The Sewards of New York: A Biography of a Leading American Political Family

by Thomas P. Slaughter

Overview

The Sewards of New York shines a light on one of the most important and fascinating political families of the nineteenth century. Through recently discovered family correspondence, Thomas P. 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.

William Henry Seward, the family's most prominent member, was a state senator, governor, US senator, and secretary of state. Henry, as his family knew him, was often absent from their Auburn, NY, home, in Albany or Washington, DC, and so remained connected to the family through the long letters numbering in the thousands that they exchanged. These writings reveal Henry as a son, brother, husband, and father, as much as they show him as a politician and statesman. But it is his wife, Frances, who is the hub around which this family story revolves. Slaughter explores the extended Auburn family during a half century of profound change in American homes, marriage, and childrearing.

With an eye for the provocative and revealing, Slaughter takes us behind the curtain of the early Victorian era's private sphere. He, and the Sewards in their own words, portray life as it was lived by the influential and powerful, but also by many who lived more private lives that are now lost to us. The Sewards of New York paints a rich portrait of an extraordinary family that played a key role in nineteenth-century New York and national politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501782657
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	10/15/2025
Pages:	488
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Thomas P. Slaughter is the Arthur R. Miller Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Rochester. He is the author of Independence, Exploring Lewis and Clark, and The Whiskey Rebellion.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Ancestors in the House, 1817–1851
2. Henry's Backstory, 1801–1824
3. Inmates All, 1825–1831
4. For Better, 1831
5. And for Worse, 1832–1835
6. Happy Christmas and a Sad New Year, 1835–1837
7. Panics, 1837–1838
8. Ambition, 1838–1839
9. Governor's Family, 1839–1841
10. Lame Ducks, 1842–1844
11. Domestic Perplexities, 1844–1848
12. Governor Seward Goes to Washington, 1849
13. Losses, 1850–1851
14. Bubble of Ambition, 1852–1856
15. Sojourners, 1856–1859
16. Launch, 1859
17. Home Sweet Home, 1859–1860
Conclusion: Homes Again, 1860

What People are Saying About This

Harold Holzer

Public-spirited men like Lincoln's secretary of state, William H. Seward, often had to choose between the private and political; in Seward's case, home lost decisively. But his frequent absences stimulated decades of robust correspondence and Slaughter has expertly mined this neglected trove to weave a rich portrait of a fascinating household, especially its often-undervalued women.

Michael Zuckerman

Thomas P. Slaughter shares a story we think we know, turned inside out. This life of one of our greatest political leaders is a familial story of the generations, and especially the women, of Seward's life—and of the Seward house itself.

Carol Faulkner

In this intimate history of an important political family, Slaughter explores how William Henry Seward and his wife Frances navigated marriage, parenting, extended families, and their private and public obligations in a period when expectations for women and men were changing. This is a remarkable portrait of a family that was both very ordinary and yet extraordinary.