gift of the State. The attitude of
Governor Bouck had somewhat divided the Demo
cratic party, resulting in crimination and recrimina
tion, nor did the sharp discussions concerning the
canal policy which now occurred tend to heal the
increasing difficulties. On the contrary, the Demo
cratic party found itself divided, one wing being
represented by Mr. Hoffman, the other by Mr.
Seymour. As the counsels of Mr. Seymour finally
prevailed, from this hour many looked upon him
as rapidly advancing toward political leadership.
Returning to Utica, the next year he became its
mayor ; and in the years 1843-4 was returned to the
Assembly. In entering anew upon State legislation
he found that none of the previous politico-personal
frictions which had so recently revealed themselves
had disappeared ; still the party which he represented
on so many issues was strongly united. One thing
was manifest ; within the past few years the gulf
between the Whigs and Democrats had widened,
and both were bent on obtaining the mastery.
Combinations, of which there is no room now to
speak, brought upon the Whig party perhaps the
most inglorious disaster in its entire history ; and
the more so when it is remembered that its
strongest representative, in the person of Millard
Fillmore, was put in nomination for the governor
ship, and the candidate for the Presidency was none

HORATIO SEYMOUR. 9
other than Henry Clay, the idol of the American
people. The triumphs of the Democratic party in this
heated canvass brought Mr. Seymour once more
into prominence. He became Speaker of the As
sembly, and, by virtue of his influence, did much to
heal the differences existing among his political
associates and secure the advance of Democratic
principles. In 1850 he became the nominee of his party for
Governor ; but owing to the popularity of his op
ponent, Washington Hunt, and a division among
the Democrats, Mr. Seymour was defeated. When
renominated in 1852 he was elected. Later, in the
years 1854, 1862, and 1864, the gubernatorial chair
was again offered to him, but he was successful only
in the election of 1862. The force which contributed
very seriously to his defeat in 1854 grew out of
party dissensions and jealousies, differences on the
Kansas-Nebraska bill, and the appearance of the
Know-Nothings, who voted with the opposition.
Perhaps the most important question which busied
the larger number in the State during this period of
Governor Seymour's magistracy was what was
known as the Maine Law. As this law had been
adopted by at least one of the New England States,
and the others were giving it serious consideration,
its friends sought an early opportunity to lay it be-

IO HORATIO SEYMOUR.
fore "the Legislature of New York. Contrary to the
expectation of many of nearly every shade of political
opinion,though adopted by the Legislature, Governor
Seymour attached to it his veto. Not thatthe evil
to, be removed was insignificant, or that it did not
merit the closest thought of the wise and philan
thropic ; still less that the liquor traffic did-not work
wretchedness — ruin, indeed, that government could
afford to disregard ; but prohibitory legislation . was
neither sound statesmanship nor constitutional. Its
logical sequence was to provoke resistance rather
than secure the desired obedience. The prohibition
demanded was also impossible of execution and
unwise in principle : a verdict the people rendered
when, a few years after its adoption, under Governor
Clark, in 1854, the law was repealed. Governor
Seymour's position in the main was that intemper
ance was a sore evil, but depriving citizens of their
rights and personal liberties was a greater wrong.
Men are not reformed by law-making, nor does
severity conquer the lawless. Laws are wise only
as they have education, morality, and religion for
their bases, and not coercion — an opinion the
Supreme Court a little later fully sustained. Though
the views of Governor Seymour had thus been
confirmed by the decision of the Court, still it is
very doubtful whether any of his previous official
acts received more severe and unkind criticism. In

