Letter from Samuel Swayze Seward to William Henry Seward, January 10, 1861

  • Posted on: 6 July 2018
  • By: admin
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Letter from Samuel Swayze Seward to William Henry Seward, January 10, 1861
x

transcriber

Transcriber:spp:rew

student editor

Transcriber:spp:csh

Distributor:Seward Family Digital Archive

Institution:University of Rochester

Repository:Rare Books and Special Collections

Date:1861-01-10

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Letter from Samuel Swayze Seward to William Henry Seward, January 10, 1861

action: sent

sender: Samuel Seward
Birth: 1838-04-16  Death: 1916-02-22

location: San Francisco, CA

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

location: Washington D.C., US

transcription: rew 

revision: crb 2018-06-22

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Page 1

San Francisco Jan. 10th 1861.
My dear Uncle,
Some time past I promised Dr.
Henry Gibbons
Birth: 1808-09-22 Death: 1884-11-04
, of Alameda County, I would give
him a letter of introduction to you before he
left this city for Washington as he contemplat-
ed. Since then he has requested me to write
directly to you, thinking such a course would
facilitate matters. The object of his intended
visit to Washington is to secure the appoint-
ment of visiting physician & surgeon to the
United States Marine Hospital in this City. If
I can be of any service Sto him, through your
kindness, I shall be very much gratified.
Dr. Gibbons was born and bred, I believe,
in the State of Delaware, and is of Quaker
descent. He is now between fifty & sixty years
of age, and has been a practising physician
about thirty years. He came to California
in the early times and has remained ever
since. He was one of the founders and the
first President of the pioneer Medical Society
of this State, established in San Francisco;
was once President of the State Medical So-
ciety, and is now head of the Alameda Co.
Society. He once held the position for which
Page 2

he is now a candidate and also had charge
of the City Hospital. From all I can gather,
or know of him and the other candidates
for the office, he is, to say the least, as ca-
pable as any, and more capable than some
of them.
Politically he is now and always has
been, an earnest Republican. He was one of a-
bout sixty who made up the first ticket pub-
lished in this State and has since been active
and influential. In 1859 he was elected Super-
intendent of Common School for Alameda County
by a bare majority and was I think the only Re-
publican chosen. On account of his age and re-
spectability, natural manner and direct method
of reasoning he is very popular on the stump,
and used his talents to a good effect during
the last campaign.
I have known his family
Birth: 1807-12-29 Death: 1885-03-13
for more than a
year, and esteem them as highly as any friends
I have in the State. They are now living across
the Bay where I have often visited them and
found myself welcome. I have not taken
it upon myself to urge the claims of any
one for federal patronage with this exception,
and now do so hoping you may be of some
service to Dr. Gibbons less for my sake than
for his own merits as a man, a physician
and a Republican. He leaves for the East
by Overland Mail Stage about the 8th of February.
Page 3

I shall take the liberty to give him a letter
to you which he will deliver upon his
arrival at Washington.
I wrote to you by Pony Express on
the 26th of December last. I have now noth-
ing more to say except that I should like
a positive answer to its contents as soon
as convenient, in order to lay other plans
if necessary and to escape suspense.
My love to Aunt Frances
Birth: 1805-09-24 Death: 1865-06-21
, Fannie
Birth: 1844-12-09 Death: 1866-10-29
,
and all your family
x Birth: 1839-11-18  Death: 1913-11-09  Birth: 1839-06-18  Death: 1920-04-29  Birth: 1834-03-29  Death: 1919-05-02  Birth: 1830-07-08  Death: 1915-04-25  Birth: 1826-10-01  Death: 1876-09-11 
.
Regreting the necessity of troubling you
again I am,
Your Aff. Nephew,
Samuel S. Seward
Hon. William Seward
Washington D.C.
P.S. I have opened this letter to add a word on
behalf of H. S. Love
Unknown
Esq. I understand he has the
recommendation of the State Central Committee for
the office of District Atty for the Northern District
of California, and that the Hon Ed. Norton
Birth: 1807 Death: 1872-05-12
, ex-judge
of the 12th Dist. Court, has promised to use his in-
fluence on behalf of Mr. Love on his arrival in
Washington, for which place he sails tomorrow.
With such high credentials any thing I might
Page 4

add would seem superfluous and any testimony
as to Mr Love's fitness would be so. My only
intention is to say for him that to my certain
knowledge he is the strongest Seward man in
California, and has always been your most
earnest supporter. If you can urge his claims
you will reward a friend.
I must add further that I would not under-
take to write to you as I have if I [ though ]
x

Alternate Text

Alternate Text: thought
you
would consider yourself called upon to sacrifice
one single feeling of delicacy to oblige me or my
friends. I am too sensible of your past kindness
to me to urge any further claims.
Yours &C
Samuel S. Seward