81 Facts About Thurlow Weed

Edward Thurlow Weed was a printer, New York newspaper publisher, and Whig and Republican politician.

Thurlow Weed was the principal political advisor to prominent New York politician William H Seward and was instrumental in the presidential nominations of William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, and John C Fremont.

Thurlow Weed met Seward in the assembly, and they formed a close political alliance that lasted for several decades.

Thurlow Weed supported the American System of Henry Clay and helped establish the Whig Party in the 1830s.

Thurlow Weed helped Seward win election as Governor of New York and supported the successful presidential candidacies of Harrison and Taylor.

Thurlow Weed helped organize the Republican Party and supported Fremont's nomination at the 1856 Republican National Convention.

Thurlow Weed led the effort to nominate Seward at the 1860 Republican National Convention, but the convention nominated Abraham Lincoln.

Thurlow Weed retired from public life in 1867 and died in 1882.

Thurlow Weed's brother Osborn moved to Tennessee, where he was a successful merchant and hotelier before he died in 1851.

Joel Thurlow Weed's business suffered reverses because of his ill health, the sickness of his horses, accidents, and occasional non-payment by his customers, so his family struggled financially.

Joel Thurlow Weed was eventually sentenced to debtors' prison, but friends and customers signed bonds on his behalf.

Thurlow Weed received about a year of formal education in Catskill before beginning to work so he could help support his family.

Thurlow Weed later worked as an errand boy at a Catskill tavern and hotel, then at a print shop, after which he spent much of his youth working as a cabin boy on boats that traveled the Hudson River.

In both Cincinnatus and Onondaga, Thurlow Weed worked to improve on his formal education by diligent self-study, sometimes walking several miles to visit neighbors who would allow him to borrow books.

In Onondaga, Joel Thurlow Weed earned a living by cutting wood for a potash maker, again with his son's aid.

Thurlow Weed later worked at an Onondaga iron forge, where his task was to temper the sand used in casting and molding.

For several months, Thurlow Weed was able to attend a private academy run by the Reverend Caleb Alexander.

Thurlow Weed learned in 1810 that Thomas Chittenden Fay intended to start a newspaper in Onondaga, the Lynx.

Thurlow Weed soon began to take on additional responsibilities, including building and maintaining files of newspapers with which the Lynx exchanged stories, which enabled Fay to develop a network of affiliated newspapers.

In 1812, Fay left the newspaper after a dispute with his creditors; Thurlow Weed printed a handful of issues to publish advertisements that had already been paid for, after which the Lynx became defunct.

Thurlow Weed then moved to Scipio, where he worked briefly on another newspaper, the Tocsin, before it too went out of business.

Thurlow Weed then returned to the forge in Onondaga, the owner of which had received a contract to produce round shot iron cannonballs for use by US forces during the War of 1812.

In February 1813, Thurlow Weed was working for and residing in the home of William Williams in Utica, New York.

The alarm soon passed, and Thurlow Weed returned to Utica, where he began work on the Columbian Gazette, a newspaper published by Thomas Walker.

When his work in Albany ended, Thurlow Weed lived briefly in Herkimer, then moved to Cooperstown, where he continued to work as a printer.

In October 1814, Thurlow Weed again joined the militia and was appointed quartermaster sergeant of the 40th Regiment of the New York State Militia under quartermaster officer George Petrie.

Thurlow Weed's regiment performed duty in Sackets Harbor, and twice successfully paraded to dissuade British commanders on Lake Ontario from landing troops.

In January 1815, Thurlow Weed's regiment was mustered out of the service and he returned to Utica.

The judge told Jordan he would dismiss the case unless Thurlow Weed preferred that the jury decide.

Thurlow Weed included the details of his arrest and trial in his autobiography because his political opponents had previously attempted to use it against him.

Thurlow Weed then traveled to Albany, where he obtained employment running the printing presses for the Albany Register, which was published by Henry C Southwick and edited by his brother Solomon Southwick.

In 1816, Thurlow Weed moved to the Albany Argus, published by Jesse Buel, whose lucrative appointment as state printer required him to publish state reports, legislative manuals, and legal notices.

Thurlow Weed began attending sessions of the state legislature, and was an early supporter of DeWitt Clinton.

In early 1817, Thurlow Weed took advantage of a lull in state printing to travel to New York City, where he obtained employment with the Winkle and Wiley book publishing firm.

Thurlow Weed then moved to a position with the Political Register, which was published by William Cobbett after Cobbett fled England to avoid prosecution for sedition.

Thurlow Weed recognized in 1820 that Norwich was not able to support two newspapers, and that the anti-DeWitt Clinton faction of New York's Democratic-Republican Party was in the ascendancy, so he sold his publishing works that December and returned to Albany.

Thurlow Weed then accepted a job with Solomon Southwick as a subscription salesman for Southwick's publications, the Ploughboy and the Christian Visitant.

Thurlow Weed traveled throughout central and western New York on Southwick's behalf in the spring of 1821, but found few new readers willing to sign up to receive Southwick's papers.

Thurlow Weed decided to relocate again, and closed down the Republican.

In 1824, Thurlow Weed was a strong backer of the presidential bid of John Quincy Adams; the Rochester Telegraph announced its support in early 1823, and carried his name on the masthead throughout 1823 and 1824.

Thurlow Weed won his race by a significant margin and represented Monroe County in 1825's 48th New York State Legislature.

