In the 1850s, the Seward family opened their Auburn home as a safehouse to fugitive slaves on the Underground Railroad.

"[3] Another time she wrote, "A man by the name of William Johnson will apply to you for assistance to purchase the freedom of his daughter.

For example, during the 1846 Freeman trial in Auburn, New York, William H. Seward acted as the defense lawyer for William Freeman, an African American man charged with murdering four members of the Van Nest family.

[citation needed] On October 20, 1824, Frances Adeline Miller married New York attorney William Henry Seward (1801–1872), after meeting him through his sister, a classmate, in 1821.

"[8] The couple raised five children: Frances died on June 21, 1865, of a heart attack, two months after the assassination attempt.