Thurlow Weed

Weed was born on November 15, 1797, in the hamlet of Acra, part of the town of Cairo in Greene County, New York.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=1}}{{sfn|"Journalist and Statesman"|page=2}} His father, Joel Weed (1773-1819) and mother Mary (Ellis) Weed (1771-1841) were Connecticut natives who moved to New York to farm,{{sfn|Ostrander: A Genealogical Record, 1660-1995|page=270}} and Weed was the eldest of five siblings, three brothers and two sisters.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|pages=1, 21}} Neither of his sisters reached adulthood.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|pages=1, 21}} His brother Orrin was apprenticed to a New York City shipbuilder, Henry Eckford, and died in 1823 during a yellow fever epidemic.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=1}} His brother Osborn moved to Tennessee, where he was a successful merchant and hotelier before he died in 1851.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=4}} Weed was christened Edward Thurlow Weed, named for a presumed family connection to Edward Thurlow, England's Lord Chancellor.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: A Character Study"|page=427}}{{sfn|Room At the Top|page=265}} As a boy, Weed dropped his first name; as an adult, he attempted to document the family connection during a visit to England, but was unsuccessful.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: A Character Study"|page=427}}

Weed's father later moved the family to the village of Catskill where he operated a business hauling freight by wagon from the Hudson River docks.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=2}}{{sfn|"The Lobby," and Public Men from Thurlow Weed's Time|page=397}} Joel 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.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=2}} Joel Weed was eventually sentenced to debtors' prison, but friends and customers signed bonds on his behalf.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=6}} These guarantees permitted him to take advantage of the freedom of the prison, which allowed debtors to travel within permitted limits to earn money to satisfy their obligations, and to spend Sundays with their families.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=6}} Thurlow Weed received about a year of formal education in Catskill before beginning to work so he could help support his family.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=2}} At age eight, he was hired to operate a blacksmith's bellows for six cents a day.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=2}}{{sfn|"The Lobby," and Public Men from Thurlow Weed's Time|page=397}} He 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.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=2}}{{sfn|"The Lobby," and Public Men from Thurlow Weed's Time|page=398}}

In 1808, Joel Weed's family moved to Cincinnatus, New York, where he worked as a woodcutter, maple syrup maker, and farm laborer with Thurlow's assistance.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=10}}{{sfn|Room At the Top|page=267}} While living in Cincinnatus, Weed attended a local school for a brief period before the family moved again, this time to Onondaga.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=14}} In both Cincinnatus and Onondaga, 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.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|pages=12–13, 16}}{{sfn|"The Lobby," and Public Men from Thurlow Weed's Time|page=399}} In Onondaga, Joel Weed earned a living by cutting wood for a potash maker, again with his son's aid.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=21}} Thurlow Weed later worked at an Onondaga iron forge, where his task was to temper the sand used in casting and molding.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|pages=20–21}} During a period when the forge was not in operation, Weed obtained a position as a groomsman and gardener for the Onondaga County Clerk, which included his room and board, as well as the promise of additional schooling.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=21}} For several months, Weed was able to attend a private academy run by the Reverend Caleb Alexander.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=21}} When the forge resumed operations, Weed returned to his position there.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=21}}

Weed learned in 1810 that Thomas Chittenden Fay intended to start a newspaper in Onondaga, the Lynx.{{sfn|Room At the Top|page=267}}{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=21}} Having decided on a career in printing and publishing, Weed and his father convinced Fay to take Weed on as a second apprentice.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=22}} His first tasks included cutting wood and stoking fires, as well as preparing the sheepskins used in making ink balls.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=22}} 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.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|pages=22–23}} In 1812, Fay left the newspaper after a dispute with his creditors; Weed printed a handful of issues to publish advertisements that had already been paid for, after which the Lynx became defunct.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=24}} He then moved to Scipio, where he worked briefly on another newspaper, the Tocsin, before it too went out of business.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|pages=24–25}} 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 U.S. forces during the War of 1812.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=25}} After earning enough money to resume searching for work as a printer, Weed traveled to Utica, where he was employed in the printing shop of Seward & Williams.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|pages=25–26}}{{sfn|American Dictionary of Printing and Bookmaking|page=584}}

