Cornelia "Frances" Seward

Cornelia/Frances Seward - Find A Grave Memorial 20856627

The third child born to celebrated American statesman William H. Seward and his wife, the former Frances A. Miller, the baby girl interred here as "Cornelia" died of smallpox at the age of 5 months. The official Fort Hill burial roster gives her age as simply "5", which may account for the discrepancy between older burial records and the age of 5 "years" inscribed on the stone in the photo--a modern replacement for the 19th Century capstone that had formerly marked her grave. Other discrepancies on the new gravestone include her day of death and the listing of her mother's name as Frances E. instead of Frances A.
Originally interred in St. Peter's Churchyard in Auburn in early January 1837, the child was identified at that time as "FRANCES...JANUARY 6, 1837...INFANT DAUGHTER OF W.H. SEWARD" in church burial records. In December 1844, almost eight years after her death, the Sewards welcomed a second daughter, who was also given the name Frances. (Unlike today, newborns of past eras were often given the same names as siblings who had predeceased them in early childhood.) When Fort Hill Cemetery opened seven years later, Judge Elijah Miller, the Seward children's maternal grandfather, purchased a family plot and was the first Seward relative to be buried here. The remains of the infant Frances were most likely transferred from St. Peter's Churchyard after the untimely deaths of her mother and sister in the mid-1860's. Although the official Fort Hill roster gives the year of her interment as 1837, this date cannot but refer to her original burial in St. Peter's, as Fort Hill Cemetery did not exist until 1851. That she is listed as "Cornelia" on the Fort Hill roster suggests that a posthumous name change was made in deference to the Sewards' other daughter Frances, whose death at age 22 was then a fresh grief. The long-dead infant consequently was given a distinct identity as "Cornelia", the name of the paternal aunt who introduced her parents to each other.
In any case, the city of Auburn's Frances Street--one of four forming a block that honors the Seward family--was inspired by the first name shared by Mrs. Seward and many of her descendants.

Gravesite Details That this child was an infant of 5 months, not years, can be verified by W.H. Seward's letters during the years 1836-37, & by the entry in the St. Peter's Church, Auburn burial roster dated January 1837.

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