Horatio Seymour Jr. (January 8, 1844 – February 21, 1907) was an American civil engineer, surveyor and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Life

He was born on January 8, 1844, in

Utica, New York Utica () is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...

. He was the son of John Forman Seymour (1814–1890, brother of Governor

Horatio Seymour Horatio Seymour (May 31, 1810February 12, 1886) was an American politician. He served as the eighteenth Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and again from 1863 to 1864. He was the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Pa ...

) and Frances Antill (Tappan) Seymour (d. 1853). He graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1867. He studied law with his father before deciding on a career as an engineer, and he studied at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Sheffield Scientific School Sheffield Scientific School was founded in 1847 as a school of Yale University, Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut, for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Jos ...

to obtain his professional qualification. In 1871, Seymour received his M.A. from Yale. He began engineering work with the City Surveyor of

, and was on the survey of the Canastota and Cazenovia Railroad in

Madison County, New York Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 68,016. Its county seat is Wampsville. The county is named after James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, and was ...

. In 1871 he became Assistant Engineer of the Seneca Falls and Sodus Bay Railroad, and afterwards was Assistant Engineer of the Wellsboro and Lawrenceville Railroad, and Chief Engineer of the Cowanesque Valley Railroad. In 1873 he made a survey of the Antrim mine of the Fall Brook Coal Co., and in 1874 a topographic survey of the lands of the Buffalo Coal Co. in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. On December 1, 1874, he was appointed Assistant Engineer on the New York State Canals. He was

New York State Engineer and Surveyor The New York State Engineer and Surveyor was a state cabinet officer in the State of New York between 1848 and 1926. During the re-organization of the state government under Governor Al Smith, the office was abolished and its responsibilities trans ...

from 1878 to 1881, elected on the Democratic ticket in

1877 Events January * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed Empress of India by the Royal Titles Act 1876, introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great Sioux War of 1876: Batt ...

and

1879 Events January * January 1 ** The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War. ** Brahms' Violin Concerto is premiered in Leipzig with Joseph Joachim ...

. In 1882, he became manager of the Michigan Land and Iron Company properties in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. Later he returned to Utica and continued to work as a general practicing engineer. He founded the

Huron Mountain Club The Huron Mountain Club is a private club whose land holdings in Marquette County, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, constitutes one of the largest tracts of primeval forest in the Great Lakes region. Formed circa 1890, the club comprises 50 ...

along with

John Munro Longyear John Munro Longyear Sr. (April 15, 1850 – May 28, 1922) was an American businessman and noted developer of timber and mineral lands in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Minnesota who became the central figure behind the Arctic Coal Company, ...

. He died in Utica on February 21, 1907. He was a member of the

American Society of Civil Engineers The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a tax-exempt professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, it is the oldest national engineering soci ...

Family

On October 12, 1880, he married Abigail Adams Johnson (1855-1915). Their children included daughter Mary and son Horatio. Mary Ledyard Seymour was 20 when she eloped in 1901 with 65-year-old Henry St. Arnould. After grudging consent from her parents, they married in

Marquette, Michigan Marquette ( ) is the county seat of Marquette County, Michigan, Marquette County and the largest city in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States. Located on the shores of Lake Superior, Marquette is a major port known primarily for shippin ...

Life

Family

References

Further reading