In February 1813, Weed was working for and residing in the home of William Williams in Utica, New York.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=26}} During the War of 1812, he joined a volunteer militia company that Williams commanded as a captain, which responded to threat of a British invasion from Canada, and briefly served near Sackets Harbor.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=26}} The alarm soon passed, and Weed returned to Utica, where he began work on the Columbian Gazette, a newspaper published by Thomas Walker.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=26}} When the militia again called for recruits to respond to the threat of an invasion from Canada, Weed obtained Walker's permission to go, and joined a company in the regiment commanded by Elijah H. Metcalf, which performed duty in and around Sackets Harbor.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|pages=26–27}}

When the second alarm passed in October 1813, Weed returned to Utica.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=31}} He soon left for Albany, where he was employed at Webster & Skinner, book publishers and publishers of the Albany Gazette.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=31}} When his work in Albany ended, Weed lived briefly in Herkimer, then moved to Cooperstown, where he continued to work as a printer.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|pages=35–36}} After several months in Cooperstown, he returned to Herkimer to take charge of his former employer's business while the owner traveled to Connecticut to attend a political convention.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=37}}

In October 1814, 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.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=38}}{{sfn|Room At the Top|page=268}} Weed's regiment performed duty in Sackets Harbor, and twice successfully paraded to dissuade British commanders on Lake Ontario from landing troops.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|pages=38–39}} In January 1815, Weed's regiment was mustered out of the service and he returned to Utica.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|pages=40–41}}

While residing in Cooperstown in July 1814, Weed was one of five men arrested the day after a Sunday evening Methodist religious service and accused of harassing several women who had departed the village by wagon after leaving the church.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=36}} Newspaper publisher Israel W. Clark posted a bond to secure Weed's release, while attorney Ambrose L. Jordan volunteered to act as his counsel.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|pages=36–37}} Unbeknownst to Weed, Catherine Ostrander, the daughter of the owners of the Cooperstown rooming house where Weed had been staying, had arranged for his bail and legal representation.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=36}}

The trial was postponed several times because of events surrounding the war, and took place in early 1815.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|pages=41–42}} District attorney Charles P. Kirkland decided to try Weed first, separately from the other defendants.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=42}} Three of the girls who had been in the wagon denied seeing Weed after the church service.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=42}} The fourth was Catherine Ostrander, who testified that after leaving the church, she had walked through the village with Weed until they reached the road that led to her home, where she boarded the wagon, after which she had not seen Weed again that night.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=42}} Jordan opted not to call any witnesses, while Kirkland apologized for not having investigated the story of the initial complainant more fully and offered to dismiss the case.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=42}} The judge told Jordan he would dismiss the case unless Weed preferred that the jury decide.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=42}} Wanting his innocence on the record, Weed opted for a jury verdict, and the jurors immediately acquitted him, not even rising from their seats to leave the courtroom for deliberations.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=42}} The charges against the other defendants were soon dismissed.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=42}} Weed included the details of his arrest and trial in his autobiography because his political opponents had previously attempted to use it against him.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=36}} (Weed and Ostrander married in 1818.){{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=74}}

File:Thurlow Weed, engraved portrait.jpg

After Weed's trial, he again enlisted in the militia, but when news of the passage of the Treaty of Ghent that ended the War of 1812 made its way to central New York, Weed's militia company was disbanded.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=43}} He 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.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|pages=43–44}} In 1816, 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.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=46}} The additional responsibility Buel delegated to Weed enabled Weed to more than double his salary, and also kindled an interest in politics, since Weed had to set type for or proofread state documents.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=46}} Weed began attending sessions of the state legislature, and was an early supporter of DeWitt Clinton.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|pages=46, 74}}

In early 1817, 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.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=51}}{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"|page=237}} He then moved to a position with the Political Register, which was published by William Cobbett after Cobbett fled England to avoid prosecution for sedition.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=51}}{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"|page=237}} After leaving Cobbett, Weed worked for several other publishers in New York City, including Jonathan Seymour, James Harper, and William A. Mercien.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=56-58}} During his hours away from work, Weed attended the theater frequently and continued to observe political meetings.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=59}}

