1880, Northern Pacific Railway Stock certificate for ten shares issued to and signed by FREDERICK SEWARD: (1830-1915) Assistant Secretary of State. An 1849 graduate of Union College. From 1849-1857 he served as secretary to his father, William H. Seward. From 1851-1861 he also held the position of associate editor of the Albany "Evening Journal". When his father was appointed U.S. Secretary of State under Lincoln, the younger Seward was appointed Assistant Secretary of State. On the night of April 14, 1865 he was slashed and his skull fractured protecting his father during the assassination attempt by Lewis Powell. Seward survived his injuries and again served as Assistant Secretary of State 1877-79 during the Hayes administration. He had also served in the New York State Assembly being elected in 1874.
Attractive certificate with ornate border, vignette of a train passing by telegraph lines in the countryside and a lower vignette of Fredrick Billings. Signed on the reverse: "F. W. Seward". Punch hole cancellations well away from Seward's signature, which is strong and clean. Stub is glue attached at left. On the evening of the Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln April 14, 1865 Frederick Seward, the son of Secretary of State William H. Seward, found himself caught in the whirlwind of chaos that followed the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Lewis Powell, one of John Wilkes Booth's co-conspirators, had been assigned the grim task of assassinating Secretary Seward as part of a coordinated effort to destabilize the United States government. Powell, armed with a knife and driven by his sinister mission, entered the Seward residence in Washington, D.C. Unbeknownst to him, Frederick Seward, who was recovering from a carriage accident, was in the house. Powell confronted him, demanding access to Secretary Seward's room. A fierce struggle ensued between Frederick Seward and Powell, with the former valiantly defending his father. Powell inflicted several deep wounds on Frederick Seward, leaving him seriously injured but alive.
