220th Birthday of Florida’s Native Son: W.H. Seward

Unfortunately for a second year, due to Covid restrictions, the Florida Historical Society was not able to publicly commemorate William Henry Seward’s birthday that has been celebrated for three decades beginning with a wreath laying ceremony at Florida’s Seward Monument. The bust of Seward, dedicated in 1930 was created by Daniel Chester French who also sculpted the statue of President Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.  

The past public gatherings included performances by the fourth- and seventh-graders in the S.S. Seward institute cafetorium. This year would have been a very special celebration as this is Seward’s 220th birthday. However, we were able to place our traditional wreath at the Seward Monument again this year.  Thank you to Alders Wholesale Florist, in Campbell Hall, for donating beautiful wreaths for the past 31 years.

Florida’s native son, William Henry Seward was born on May 16, 1801 and won a seat in the State Senate in 1830, was Governor from 1838-1840 and was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he became a leading antislavery politician.  Growing up in Florida, NY, he preferred spending time with the slaves in the kitchen rather than joining in the stuffy conversation going on in the “parlor.”  This was the beginning of his abolitionist views and he was a valued voice committed to continuing this country’s strength and freedoms.  

Seward was appointed as Secretary of State by President Lincoln in 1861 and served until 1869. The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 was the necessary legislation, initiated by Seward, working with President Lincoln and the Senate, which gave slaves the opportunity to have a free life in the United States.

Believing, along with Lincoln, that the U.S. needed a naval base in the Caribbean, Seward offered to purchase the Danish West Indies (today the U. S. Virgin Islands) in 1865.  He also carefully managed international affairs during the Civil War and also negotiated the 1867 purchase of Alaska.

The Florida Historical Society commemorated the 200th birthday of Florida’s native son, William Henry Seward, who served as Secretary of State under President Abraham Lincoln with a wreath at the Seward Monument in the Village of Florida.