SIDE VIEW OF THE SEYMOUR HOMESTEAD. {Engraved from a Photogr,tf>/i.}

HORATIO SEYMOUR. I I
the storm, however, he rernained true to his convic
tions, both as to the mission of law and to the, great
principle which he considered as underlying Demo
cratic government.
During the intermitting years of Horatio Sey
mour's public trusts the State and nation passed
through extraordinary trials. While the State was
divided and subdivided into many political factions,
and the nation was rapidly realizing that a moral
cancer was threatening its very life, and differences
existed concerning the policies in the new States
and Territories, a new party appeared whose mission
was to right, if possible, existing wrongs, and free
the country from the troubles now investing it. It
called itself the Republican party. As its purposes
became understood, many of previously conflicting
opinions identified themselves with it. Quite con
temporaneous with the birth of this party, the clouds
which had been gradually gathering, thickened and
darkened. At last the nation found itself engaged
in fratricidal war.
Though not occupying any official position at the
outbreak of the war, when, however, it had been
formally declared, and means for defence had been
entered upon, Mr. Seymour was convinced if should
be prosecuted. His popularity at this period is seen
in his succeeding Governor Morgan in the Govern
orship. Never since New York became a State had

12 HORATIO SEYMOUR.
one of its magistrates been summoned to a position
more difficult to fill than the one on which he now
entered. While believing that the rupture might
have been avoided, and the life and property which
it threatened and finally consumed could have been
spared, and attributing its origin as much to the
intemperate speech of the North as to the error and
obliquity of the South, he deplored the struggle and
denounced the rebellion as most wicked ; the more
so as it aimed at the wreck of a government than
which he felt none better had the world ever seen.
Governor Seymour was a war Democrat of the
purest luster. At the opening of the conflict, when
the general government appealed to New York for
assistance, he was made chairman of a committee of
his own county to raise needed troops ; and by
purse, influence, and word did much to preserve the
dignity and integrity of the Union. Having been
inaugurated Governor in 1863, his first message, to
the legislature contained these loyal words : " At
this moment the fortunes of our country are in
fluenced by the results of battles. Our armies in
the field must be supported, all constitutional de
mands of the general government must be responded
to. . . . Under no circumstances can the division
of the Union be conceded. We will put forth every
exertion of power ; we will use every policy of
conciliation ; we will hold out every inducement to

HORATIO SEYMOUR. 1 3
the people of the South to return to their allegiance
consistent with honor; we will guarantee them
every right, every consideration demanded by the
Constitution, and by the fraternal regard which
must prevail in a common country, but we can
never voluntarily consent to the breaking up of the
Union of these States or the destruction of the
Constitution." Necessarily omitting references to those numerous
measures which Governor Seymour at this crucial
period in the nation's life proposed for its integrity,
as well as all consideration of the addresses which
he so frequently delivered bearing upon the issues
of that day, including his special messages to the
Legislature, and the firmness with which he de
clared that at all risks the public faith and credit of
the State should never be impaired, the appearance,
however, of the " riots " caused him and others of
every political complexion great alarm. But the
roots of these disturbances existed anterior to his
administration. The thistles, and the thistles only,
were his. At this period, in the estimation of not
a few, the conflict had become nothing but an
abolition war, and an influential portion of the public
press would have the people so believe. This opinion
begat not only new differences, but gave new force
likewise to the inquiry, whether the general govern
ment was not violating by its acts the Constitution,

14 HORATIO SEYMOUR.
and trampling upon rights which its very genius
conferred. While these convictions were spreading,
the North was fairly appalled at its misfortunes.
The oft-beaten Army of the Potomac was moving
forward to cover Washington and Baltimore ; the
experiences at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville
were fresh; Hooker was about being relieved of
his command on the eve of a decisive struggle ;
Grant was held at bay by Vicksburg, and Banks by
Port Hudson, and in Middle Tennessee Rosecrans
was inactive. Volunteers were also slow in enlist
ment. To remedy the strain to which the govern
ment was rapidly being subjected, an act providing
for the enrollment of the national forces was
adopted. Attempting to enforce this same act pre
cipitated the riots. No sooner, however, did this
spirit of insubordination exhibit itself than Governor
Seymour sought to arrest it by force and by words.
The latter, owing to the disturbed condition of the
public mind, received from many unkindly criticism.
Governor Seymour never denied the abused
phrase; on the contrary, he acknowledged it would
have been wiser perhaps to have chosen language
less exposed to twist and misinterpretation. In
brief, his relations to the war were quite as pro
nounced as many sitting in the halls of legislation,
or active in the field. So promptly did he respond
to the requisition which President Lincoln made