Thurlow Weed recognized an opportunity to harness sentiment against the Masons and use it to oppose the policies of Democrat Andrew Jackson at the national level, and the Albany Regency of Martin Van Buren at the state level.

Thurlow Weed was an organizer of the Anti-Masonic Party, and used the pages of the Telegraph to keep Morgan's disappearance in the news.

Thurlow Weed was alleged to have said the body was a "good enough Morgan" to stoke the controversy until after the upcoming election, a remark Thurlow Weed denied making.

Thurlow Weed served a one-year term in 1830, which included the sessions of the 53rd New York State Legislature.

The Evening Journal became the largest Anti-Masonic newspaper; Thurlow Weed was editor, chief reporter, proofreader, and political expert.

In 1832, Thurlow Weed supported Adams's ally Henry Clay, who ran for president as the candidate of the National Republican Party.

Thurlow Weed was a strong advocate of Clay's "American System" for economic development, including a national bank, "internal improvements" such as roads and railroads, and a protective tariff.

Thurlow Weed was a main supporter of William Henry Harrison's successful presidential bid in 1840, in which Harrison defeated Van Buren to become the first Whig president.

When former slave Stephen Myers of Albany began creation of a transportation network and system of safe houses for escaping slaves, Thurlow Weed was among the prominent individuals to whom he turned for financing.

Harrison died in April 1841, only a month after taking office, and was succeeded by John Tyler, a former Democrat, who disappointed Thurlow Weed by abandoning Whig policies.

Thurlow Weed backed Clay in 1844, but his frustration continued when Clay was narrowly defeated.

Thurlow Weed played a leading role in the passage of New York's Consolidation Act, which created the New York Central Railroad, at the time the largest corporation in the United States.

Thurlow Weed's role was noteworthy in that he worked for approval of the Consolidation Act largely as a favor to his friend Erastus Corning, one of the financial backers of the project, though Corning was a Democrat and opposed to Thurlow Weed politically.

Thurlow Weed used his political influence to effect improvements and reforms in New York City.

When construction of Central Park commenced in 1855, Thurlow Weed played a major role in the selection of the first park commission.

Thurlow Weed influenced efforts to reform the New York City Police Department, including creation of the Board of Police Commissioners.

Fillmore, a former Thurlow Weed protege, had succeeded to the presidency after the death of Zachary Taylor and rejected Thurlow Weed's influence.

Thurlow Weed concluded during the campaign that support for the unpopular Compromise of 1850 meant the Whig Party was on the verge of disintegrating and destined to lose, so he ensured he would not be blamed by taking an extended trip to Europe, visiting England, France, and Germany among other places.

Thurlow Weed joined the Republicans, and the Evening Journal became a leading Republican newspaper.

Thurlow Weed worked for Seward's nomination at the 1860 Republican National Convention, which appeared to most observers to be a foregone conclusion.

Thurlow Weed became an unofficial envoy and political advisor, with both Seward and Thurlow Weed providing critical support to Lincoln and the Union during the American Civil War.

In 1861, Thurlow Weed traveled to Paris with Winfield Scott, where they aided American consul John Bigelow in defusing the Trent Affair, a diplomatic incident with Britain.

Later that year, Thurlow Weed visited Europe with Archbishop John Hughes, and they worked to influence government and public opinion in England and France in favor of the Union.

In December 1862, Lincoln asked Thurlow Weed to convey a message to Governor Horatio Seymour of New York, a "Peace Democrat", promising to make way for Seymour's succession to the presidency if Seymour would persuade other Peace Democrats to support restoration of the Union.

Thurlow Weed delivered the message, but Seymour took the path of most other Peace Democrats, supporting the Union but remaining critical of what they viewed as the excesses of Lincoln's administration.

In February 1863, Thurlow Weed undertook a special mission for Lincoln when Lincoln asked him to secretly raise $15,000 for an unspecified purpose.

Thurlow Weed was in New York City when he received a telegram asking him to be in Washington the following morning.

Thurlow Weed raised the cash, but Lincoln never explained why he needed it or how it was used.

Thurlow Weed publicly announced his retirement from the printing and publishing business on January 27,1863.

In 1864, Lincoln appeased Weed by blocking Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P Chase's choice for a new assistant secretary in charge of the New York sub-treasury, which led to Chase's resignation.

In 1867 Thurlow Weed retired from public life and moved from Albany to New York City.

Thurlow Weed briefly owned and edited a newspaper, the Commercial Advertiser, and remained peripherally engaged in politics, but did not exert the same level of influence that he had had in the past.

Thurlow Weed engaged in a public feud with Mary Todd Lincoln, who criticized him for opposing efforts to provide her federal financial aid after Lincoln's assassination.

Thurlow Weed resumed work on an autobiography which he had begun in the 1840s, and which was published by his daughter Harriet in 1883.

Weed's grandson Thurlow Weed Barnes published a biography, 1884's Life of Thurlow Weed.

Thurlow Weed became ill in his final months and suffered from blindness and vertigo.

Thurlow Weed died in New York City on November 22,1882.

Thurlow Weed's funeral took place at Manhattan's First Presbyterian Church.

Thurlow Weed was a longtime leader of New York's Republican Party.

Thurlow Weed pursued business interests in China as operator of the railroad between Hankou and ports in the province of Shandong.