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New York & Harlem Rail Road Co., 1863, 50 Shrs I/C Stock Certificate ITASB F.W. Seward

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:150.00 USD Estimated At:325.00 - 550.00 USD
New York & Harlem Rail Road Co., 1863, 50 Shrs I/C Stock Certificate ITASB  F.W. Seward
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New York & Harlem Rail Road Co., 1863 50 Shrs I/C Capital Stock Cert., 25 Cent Adhesive Part Perf "Certificate" stamp, Locomotive under bridge at top with sailor and worker at left with resting dog at bottom, Fine-VF with toning. Signed by F.W. Seward, son of United States Secretary of State William H. Seward, he served as Assistant Secretary from 1861 to 1869 under both Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson and then from 1877 to 1879 in the administration of Rutherford B. Hayes. On February 21, 1861, Seward arrived at the Continental Hotel in Philadelphia carrying a letter from his father for President-elect Lincoln. The letter contained information gathered by Colonel Charles Pomeroy Stone and General Winfield Scott. Stone had stationed three detectives from the New York police department in Baltimore, Maryland to gather information about plots against Lincoln. Making his way by train from Illinois to Washington for his inauguration, Lincoln had intended to stop next at Baltimore, which was home to many secessionist sympathizers. According to information gathered by Stone's detectives, secessionists were planning to assassinate Lincoln during his stop in Baltimore. When his father was appointed Secretary of State in 1861, Seward became Assistant Secretary of State in charge of consular service under Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. He served in the position until 1869 and "assisted in the negotiations to the adoption of the Burlingame Treaty," which set the attitude towards China when the empire "accepted the principles of international law." On April 14, 1865, he was injured in an assassination attempt upon his father on the same night that Lincoln was murdered. Lewis Powell, also known as "Lewis Paine," an ex-Confederate co-conspirator of John Wilkes Booth attempted to kill William Seward while the Secretary of State was convalescing at home from a carriage accident. After Frederick blocked Powell from gaining access to William Seward's bedroom, Powell tried to shoot Frederick in the head. However, when the gun failed to fire, Powell quickly smashed the pistol over Frederick's head, causing several skull injuries. Frederick then collapsed and fell to the floor at the top of the stairs. Powell then burst into William Seward's room and stabbed him several times in the face and neck. Powell also injured a number of other bystanders, including Frederick's sister Fanny, his brother Augustus, his father's nurse Private George F. Robinson and messenger Emerick Hansell, but no one was killed. Seward's mother was sure that he was going to die; instead, she died on June 21, 1865 of a heart attack. His sister, Fanny, died soon afterward, in October 1866. Powell was hanged on July 7, 1865, along with David Herold, George Atzerodt, and Mary Surratt, who were also involved in the conspiracy.