HORATIO SEYMOUR. 1 5
upon him for troops, that he received from him a
letter of thanks and congratulations ; later the Sec
retary of War sent him a similar communication ;
and still later, the President again wrote him ac
knowledgements. As this correspondence possesses unusual import
ance and has a historical significance, it is introduced
somewhat in detail.
June 15th, 1863, the Secretary of War sent to
Governor Seymour the following dispatch :
" Will you please inform me immediately, if, in answer to a special
call of the President, you can raise and forward, say twenty thousand
militia as volunteers without bounty, to be credited on the draft of your
State; or what number you can possibly raise? " Edwin M. Stanton."
To the telegram it was replied :
"I will spare no efforts to send you troops at once. "Horatio Seymour."
Later the same day this additional message was
sent to the Secretary of War :
"I will order the New York and Brooklyn troops to Philadelphia at
once. Where can they get arms, if any are needed? "Horatio Seymour."
These two despatches were followed by a third to
the same address, reading :
"We have two thousand enlisted volunteers. I will have them con
solidated into companies and regiments, and sent on at once. You must
provide them with arms. " Horatio Seymour."

1 6 HORATIO SEYMOUR.
In reply to the above prompt action, four days
afterwards, Governor Seymour received the follow
ing: Washington, June 19, 1863.
"The President directs me to return his thanks to his Excellency
Governor Seymour and his staff, for their energetic and prompt action.
"Edwin M. Stanton,
"Secretary of War."
Later, Secretary Stanton wrote to Governor Sey
mour as follows :
(Confidential.) War. Department, Washington, )
June 27, 1863. f
"Bear Sir: — I cannot forbear expressing to you the deep obligation I
feel for the prompt and cordial support you have given to the Govern
ment in the present emergency. The energy, activity and patriotism
you have exhibited, 1 may be permitted personally and officially to
acknowledge, without arrogating any personal claim on my part in such
service, or to any service whatever. I shall be happy always to be
esteemed your friend. "Edwin M. Stanton."
Three months earlier than these despatches and
letters, President Lincoln penned these words to
Governor Seymour :
(Private and Confidential.) Washington, March 23, 1863.
To His Excellency Governor Horatio Seymour:
" You and I are substantially strangers, and I write chiefly that we
may become better acquainted. I, for the time being, am at the head of
a nation which is in great peril, and you are at the head of the greatest
State in that nation. As to maintaining the nation's life and integrity,
I assume and believe there cannot be any difference of purpose between
you and me. If we should differ as to the means, it is important that
such difference should be as small as possible; that it should not be
enhanced by unjust suspicions on the one side or the other. In the
performance of my duty, the cooperation of your State, as that of others,
is needed ; in fact, it is indispensable. This alone is a sufficient reason
why I should wish to be at a good understanding with you. Please
write, etc. "A. Lincoln."

HORATIO SEYMOUR. I 7
, To this frank communication from the President,
Governor Seymour in part replied :
"  I assure you that no political resentment, no per
sonal purpose will turn me asid^ from the pathway I have marked out.
I intend to show those charged with the administration of public affairs
a due deference and respect; and to give to them a just and generous
support in all the measures they may adopt within the scope of their
constitutional powers. For the preservation of this Union, I am ready
to make any sacrifice of interest, passion or prejudice.
"Truly yours,
" Horatio Seymour."
Indeed, when the great question in all its nakedness
came before Governor Seymour, — shall the Union be
preserved ? — no one looked at this truth more soberly,
nor did any display a more determined purpose. In
presence of this inquiry, those far-reaching prob
lems which no statesman can safely overlook —
personal freedom, the rights of the individual States,
the consideration of sectional interests, or the func
tions of a free government — were wholly secondary.
Every blow at the dismemberment of the Union
aroused him to new, more vigorous, and persistent
effort. Amidst the excitement of these war hours
the problem which came home to him with serious
ness was not, as some have conjectured, whether the
national unity shall be broken, but now that it is in
jeopardy, what were the wisest and the legitimate
methods by which it could be conserved and its
perpetuity forever secured ? But the political history
and attitude of Horatio Seymour during this terrible

