James Madison Seymour (January 30, 1837 – April 1, 1905) was the

mayor of Newark, New Jersey The Mayor of Newark is the head of the executive branch of government of Newark, New Jersey, United States. The mayor has the duty to enforce the municipal charter and ordinances; prepare the annual budget; appoint deputy mayors, department head ...

, from January 1, 1896, to January 1, 1903.

Biography

He was born on January 30, 1837, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. At the age of two, in 1839, Seymour's father died in a

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

epidemic in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. His mother remarried Jose Vantana, and the family went to reside in Spain. Seymour attended St. Austin's College in

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

. At the age of 17 he began an apprenticeship at

Novelty Iron Works The Novelty Iron Works was an ironworking firm founded to make boilers in New York City. Located at 12th street, New York. The founder was the Rev. Eliphalet Nott President of Union College of Schenectady, New York. Eliphalet Nott had invented ...

of New York and was subsequently employed by the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake ...

. When he was 21, in 1858, he was appointed master mechanic of a railroad from

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas (Spanish ''Bahia de Matanzas''), east ...

to Puerto Príncipe in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

, and later worked for two years as chief engineer of a large Cuban sugar plantation. He married Amanda Elizabeth Crowell in 1859, and they had one son, James Murray Seymour. After the death of his first wife, he married her sister Anna J. Crowell, and the couple also had one son, David C. Seymour. In 1865 he joined with Daniel Whitlock to form the engineering firm of Seymour and Whitlock in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

. In 1884 he was elected to the Newark Aqueduct Board, re-elected in 1887. In 1888 President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

appointed him as one of the United States Commissioners to Spain. In 1891 Governor

Leon Abbett Leon Abbett (October 8, 1836December 4, 1894) was an American Democratic Party politician and lawyer who served two nonconsecutive terms as the 26th Governor of New Jersey from 1884 to 1887 and 1890 to 1893. His official state biography refers t ...

named him the State Supervisor of Prisons. Seymour was a candidate for Mayor of Newark in 1894 but lost by nearly 5,000 votes. He ran for mayor again in 1896 and won by a margin of 3,396 votes. He was re-elected as mayor in 1898 and 1900. Seymour argued for the creation of "Greater Newark" by the annexation of a number of nearby towns: East Orange, Vailsburg,

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places In Australia: * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin In Canada: * Inukjuak, Quebec, or " ...

, Kearney, and Belleville. Of these, only Vailsburg was eventually annexed to Newark. In 1901 he was the Democratic candidate for

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...

, opposing the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Franklin Murphy. He lost the election by a vote of 183,814 to 166,681. Seymour died in 1905 at his

, home at the age of 68.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seymour, James M. 19th-century New Jersey politicians 19th-century mayors of places in New Jersey 20th-century New Jersey politicians 20th-century mayors of places in New Jersey Mayors of Newark, New Jersey 1837 births 1905 deaths Politicians from New York City