Letter from Frederick William Seward to Frances Miller Seward, March 21, 1861

  • Posted on: 26 May 2021
  • By: admin
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Letter from Frederick William Seward to Frances Miller Seward, March 21, 1861
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transcriber

Transcriber:spp:ecw

student editor

Transcriber:spp:csh

student editor

Transcriber:spp:rmg

Distributor:Seward Family Digital Archive

Institution:University of Rochester

Repository:Rare Books and Special Collections

Date:1861-03-21

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Letter from Frederick William Seward to Frances Miller Seward, March 21, 1861

action: sent

sender: Frederick Seward
Birth: 1830-07-08  Death: 1915-04-25

location: Washington D.C., US

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

location: Auburn, NY

transcription: ecw 

revision: amr 2021-01-22

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Page 1

Washington March 21 st
My dear Mother,
The enclosed sketch
came in a letter from Philadelphia
and pretty accurately describes depicts our
condition. The rush for office is
overwhelming. It begins at 7 in
the morning and lasts till late at
night, grudging us even the time
necessary for eating & sleeping, and
to venture out in the street, even
so far as from the house to the
Department, is to run the gauntlet
Page 2

of half a dozen aspirants for
Consulates in the Mediterranean
or the Sandwich Islands. They
smuggle themselves into the office, & the
parlor and lie in wait; and
at the Department not less than
five hundred a day require each a
special private interview in which
to present their peculiar and altogether
irresistible claims. The only quiet time
in the day is from three till six,
when the Department is closed and
we are locked inside. The letters
might be measured by the peck & of
course Father
Birth: 1801-05-16 Death: 1872-10-10
does not pretend
to read any but a selected few.
Page 3

They are so numerous that we have
the mail sent to the Department
instead of the house – only mine
and those of his which are marked
“private” coming there. So please
mark yours thus, or else direct
them to me.
Affectionately your son
Frederick
Page 4

Hand Shiftx

Frances Seward

Birth: 1805-09-24 Death: 1865-06-21
Frederick
March 27
1861