I 8 HORATIO SEYMOUR.
period of national strife must be- left to his biog
rapher. When it shall have been written, it will
be seen that he was a loyal son to, -the institutions
he so ardently loved ; and that the suspicions
attached to his name had their rise in heated imag
inations, and in the bitter animosities of an over
strained partisanship.
At the expiration of Governor Seymour's war
term he resolved to return to his rural home and
devote himself to study and rest. He did so. His
past influence, however, with men, his profound
knowledge of affairs, and the wisdom which his
admirers observed had characterized so many of his
public relations, led many to solicit his opinion on
the numerous political measures then in process of
formation. He was presently selected as a candidate
for governor in opposition to Reuben E. Fenton.
In this canvass he was defeated by a slight majority,
attributable as believed to some irregularity in the
returns. When in 1868 the National Convention was
called for the selection of a candidate for the Pres
idency, Horatio Seymour attended the assembly as
a delegate, and was chosen, as at the preceding
National Convention, its presiding officer. The
supposable candidates were Salmon P. Chase, Judge
Sanford E. Church, and George H. Pendleton. On
the earlier ballots Mr. Pendleton led. Later, the

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View from 1he Broad Porch of the Seymour Homestead Looking South. The City of Utica Lies Among
the Seat of Hamilton College.
the Trees in the Distance, and Beyond are Clinton Hills,
{.Engraved from a Photograph.}
HORATIO SEYMOUR. ,19
names of General W. S. Hancock and Thomas A.
Hendricks were introduced; but as no conclusion,
could be reached, the name of Mr. Pendleton was
withdrawn on the third day of the session, after the
polling of the eighteenth ballot, and Horatio Sey
mour's was introduced ; and notwithstanding his
earnest protest, it was unanimously resolved that he
be the candidate. As General Grant received the
nomination of the Republican Convention, and was
then wearing the many laurels which he had honestly
won in the service of his country, and as the many
differences in the Republican ranks had been healed,
Mr. Seymour was in the election defeated. With
the close of this campaign his political life may be
said to have come to an end.
The great disputes which the war had awakened
were over, peace prevailed throughout the country,
the industries of the nation were beginning again to
move, and the policy of the government, for several
years at least, had been determined ; thus there was
no reason forbidding him the retirement he had
been coveting. Contrary, however, to his oft-ex
pressed wishes, he was renominated in 1876 for
Governor ; and had it not been for his resolve to
pass his remaining years in retirement, he would
have been sent the same year to the United States
Senate, rather than his life-long and accomplished
friend and townsman, Francis Kernan. The other

20l HORATIO SEYMOUR.
official positions proffered to Horatio Seymour were
State Senator and Congressman. He held' likewise
at various times the following offices: in 1868 he
was chosen one of the first of the Commissioners of
State Fisheries; in 1876 member of the State
Survey, and in 1878 president of the Board of Com
missioners of State Survey. For many years he
occupied the presidency of the National Dairymen's
Association, of the American Prison Association,
and was the presiding officer of the Oneida County
Historical Society from its inception till his death.
It is worthy of note here that the many positions
which had been offered to Mr. Seymour by his
neighbors, his district, his State, and the nation,
came wholly unsolicited. He never asked for office.
He has been known to have absented himself from,
the conventions of his party lest his presence might
indicate a desire for political advancement, rather
than the maintenance and enforcement of wise and
just measures. It could easily be shown that, if his
numerous friends had been able to coerce his accept
ance of the nomination of the conventions when
the names of Tilden, Hancock and Cleveland were
selected, Horatio Seymour would have received a
most honorable support. His nomination for the
Presidency was as completely unexpected as the
defeat of the aspirants for the position. Nor did
he yield to the pressure brought upon him, till he

