William Seward Birthplace Photo Tour

Pat Young

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Featured Book Reviewer
Joined
Jan 7, 2013
Location
Long Island, NY
I was in lovely Warwick, New York last month for a meeting and realized when I was there that I was just down the road from William Seward's birthplace in Florida, N.Y. As a boy I had been surprised to see a sign on Route 17 pointing the way to Florida. I thought we were pretty far north. But my dad told me it was for the NY village of that name.

The road leading to Florida is beautiful:

florida new york.PNG
 
Florida itself is smalltown without being quaint. In fact, it seems to have little to commend itself for visitors. There is a typical NY yellow and blue historical marker:

seward sign.PNG
 
Seward was born in Florida on May 16, 1801 and lived there as a boy. His father was a landowner and doctor and he owned slaves. William Seward would become New York's senator and governor and served as Lincoln's Secretary of State. He held the same office under Johnson and was responsible for the purchase of Alaska.
 
On the property is the home of Captain William E. Mapes of the 124th New York State Volunteers, The Orange Blossoms.
 
My sister visited Seward's home in Auburn NY over the summer and said it was first rate, so he is well commemorated. I just hope that proposals to preserve his birthplace bear fruit before the building collapses.
 
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