Letter from Frederick William Seward to Frances Miller Seward, January 24, 1864

  • Posted on: 23 February 2018
  • By: admin
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Letter from Frederick William Seward to Frances Miller Seward, January 24, 1864
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transcriber

Transcriber:spp:srr

student editor

Transcriber:spp:csh

Distributor:Seward Family Digital Archive

Institution:University of Rochester

Repository:Rare Books and Special Collections

Date:1864-01-24

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Letter from Frederick William Seward to Frances Miller Seward, January 24, 1864

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: srr 

revision: crb 2018-01-30

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Page 1

Washington,
Jan. 24, 1864
My dear Mother,
I suppose Fanny
Birth: 1844-12-09 Death: 1866-10-29

keeps you informed of all the social
news. We seem to have reached a
new stage in the war. Gayety has
become as epidemic in Washington this
winter, as gloom was last winter.
There is a lull in political discussion
and people are inclined to eat,
drink and be merry. The newspapers
can furnish nothing more interesting
to their readers than accounts of
Page 2

parties & balls & theaters, like so many
learnt Journals. Questions of etiquette are
debated with gravity. People talk of
“society” who never before knew or cared
about it. A year ago the Secretary of
State
Birth: 1801-05-16 Death: 1872-10-10
was heartless or unpatriotic because
he gave dinners; now the only complaint
of him is that he don’t have dancing.
It is a sign of a similar state of feeling
everywhere, that all the Northern cities
have given up mourning & grumbling
and are devoting themselves to fest-
ivals & fairs. In fact, we seem
to have reached the period that the
French reached in 1795, when there came
a reaction after the Reign of Terror,
and against the Jacobins and France
gave itself up to social amusements, new
Page 3

fashions & extravagances. As we did not
go so far in the direction of the “Terror,”
we probably shall not go so far in the
reaction. But there is evidently the
same popular impression that after
two years of impatience, despondency &
anxiety, it is time to admit that the
worst of the storm is over, and the
clouds backing away.
So far, it has been a curious study to
trace the parallel epochs in our War & in
the French Revolution. I hope they may
not continue throughout. After this
period in France came foreign wars
& conquests. Bonaparte
Birth: 1769-08-15 Death: 1821-05-05
& The Empire.
This is my Sunday morning sermon,
after having been up till after midnight
at the theatre at the benefit of the
Ladies Sanitary Fair.
Affectionately your son
Frederick
Page 4

Hand Shiftx

Frances Seward

Birth: 1805-09-24 Death: 1865-06-21
Frederick
Jan 24th
1864