HORATIO SEYMOUR. 21
had entered an honest protest at the course taken,
and assured the convention that it was acting in
direct opposition to his best convictions, as well as
the Welfare of their party, saying to the assembled
delegates, " Your candidate I cannot be."
A subject very near the heart of Mr. Seymour
remains to be mentioned. From the hour of his
entrance upon public life he took a deep interest in
its waterways ; more especially in the canal that
bound . the great West to the Hudson and the
seaboard. In caring for this canal and securing for
it wise legislation, he was ever active. He early
discovered its usefulness and foresaw the bearing
also which this great waterway would have upon
the building up of the commonwealth, the enriching
and developing of the city of New York, and thus
indirectly upon the growth of the country. Though
the canal system had in its formative days the
counsels of such men as Gouverneur Morris, De
Witt Clinton, Robert R. Livingston and Robert
Fulton, and later, when' the Erie was opened, it
received the supervision of such commissioners as
Ephraim Hart, Henry Seymour, John Bowman,
and William C. Bouck, there were many evils con
nected with its workings, unconsciously hindering
its usefulness. As early as 1844, when Horatio
Seymour was a mem ber of the Assembly, he presented
a report to that body covering seventy octavo pages,

2 2 HORATIO SEYMOUR.
in which he outlined what should be the policy of
the State in reference to its waterways, a report still
yielding fruit. He studied the mode of transit in
all its bearings. An investigation into the canal
system of the State of New York will show that
but few, if any, have ever given more time to its
consideration, have more firmly opposed its surrender
to the ownership or control of rival railway corpora
tions, or been more earnest in bringing about the
abolition of toll. Indeed, the last address delivered
by Mr. Seymour was before the Canal Conference,
which held its sessions last autumn in the city of
Utica. During this period of his busy career he wrote
for and addressed the public not only on political
questions, but on themes purely philanthropic, and
wholly unpartisan. His speeches, messages, and
proclamations would easily make an octavo volume
of many hundred pages up to the year 1868, when
he contemplated retirement. His contributions for
the following fourteen years in the State library at
Albany constitute two more volumes ; and since
this period another volume could readily be formed.
The range of his occasional addresses was unusually
broad. Agriculture, political economy, social ethics,
jurisprudence, philology, education, topography and
history were in turn considered. His contributions
to the topography and history of the State are most

HORATIO SEYMOUR. 23
valuable. He studied its natural resources, its his
tory and its capabilities with devotion. In this
respect he was an intense New Yorker. Few were
better acquainted with New York's beginnings, had
more knowledge of its colonial days, or were better
versed in its historic struggles — their origin, their
location and their results; or labored with greater
assiduity to have them perpetuated. The last two
monuments with which his name will ever be asso
ciated are those commemorating the battle of
Saratoga, and the terrible conflict under Herkimer
at Oriskany. Governor Seymour was well informed
also in Indian history. His articles on the Iroquois,
the Romans of the new world, are quite numerous.
He studied with great care their habits, travels,
wars, and antiquities ; nor could he free himself
from the conviction that the aborigines of the State
had been, greatly wronged. On one occasion he
visited the Auburn prison and addressed its un
fortunate inmates in language and sentiment, which,
whether viewed from the side of philanthropy or
philosophy, may be regarded as an American classic.
Horatio Seymour was naturally a leader of men.
He impressed them with his earnestness, sagacity
and sincerity. He loved the institutions among
which he was born and whose interests he undevia-
tingly sought for the good with which they were
fraught, and the possibilities connected with their

24 HORATIO SEYMOUR.
logical developmenf. As a consequence, his political
life nowhere reveals the preference of self to local,
State, or national measures, or the sacrifice of
principle to the interests of personal ambition. All
individuality was sunk in the results desired ; self
ever rendering lowly obeisance to the public weal.
Few men in public or private life have revealed
such an even and rounded character. There was a
charm about him quite irresistible. He did not
wait for others to get at his love and sympathy; it
was theirs at once. All who came to him received
prompt recognition; the poor and the humble as
they whose names were embroidered with titles.
His love for our common humanity was intense.
Indeed, in every human being he recognized certain
conditions of happiness, and so far as possible labored
for their development. He loved men because they
were men. Sympathy and friendliness permeated
his very being ; nor did he ever delay to have these
virtues awakened. He was as responsive to appeal
as the harp when touched by skillful fingers. Mis
fortune, whatever form it assumed, grieved him and
even called out practical response. His beneficiaries
were almost innumerable, and unlimited by creed
or nationality. As he abhorred unchastity and
despised dishonor and deceit, so cruelty in all its
forms vexed him. Everything that could know
pain belonged to his Father's Kingdom. His

PARLOR OF THE SEYMOUR HOMESTEAD WITH GLIMPSE OF LIBRARY BEYOND.
{Engraved from a Photograph.]