In mid-1817, Israel W. Clark, a Cooperstown newspaper editor, purchased the Albany Register from Henry C. Southwick and offered Weed the job of press foreman, so Weed returned to Albany.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=62}} In addition to running the presses, Weed began to try his hand at composing editorials on the political topics of the day; under Clark's tutelage, he worked to improve his grammar, spelling, and writing style.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=62}} Over time, he became adept at composing editorials and articles as he set them in type, rather than first preparing a manuscript, which gave him a competitive advantage by enabling him to publish them more quickly than could rival editors.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=70}}

In 1818, a group of pro-DeWitt Clinton Democratic-Republican political figures purchased the Norwich newspaper and publishing business of John F. Hubbard.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|pages=76–77}} This group, which included James Birdsall and Obadiah German, then sold the works to Weed, who moved to Norwich to publish the Agriculturist.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"|page=237}}{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|pages=76–77}} Hubbard was later convinced to start a rival paper opposed to Clinton, the Norwich Journal.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=77}} While living in Norwich, Weed also received a state appointment as commissioner to acknowledge the transfer of deeds and other sale documents, and the two to three dollars in fees he received each month enabled him to continue the Agriculturist during the earliest days of its existence.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"|page=237}}{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=78}}

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.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=85}} Weed found employment at the Albany Argus working on documents produced as part of the state printing contract, but when the state printers, Leake & Cantine, discovered that Weed was a Clinton supporter, they discharged him.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=85}} He then accepted a job with Solomon Southwick as a subscription salesman for Southwick's publications, the Ploughboy and the Christian Visitant.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=86}} 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.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=86}} Discovering that the Federalist-leaning Manlius Times had gone out of business years previously and its printing press was idle, in June Weed purchased the equipment on credit and began publication of the Onondaga Republican.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"|page=237}}{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|pages=86–87}}

While living in Manlius, Weed established a close friendship with Addison Gardiner.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=95}} Gardiner moved to Rochester after attaining admission to the bar in 1822, and suggested to Weed that his prospects might be better there than in Manlius.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=95}} Weed decided to relocate again, and closed down the Republican.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=95}} Upon arriving in Rochester, he obtained employment with Everard Peck, the editor of the Telegraph, the city's pro-DeWitt Clinton newspaper, who decided to publish a long-delayed book as a way to provide Weed with temporary employment.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=96}}{{sfn|Room At the Top|page=269}} Immediately impressed with Weed's talents, Peck hired him to run the day-to-day operations of the Telegraph.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=97}} In addition to managing the paper during the day, Weed composed its editorial content at night, and soon established the Telegraph as an important pro-Clinton outlet in central and western New York.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=97}}

In 1843, Weed, his son James, and John D. Parsons co-founded Albany's Weed, Parsons & Company, which became a successful book publisher.{{sfn|Old Albany|page=103}}

In 1824, 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.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=105}}{{sfn|Wilson|Fiske|1889}} Appointed by Rochester's business leaders as their agent for obtaining a charter for a Rochester-based bank, Weed attended all three sessions of the legislature in 1824, and succeeded in obtaining approval for the Bank of Rochester.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"|page=237}}{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=106}} Nominated by Monroe County's Adams supporters, Weed was a candidate for the New York State Assembly.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=160}} He won his race by a significant margin and represented Monroe County in 1825's 48th New York State Legislature.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=161}} While serving in the Assembly, he befriended William H. Seward, whose legal and political careers were just beginning.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=139}}

