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1816
A carpenter's apprentice, Brigham Young, helped build the house
The core of the house was built in 1816 by Judge Elijah Miller, Seward's father-in-law. Much of the construction was done by the carpenter John C. Jeffries and his apprentice Brigham Young, who later became the leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The core is a two-story brick structure with a gabled roof.
Home
Seward called the house home from his marriage in 1824 to his death
William Seward spent many years in Albany and Washington, D.C., but he called this house his home from the time of his marriage in 1824 until his death. He served as a New York state senator, governor of New York, a U.S. senator and Secretary of State. As Secretary of State he negotiated the 1867 purchase of Alaska from Russia, which became known as "Seward's Folly."
“...one of those spirits who sometimes will go ahead of public opinion instead of tamely following its footprints”
Carl Schurz, a contemporary, describing Seward
Additions
Seward added towers and wings in 1847 and 1866
Seward made numerous additions, beginning with a two-story tower and wing at the west end in 1847, with a porte-cochere and carriage house. In 1866 he added another narrower wing and a three-story tower on the south side. The house stayed with his descendants until 1951, when it was turned over to a nonprofit for conversion to a museum.
A neighbor
The Sewards sold Harriet Tubman her farm, on the same street
Seward's house lies on the same street as Harriet Tubman's. In 1859 his wife, Frances Adeline Seward, sold Tubman her property on South Street. Because Tubman was a fugitive, the Sewards held the mortgage as a private loan and were flexible about payments.
1865
In 1865 Seward was one of the targets of the plot that killed Lincoln
Seward was one of the targets of the 1865 assassination plot that killed Abraham Lincoln. He was seriously wounded by the conspirator Lewis Powell. He remained Secretary of State through the presidency of Andrew Johnson.
Day 3, afternoon
It comes after Harriet Tubman National Historical Park. Then Skaneateles.
More stories from this trip idea
The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article William H. Seward House and the Wikipedia article William H. Seward and the Wikipedia article Harriet Tubman National Historical Park, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.