Letter from William Henry Seward to Frances Miller Seward, April 29, 1849

  • Posted on: 7 June 2018
  • By: admin
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Letter from William Henry Seward to Frances Miller Seward, April 29, 1849
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transcriber

Transcriber:spp:meb

student editor

Transcriber:spp:lmd

Distributor:Seward Family Digital Archive

Institution:University of Rochester

Repository:Rare Books and Special Collections

Date:1849-04-29

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Letter from William Henry Seward to Frances Miller Seward, April 29, 1849

action: sent

sender: William Seward
Birth: 1801-05-16  Death: 1872-10-10

location: Charleston, SC

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

location: Philadelphia, PA

transcription: meb 

revision: crb 2017-04-28

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Page 1

Charleston Sunday morning.
April 29. 1849.
My Dearest Frances.
A hasty note addressed to you yesterday
morning will have informed you of my safe arrival here,
and of my deep regret that the unlooked for illness of
our child
Birth: 1844-12-09 Death: 1866-10-29
had separated us so widely, and so long.
It is now a painful thing that I do not know with
any certainty whether my letters will find you, or whether
you may not be suffering duress or ennui
Japanese for: perseverance; patience; tolerance; self-denial •
by reason of loneliness
in a great city. If it was possible I should be glad that
you would take a servant
Unknown
and come on to this place
which at this season offers so many attractions. But I can
scarcely hope for this.
Judge Wayne
Birth: 1790 Death: 1867-07-05
had taken very pleasant rooms for
me here and had been so well occupied in Court that
my tardiness subjected him to no inconvenience. I went with
him to the Court at ten yesterday. He introduced me
to the members of the Bar in attendance and in the
course of the day several of them as well as the Chan-
cellor
Birth: 1792-12-03 Death: 1874-12-05
of the State called upon me. After a short stay
in the Court room I returned to my Hotel and spent
the morning in studying my case, which I find I am to
try alone against the talent and learning of the Charleston
Page 2

Bar. Thus my rash emulation is continually leading me into
new conflicts. Although I retire from each successful one
with surprise that my incompetency has not been discovered.
I wish you were here to help me study and prepare for
this bold effort.
Charleston is a city without a bourgeois. The
population is of two classes white and black. The white
people are gentry, the black are slaves. You see no
crowds in the streets no gatherings at the Hotels, no
curious or busy people. All is quiet and ease. This is
fortunate for me perhaps for I come and go without being
subjected to the curious stare that one coming with so obnoxious
a character as mine is would encounter in a crowd. They had
a great meeting in the Interior of the state last week to
compliment Senator Butler
Birth: 1796-11-18 Death: 1857-05-25
and prepare the public
mind for the great contest they are to wage with the
North. On that occasion my election to the Senate was solemnly
declared to be an aggression not to be forgiven and full
of dire import. You may judge therefore that my reception
here is by no means warm always excepting the people
who stand behind the chairs at dinner. Nevertheless there
is courtesy and hospitality. I dined yesterday with Mr King
Birth: 1783-06-08 Death: 1862-11-12

today I am to dine with Mr Pettigrew
Birth: 1789-05-10 Death: 1863-03-09
and I am engaged
to dine out every day forward until and including Wednesday.
The whole theme is politics and all my entertainers are
conservatives full of horror of New York Democracy. Thus
far it has gone pleasantly enough.
Page 3

My cause will come off on Monday or Wednesday and last three or
four days. I am impatient to know where and when we
shall meet. Your letter of last Wednesday was delivered
to me on my arrival here. I look for another today, and
then I fear that you will stop writing – under a belief
that I shall have left Charleston. I sincerely hope that
Fanny remains convalescent if not quite restored.
Love your own Henry.
Page 4

Hand Shiftx

Frances Seward

Birth: 1805-09-24 Death: 1865-06-21
April 29 1849