In 1825, Weed bought the Rochester Telegraph.{{sfn|"Journalist and Statesman"|page=2}} During 1827, he became involved in the controversy surrounding the disappearance of William Morgan, a former Mason who had threatened to publish a book revealing the secrets of Masonic rituals and degree ceremonies.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"|page=239}} 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.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"|page=239}} He was an organizer of the Anti-Masonic Party, and used the pages of the Telegraph to keep Morgan's disappearance in the news.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"|page=239}} Morgan was presumed to have been carried away by Masons and drowned in the Niagara River.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"|page=239}} When a body washed ashore in September 1827, many Upstate New York residents assumed it was Morgan's.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"|page=239}} Though it was positively identified as Canadian Timothy Munro (or Munroe) by his wife, many Anti-Masons persisted in believing it was Morgan's.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"|page=239}} Weed was alleged to have said the body was a "good enough Morgan" to stoke the controversy until after the upcoming election, a remark Weed denied making.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"|page=239}} Though the party's 1828 candidate for governor of New York, Solomon Southwick, was defeated, Weed and other organizers succeeded in making it the main opposition to the Democratic Party, and experienced electoral success in several northern states, including Vermont and Pennsylvania.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"|page=239}}

In 1828, Masons succeeded in forcing Weed out of the Telegraph.{{sfn|"Journalist and Statesman"|page=2}} In 1829, he was again elected to the Assembly from Monroe County, this time as an Anti-Mason.{{sfn|"Journalist and Statesman"|page=2}} He served a one-year term in 1830, which included the sessions of the 53rd New York State Legislature.{{sfn|"Journalist and Statesman"|page=2}} He also started the Albany Evening Journal.{{sfn|"Journalist and Statesman"|page=2}}{{sfn|Room At the Top|page=271}} The Evening Journal became the largest Anti-Masonic newspaper; Weed was editor, chief reporter, proofreader, and political expert.{{sfn|"Journalist and Statesman"|page=2}}{{sfn|Room At the Top|page=271}}

In 1832, Weed supported Adams's ally Henry Clay, who ran for president as the candidate of the National Republican Party.{{sfn|The Age of Jackson|pages=115-116}} He 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.{{sfn|The Age of Jackson|pages=115-116}}

By 1834, the Adams-Clay organization that had been the National Republicans was forming into the Whig Party.{{sfn|Horace Greeley and the Politics of Reform|pages=27-28}} Most Anti-Masons joined the Whigs, regarding the new party as the best alternative to Jackson and Van Buren, and enabling Weed to assume a leadership role in a larger and more orthodox political organization.{{sfn|Horace Greeley and the Politics of Reform|pages=27-28}} His Evening Journal became the main Whig newspaper, and by the 1840s it had the largest circulation of any political newspaper in the United States.{{sfn|Horace Greeley and the Politics of Reform|pages=27-28}}{{sfn|A Political History of the State of New York|pages=314-315}}

Weed and other Whigs worked to blame Van Buren and the Democratic Party for the Panic of 1837.{{sfn|"1840 U.S. Presidential Campaign"}} In 1838, he was one of William H. Seward's main supporters in Seward's successful campaign for governor, and was largely credited with Seward's victory.{{sfn|"Historic Marker"}} Weed was also 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.{{sfn|"1840 U.S. Presidential Campaign"}}{{sfn|"Historic Marker"}}

In the 1830s and 1840s, Weed became active in the abolitionist movement.{{sfn|People of the Underground Railroad|page=219}} When former slave Stephen Myers of Albany began creation of a transportation network and system of safe houses for escaping slaves, Weed was among the prominent individuals to whom he turned for financing.{{sfn|People of the Underground Railroad|page=219}} In addition, Weed and his wife made their own home available to fleeing slaves as part of the Underground Railroad.{{sfn|The Underground Railroad|page=566}}

Weed was generally seen as the "boss" of New York's Whig Party, using the same tactics as the Regency—patronage and political favors—to attract supporters and keep order in the ranks, efforts he was able to reinforce through the Evening Journal.{{sfn|Horace Greeley Champion of American Freedom|pages=43-44}} Under Weed's leadership, the Whigs became the dominant force in state politics for several years, and Weed was arguably the most powerful politician in New York.{{sfn|Wilson|Fiske|1889}}

As a practical politician, Weed was a pragmatist, rather than an idealist, always taking care to avoid controversial issues and positions that would decrease Whig support on election day.{{sfn|For the People|page=103}} One exception was the issue of slavery,{{sfn|Wilson|Fiske|1889}} a subject on which Weed made public statements in opposition while trying to avoid the most radical language of those seen as uncompromising abolitionists.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=306}}

