Biography

Augustus Seward was born on May 18, 1820, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Marcia Armstrong and Benjamin Jennings Seward.  

Augustus studied theology in Florida, New York, with Rev. George Pierson. Once ordained, Augustus served as a minister for the Presbyterian Church in Orange County; he was the pastor in Unionville and Westtown, New York, from 1846-1849, Ridgebury, New York, from 1849-1852, Port Jervis, New York, from 1852-59, Middleton, New York, from 1859-1879, and Vineland, New Jersey, from 1879-88. In 1865, Augustus received a Doctor of Divinity degree from Union College. Augustus also served as the President of the S.S. Seward Institute in Florida, New York, founded by his grandfather.

Augustus Seward married Sarah Ann Finn, his first cousin, in 1841. Together, they had three sons: Clarence, Benjamin, and Daniel Seward. After Sarah’s death in 1883, Augusts remarried her sister, Cornelia Ann Finn.

Augustus Seward died on May 8, 1889, in Vineland, New Jersey, at the age of 68.