HORATIO SEYMOUR. 25
benignity and thoughtfulness made him the child
of the people. Even his political opponents enrolled
themselves among his friends, nor was there any
against whom he harbored the least enmity. Party
lines no more divided his respect than geographical
divisions show the courses of the rivers. The
trickery of the politician and unprincipled partisan
ship were beneath his notice. Never would he lend
his voice or name to what he believed was in itself
wrong. Remembering the freedom that is so often taken
with the name and personality of men in public life,
it has often been asked how Governor Seymour
escaped the scandals of the traducer and the wit of
the defamer. The solution is to be found in the
uniformity and excellency of his character. All the
years of his public life fail to disclose an act that
affects either his honesty, purity, or uprightness, or
that mars his escutcheon with a single blot. Even' in
the exciting periods and amidst the bitter struggle
of partisan warfare the tongue of reproach never
assailed him, nor was there a failing in his private
life over which the world could be merry. In the
varied relations of man, citizen, ruler, he was a
model. To be right, to do right, to be virtuous and
to keep virtuous constituted his ambition.
Mr. Seymour possessed deep convictions, and he
had the courage to express, and if need be also to

26 HORATIO SEYMOUR.
defend them. , On party and national questions, it
was not difficult to place him. Liberal yet conser
vative, and anxious only for the truth and what
could best subserve the State or nation. He was a
partisan, but it never interfered with or shadowed
his patriotism. He was too much of a statesman
to be a politician, and too thoughtful to be either
selfish or imperious. His greatest solicitation was
to serve the republic and give her the influence
among the nations her institutions so justly merited.
What he was as an orator he was by nature. His
thoughts were always clothed in the simplest lan
guage, and the evidence that he had weighed his
sentences made his discourses invariably pleasant
and instructive. He spoke with gracefulness and
deliberation, never resorting to the tricks of persua
sion, nor suffering himself to be hampered by a
manuscript. At times, the majesty and magnetism
of his presence were all conquering. Erect, with
his right hand thrust between the front buttons of
his coat, was his favorite attitude. His reading was
varied ; during the last twenty years he made him
self familiar especially with agriculture and the
science and practice of farming.
Devotedly attached to nature, he loved her fields
and her forests, and wandered among her beauties
thoughtfully and reverently. He had a passion for
flowers, and, as he nursed them, always gave ear to

HORATIO SEYMOUR. 27
their impressible speech ; in a word, their multiple
colors and fragrance wooed him. His beautiful and
retired home on his farm in Deerfield will possess
for the future the same class of memories as linger
about the "historic places, Marshfield, Monticello,
and the Hermitage. It is situated on the southern
slope of one of the hills of the same name on the
upper bank of the Mohawk, about two miles from
Utica. The dwelling itself is unpretentious. The
large oaks, elms, pines, and shrubbery about it
invest it, however, with great attractions. While
he loved to sit upon its broad porch and lend him
self to the rich associations of the valley at his feet,
with whose traditions and history he was so familiar,
the library was his favorite resort, and he gladly
received in it his many visitors. Conceive of a
plain room, with walls partially hidden by well-filled
book-cases, an open fire-place, and furniture of the
olden time, and you have the retreat he called his
happy and restful home. The relics and curiosities
therein are interesting and of great variety ; numer
ous early maps, Indian trophies, early deeds, historic
swords and fire-arms, arrows, powder-horns, and like
links of the past. The chair at his table formerly
belonged to Daniel Webster ; the old clock in the
corner that still ticks, dates from the early colonial
days. Within this pleasant room he made you feel
as though nothing stood between you and himself.