Harrison died in April 1841, only a month after taking office, and was succeeded by John Tyler, a former Democrat, who disappointed Weed by abandoning Whig policies.{{sfn|Life of Thurlow Weed|page=116}} Weed backed Clay in 1844, but his frustration continued when Clay was narrowly defeated.{{sfn|"Historic Marker"}} Following the Mexican–American War, Zachary Taylor emerged as a likely Whig candidate for president, and Weed supported his successful effort.{{sfn|"Historic Marker"}} But Taylor, like Harrison, died in office.{{sfn|"Historic Marker"}}

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.{{sfn|Erastus Corning: Merchant and Financier}} 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 Weed politically.{{sfn|Erastus Corning: Merchant and Financier}}

Weed used his political influence to effect improvements and reforms in New York City.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"|page=240}} In 1847, he was largely responsible for the designation of Castle Garden as the main depot for arriving immigrants and the passage of laws to protect them as they entered the United States.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"|pages=240-241}} His efforts in the mid-1850s led to the creation of the New York Harbor Commission, a state panel that sought to improve commerce by recommending enhancements to New York City's waterways.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"|page=240}} When construction of Central Park commenced in 1855, Weed played a major role in the selection of the first park commission.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"|page=240}} As movements for prison reform and reform of charitable services provided by government grew in the mid-19th Century, Weed was largely responsible for the appointment of a non-partisan Board of Charities and Correction for New York City.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"|page=240}} Weed also influenced efforts to reform the New York City Police Department, including creation of the Board of Police Commissioners.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"|page=240}}

In 1852, the leading Whig candidates for president were incumbent Millard Fillmore, Secretary of State Daniel Webster, and General Winfield Scott.{{sfn|Agent of Destiny|page=325}} Fillmore, a former Weed protégé, had succeeded to the presidency after the death of Zachary Taylor and rejected Weed's influence.{{sfn|"Historic Marker"}} As a result, Weed refused to support him for election to a full term and instead backed Scott.{{sfn|"Historic Marker"}} Seward, long a Fillmore rival, also decided to back Scott.{{sfn|Agent of Destiny|page=325}} 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.{{sfn|Agent of Destiny|page=325}} He remained abroad for over a year—well after the November 1852 election, which was won by Democrat Franklin Pierce.{{sfn|Agent of Destiny|page=325}}

When Weed returned to the United States, the Whig Party had splintered over the Kansas–Nebraska Act, with southern Whigs leaving the party to join the Democrats, and northern Whigs including Seward, forming the Republican Party as an anti-slavery party and the main opposition to the Democrats.{{sfn|The Republican Party|pages=9-10}} Weed joined the Republicans, and the Evening Journal became a leading Republican newspaper.{{sfn|The Republican Party|pages=9-10}} Weed supported Seward's re-election to the Senate in 1854,{{sfn|Nativism and Slavery|pages=146-149}} and the Republican presidential nomination of John C. Frémont in 1856.{{sfn|"Historic Marker"}} Frémont narrowly lost the 1856 election to Democrat James Buchanan.{{sfn|Pennsylvania Biographical Dictionary|page=165}}

Buchanan's failed administration and the fracturing of the Democrats over the slavery issue made likely a Republican victory in 1860.{{sfn|Pennsylvania Biographical Dictionary|pages=165-166}} Weed worked for Seward's nomination at the 1860 Republican National Convention, which appeared to most observers to be a foregone conclusion.{{sfn|"1860 Republican Convention"}} But Seward's strong anti-slavery views and reputation as a Whig political boss offended many former Democrats in the still new Republican party.{{sfn|Lincoln for President|pages=21-22}} Abraham Lincoln's managers exploited these vulnerabilities to obtain Lincoln's nomination.{{sfn|"How Lincoln Won the 1860 Republican Nomination"}} Though disappointed, Weed and Seward both supported Lincoln in the general election.{{sfn|Life of Thurlow Weed|pages=295-296}}{{sfn|"Biography, William H. Seward"}} Lincoln won the election handily, defeating John C. Breckinridge, John Bell, and Stephen A. Douglas.{{sfn|"The Election of 1860"}}

