Silas Seymour
| Silas Seymour | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 20, 1817 Stillwater, Saratoga County, New York |
| Died | July 15, 1890 (aged 73) New York City |
| Title | New York State Engineer and Surveyor |
| Term | 1856-1857, 1882–1883 |
Silas Seymour (June 20, 1817 – July 15, 1890) was an American civil engineer and politician from New York.
He was the son of John Seymour (1792-1876) and Sarah (Montgomery) Seymour (1793-1824). He was educated at the Fredonia Academy. In the spring of 1835 he began work as an axman on one of the engineering parties engaged in making the first surveys for the New York and Erie Railroad, soon after was promoted to rodman, and by the end of the year had become an assistant engineer. In 1838, he was made Division Engineer, and later became Chief Engineer of the Dunkirk and State Line Railroad. On December 23, 1840, he married Delia S. French (1821-1884) and they had six children: Florence (Mrs. Theodore W. Bayaud), George French, Hanson Risley (died as an infant), James Montgomery ("Mont"), Jeanie (Mrs. Jean G. P. Blanchet), and Silas Jr.
About 1851 he became Chief Engineer and was for some time General Superintendent of the Buffalo and New York City Railroad, extending from Hornellsville to Buffalo, New York, and he designed and constructed the bridge across the Genesee River at Portage, New York.
He was New York State Engineer and Surveyor from 1856 to 1857, elected on the American Party ticket. In March 1856, he repudiated the nomination of former President Millard Fillmore as the American Party's candidate for the presidency.
In 1858 he established himself as Consulting Engineer in New York City. He was appointed Chief Engineer of the Washington and Alexandria Railroad, and constructed a bridge across the Potomac.
In 1860, he supported Stephen A. Douglas for President, and expressed in a letter to Col. John W. Forney his opinion, that slavery should continue in the South, and that the South and the North should compromise or have separate governments.
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