28 HORATIO SEYMOUR.
His conversation was rapid, suggestive, and very
entertaining. Those who left his presence no wiser
after these conversational seasons, had not listened
to the melody or the inspiration of his speech.
His humor was always pleasant, never coarse ;
and not unfrequently his most amusing anecdotes
concerned himself. In his manner he was gentle,
courteous, and dignified, and free from even the
appearance of affectation. In his tastes he was
scholarly, and yet he studied men and events more
devotedly than volumes. In his religious views he
was as clear and definite as in those that pertained
to the welfare of the State. Christianity with him
was a living force, and only they could be what they
ought who were governed by its teachings. His
presence was often seen in the higher councils of
the Episcopal Church, and on many occasions by
voice, pen, purse, and influence he furthered its
interests. For very many years he was a warden in
old Trinity Church, Utica, and until quite recently
one of its regular attendants. The church-going
habit of Governor Seymour may be -seen in the
following characteristic incident. Not long since,
in looking over a volume discolored by age, a little
slip dropped from the same, which proved to be a
record of his fellow-students while at Geneva, who
had absented themselves from church. The slip was
dated Trinity Church, Geneva, June 13, 1824.

HORATIO SEYMOUR'S LIBRARY.

{Engraved from a Pkotograp

HORATIO SEYMOUR. 29
Among these absentees was a still surviving friend.
Enclosing his own photograph and the same bit of
yellow paper, he sent the same to his early compan
ion, with these words :
" Mj\dear Church,
"You were late at church forty-two years ago. So says this scrap
of paper that comes fluttering down to us through half a century like an
autumn leaf. It dropped out of an old book at Geneva where it was put
by some one who died long since. When you look at it you will feel like
one reading a tombstone. With a few exceptions it is a list bf dead men.
We have seen things, strange things, since that little record of neglected
duties was made up. I send you the likeness of one whom I am glad to
say was not absent from church on the 13th of June, 1824. As you see
he is a battered, bald-headed old man now. Then he was a smooth
faced school-boy, with a full head of hair and a large stock of hope and
conceit. Well, as I have said, we have seen much that is startling in the
last fifty years. In all human probability we shall see something more
startling within the next five years. Most of us will be packed up and
dropped into our graves. It seems that we have not been wanted in
either of the departments of the other world up to this time. I do not
think that we shall be overlooked much longer. It is high time for you
to mend your habits as to church-going or some worse record may turn
up against you than the one I now send you. "Truly yours, "Horatio Seymour."
In the summer of 1876, Governor Seymour
received a partial sunstroke while performing the
duties of path master on the road of his town, the
only office, as he once remarked, he had sought.
This was the beginning of his decline. Though
occasionally detained within doors by the usual
accompaniments of age and the fears from exposure
to excessive heat or cold, serious illness," however,
did not overtake him till a few days before his

30 HORATIO SEYMOUR.
death. His devoted wife, feeling the need of medical
assistance, and nearer than that which their country
home afforded, he accompanied her to the city,
making their home for the time being with his sister,
Mrs. Roscoe Conkling. When he learned her true
condition and that her recovery was very improbable,
he was deeply affected. Almost immediately great
languor and weakness ensued, followed by recurring
nausea. A few days later an effusion of blood at
the base of the brain supervened, when
" He gave his honors to the world again,
His blessed past to heaven and slept in peace,"
dying with no last words, February 12, 1886, in the
seventy-sixth year of his age.
Horatio Seymour married, May 31, 1835, Mary,
the youngest daughter of John Rutger Bleecker, of
Albany. While writing this rapid sketch of her
loving and loved husband, she also has gone to the
brightness beyond. Their mortal remains, awaiting
the summons " Come forth," rest side by side in
Forest Hill Cemetery, Utica, New York.
Death never takes one alone, but two !
Whenever he enters in at a door,
Under roof of gold or roof of thatch,
He always leaves it upon the latch,
And comes again ere the year is o'er;
Never one of a household only.

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