HORATIO W. SEYMOUR

HORATIO WINSLOW SEYMOUR, managing editor of the Chicago Chronicle, was born at Genoa, Cayuga County, New York, July 29, 1854.   His parents were Andrew M. and Louisa M. (Goodyear) Seymour.  His father died when he was but nine years of age, and he became a member of the family of his uncle, Hon. H. G. Winslow, of Racine, Wisconsin, under the guidance of whom his education was acquired.  To the instruction of this worthy and capable guardian, Mr. Seymour owes much of his literary taste, as well as the development of his firm Jeffersonian political principles, and many other of his prominent characteristics.

At the age of sixteen, Mr. Seymour began his journalistic career by becoming an apprentice in the office of the Racine Advocate.  There, and in the office of the Racine Journal, he mastered every detail of the printer’s trade, which knowledge has been of inestimable benefit to him throughout his subsequent career.  In 1873 he became city editor of the Milwaukee News, which position he resigned two years later to accept the position of telegraph editor of the Chicago Times.  His thorough and capable work soon attracted the attention of the veteran editor, Wilbur F. Storey, and when, in 1879, a vacancy occurred in the office of the night managing editor, he was chosen to fill it.  The four or five years of his connection with the Times in that capacity constituted one of the most popular periods of its existence.

In 1883 he severed his connection with the Times and became an editorial writer on the Herald, which was then in its infancy.  Four years later he became the managing editor, and from that date the growth and development of the Herald were uninterrupted.  Mr. Seymour retired from the Herald March 1, 1895, on its purchase by Mr. Kohlsaat and its consolidation with the Times.  Early in May of the same year the Chicago Chronicle company was organized, Mr. Seymour becoming Secretary and Treasurer.  The first number of the new paper of which Mr. Seymour is publisher appeared on the morning of May 28, 1895.

Some of the attributes which have combined to place Mr. Seymour in the front rank of American journalists are a lofty sense of fairness and honesty in dealing with men and things; a keen foresight and discernment; ready decision, and a strong physical constitution, which enables him to bear up under the immense load of care and responsibility which he is constantly obliged to carry on his shoulders.

In social and domestic relations, Mr. Seymour enjoys in an unusual degree the confidence and love of his associates.  In January, 1876, he married Miss Annie E. Jones, of Racine, the daughter of Owen M. and Martha Jones, of that city.  Their pleasant home on Ellis Avenue is enlivened by the presence of three happy children, Louisa M., Mary R. and Annie G.  The family attends the Kenwood Evangelical Church, and Mr. Seymour is a member of the Chicago Newspaper Club.

                                -- Submitted on March 19, 2000 by Sherri Hessick ( [email protected] )