After Lincoln's inauguration, Seward became Secretary of State.{{sfn|"Notable Visitors: Thurlow Weed"}} Weed became an unofficial envoy and political advisor, with both Seward and Weed providing critical support to Lincoln and the Union during the American Civil War.{{sfn|"Republican boss, Lincoln adviser"}}

In 1861, Weed traveled to Paris with Winfield Scott, where they aided American consul John Bigelow in defusing the Trent Affair, a diplomatic incident with Britain.{{sfn|"Notable Visitors: Thurlow Weed"}} Later that year, 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.{{sfn|"Notable Visitors: Thurlow Weed"}}

In December 1862, Lincoln asked 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.{{sfn|"Notable Visitors: Thurlow Weed"}} 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.{{sfn|"Notable Visitors: Thurlow Weed"}}

In February 1863, Weed undertook a special mission for Lincoln when Lincoln asked him to secretly raise $15,000 (about $390,000 in 2020) for an unspecified purpose.{{sfn|"Notable Visitors: Thurlow Weed"}} Weed was in New York City when he received a telegram asking him to be in Washington the following morning.{{sfn|"Notable Visitors: Thurlow Weed"}} When they met the next day, Lincoln explained that there was urgent need for the money and that it could not be taken from any available government appropriations.{{sfn|"Notable Visitors: Thurlow Weed"}} Weed raised the cash, but Lincoln never explained why he needed it or how it was used.{{sfn|"Notable Visitors: Thurlow Weed"}}

Weed was critical of Lincoln's decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation,{{sfn|Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation|page=137}} regarding it as too radical and controversial and unsuccessfully arguing for a system of gradual emancipation.{{sfn|Antietam 1862|page=112}} In early 1863, he retired as editor of the Evening Journal because he disagreed with the Radical Republican view on prosecuting the war and post-war Reconstruction, but as a loyal Republican did not want to make this disagreement public.{{sfn|"Notable Visitors: Thurlow Weed"}} Weed publicly announced his retirement from the printing and publishing business on January 27, 1863.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed's Valedictory"|page=2}} In the ensuing days his "valedictory address" was printed in full in several newspapers.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed's Valedictory"|page=2}}

Federal patronage in New York caused Lincoln difficulty as Weed and his opponents vied for control of government appointments.{{sfn|"The Journalists: Thurlow Weed"}} 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.{{sfn|"The Journalists: Thurlow Weed"}} Lincoln then ensured he would have Weed's support in the 1864 election by dismissing Hiram Barney, a Radical Republican, as Collector of the Port of New York, and replacing him with Simeon Draper, a Weed ally.{{sfn|"The Journalists: Thurlow Weed"}}

After Lincoln's death and the end of the war, Weed and Seward allied with President Andrew Johnson against the Radical Republicans.{{sfn|Patrick N. Lynch, 1817-1882|page=124}} Both endorsed Johnson's more conservative approach to Reconstruction and Seward continued as Secretary of State under Johnson.{{sfn|Patrick N. Lynch, 1817-1882|page=124}}

File:Thurlow Weed, standing3.jpg

In 1867 Weed retired from public life and moved from Albany to New York City.{{sfn|"Biography, Thurlow Weed"}} He 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.{{sfn|American Dictionary of Printing and Bookmaking|page=579}}{{sfn|"Biography, Thurlow Weed"}}{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed has purchased an interest in the Commercial Advertiser"}} Weed offered public support to the presidential administration of Ulysses S. Grant.{{sfn|"Notable Visitors: Thurlow Weed"}} He also 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.{{sfn|"Notable Visitors: Thurlow Weed"}}

During his later years, Weed wrote frequent letters to authors who sought information on New York's history, especially details on the growth of towns where Weed had lived as a young man.{{sfn|"Journalist and Statesman"|page=2}} He also resumed work on an autobiography which he had begun in the 1840s, and which was published by his daughter Harriet in 1883.{{sfn|"Personal: Thurlow Weed"|page=2}} Weed's grandson Thurlow Weed Barnes also published a biography, 1884's Life of Thurlow Weed.{{sfn|"Personal: Thurlow Weed"|page=2}}

Weed became ill in his final months and suffered from blindness and vertigo.{{sfn|Life of Thurlow Weed|page=565}} He died in New York City on November 22, 1882.{{sfn|"Death of Thurlow Weed"|page=2}}{{sfn|Ostrander: A Genealogical Record, 1660-1995|page=270}} His funeral took place at Manhattan's First Presbyterian Church.{{sfn|"Dust to Dust"|page=4}} Pallbearers included James Watson Webb, Hamilton Fish, Frederick W. Seward, John McKeon, and James Bowen.{{sfn|"Dust to Dust"|page=4}} Attendees included James G. Blaine, William M. Evarts, Edwin D. Morgan, Edwards Pierrepont, Hamilton Fish II, Frederick A. Conkling, and many other current and former office holders and newspaper publishers.{{sfn|"Dust to Dust"|page=4}} Weed was buried at Albany Rural Cemetery.{{sfn|"Dust to Dust"|page=4}}

On April 26, 1818, Weed married Catherine Ostrander (1798-1858) of Cooperstown.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=74}}{{sfn|Room At the Top|page=269}} They had agreed to marry in 1814, but acceded to the wishes of her parents that they wait until they were older and Weed was more established in his profession.{{sfn|Autobiography of Thurlow Weed|page=36}} Their children included: James Birdsall (1820-1851), who worked with his father in the publishing business;{{sfn|"Death of James B. Weed"|page=2}} Harriet Ann (1819-1893), who never married and acted as her father's secretary;{{sfn|"An Eventful Life Ended"|page=5}} Emily (1827-1889), the wife of William Barnes Sr.;{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed's Daughter"|page=1}} and Maria (1823-1896), who married Ogden M. Alden.{{sfn|"Funeral of Mrs. Alden"|page=1}}

Weed's grandson William Barnes Jr. owned and published the Albany Evening Journal.{{sfn|"Barnes Genius At Setting up Political Machine"|page=20}} He was also a longtime leader of New York's Republican Party.{{sfn|"Barnes Genius At Setting up Political Machine"|page=20}} Weed's granddaughter Catharine Weed Barnes was a well-known photographer.{{sfn|"Miss Catharine Weed Barnes"|page=423}}

In addition to authoring Life of Thurlow Weed,{{sfn|"Table Gossip: Mr. and Mrs. Thurlow Weed Barnes"|page=12}} grandson Thurlow Weed Barnes (1853-1918) was a publishing executive at Houghton, Mifflin & Co.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed Barnes Dies in this City"}} He also pursued business interests in China as operator of the railroad between Hankou and ports in the province of Shandong.{{sfn|"Thurlow Weed Barnes Dies in this City"}}

{{Gallery

| title =

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| File:Chester Harding - Thurlow Weed - NPG.2005.95 - National Portrait Gallery.jpg

| alt1=

| Chester Harding portrait of Weed in 1843

| File:Abraham Lincoln and the battles of the Civil War (1908) (14576103519).jpg

| alt2=

| 1908 magazine illustration based on 1860 Brady-Handy photograph

| File:The magazine of American history with notes and queries (1877) (14596943089).jpg

| alt3=

| The living room of Weed's New York City home, as depicted in an 1877 magazine article

| File:Thurlow-weedHarpers.jpg

| alt4=

| Weed illustration in the November 21, 1861 issue of Harper's Weekly

| File:Thurlow Weed - Project Gutenberg eText 13160.jpg

| alt5=

| Weed in his later years. From 1901's An Iron Will, by Orison Swett Marden

}}

• Anti-Masonic Enquirer

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• {{cite news |date=July 2, 1851 |title=Death of James B. Weed |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111978963/james-weed/ |work=Watertown Chronicle |location=Watertown, WI |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|"Death of James B. Weed"}}}}
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• {{cite news |date=March 4, 1867 |title=Thurlow Weed has purchased an interest in the Commercial Advertiser |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44090679/thurlow_weed_commercial_advertiser/ |work=The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer |location=Wheeling, WV |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|"Thurlow Weed has purchased an interest in the Commercial Advertiser"}}}}
• {{cite news |date=November 22, 1882 |title=Death of Thurlow Weed |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44090905/death_of_thurlow_weed/ |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |location=Brooklyn, NY |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|"Death of Thurlow Weed"}}}}
• {{cite news |date=November 22, 1882 |title=Passed Away: Thurlow Weed, Journalist and Statesman |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44091163/thurlow_weed_journalist_and_statesman/ |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |location=Brooklyn, NY |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|"Journalist and Statesman"}}}}
• {{cite news |date=November 24, 1882 |title=Dust to Dust: Impressive Funeral Services of the Late Thurlow Weed |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111979183/funeral/ |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |location=Brooklyn, NY |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|"Dust to Dust"}}}}
• {{cite news |date=February 8, 1883 |title=Personal: Thurlow Weed |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44090522/thurlow_weed_autobiography/ |work=The Morning News |location=Wilmington, DE |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|"Personal: Thurlow Weed"}}}}
• {{cite news |date=February 3, 1884 |title=Table Gossip: Mr. and Mrs. Thurlow Weed Barnes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111979290/barnes/ |work=The Boston Globe |location=Boston, MA |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|"Table Gossip: Mr. and Mrs. Thurlow Weed Barnes"}}}}
• {{cite news |date=February 11, 1889 |title=Thurlow Weed's Daughter: Death of Mrs. Emily Weed Barnes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111979366/barnes/ |work=Buffalo Express |location=Buffalo, NY |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|"Thurlow Weed's Daughter"}}}}
• {{cite news |date=November 2, 1893 |title=An Eventful Life Ended: Harriet A. Weed Dies Among her Father's Treasures |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111979447/eventful/ |work=The New York Times |location=New York, NY |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|"An Eventful Life Ended"}}}}
• {{cite news |date=January 29, 1896 |title=Funeral of Mrs. Alden |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111979521/alden/ |work=Star-Gazette |location=Elmira, NY |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|"Funeral of Mrs. Alden"}}}}
• {{cite news |date=June 28, 1918 |title=Thurlow Weed Barnes Dies in this City |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44092220/thurlow_weed_barnes/ |work=New-York Tribune |location=New York, NY |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|"Thurlow Weed Barnes Dies in this City"}}}}
• {{cite news |date=June 26, 1930 |title=Barnes Genius At Setting up Political Machine |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111979594/genius/ |work=Binghamton Press |location=Binghamton, NY |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|"Barnes Genius At Setting up Political Machine"}}}}
• {{cite news |last=Grondahl |first=Paul |date=December 5, 2013 |title=Thurlow Weed (1797-1882): Republican boss, Lincoln adviser, newspaper publisher |url=https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Thurlow-Weed-1797-1882-Republican-boss-4993566.php |work=Times Union |location=Colonie, NY |ref={{sfnRef|"Republican boss, Lincoln adviser"}}}}

• {{cite magazine |editor1-last=Adams |editor1-first=W. I. Lincoln |date=August 29, 1890 |title=Miss Catharine Weed Barnes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=irYaAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA423 |magazine=The Photographic Times |volume=XX |issue=467 |location=New York, NY |publisher=The Photographic Times Publishing Association |via=Google Books |ref={{sfnRef|"Miss Catharine Weed Barnes"}}}}
• {{cite magazine |last=Eriksson |first=Erik McKinley |date=November 1925 |title=Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gE4wAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PA236 |magazine=Grand Lodge Bulletin |volume=XXIV-XXVI |location=Cedar Rapids, IA |publisher=Grand Lodge of Iowa, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons |via=Google Books |ref={{sfnRef|"Thurlow Weed: Anti-Masonic Editor and Politician"}}}}
• {{cite magazine |last=Van Deusen |first=Glyndon G. |date=April 1, 1944 |title=Thurlow Weed: A Character Study |magazine=The American Historical Review |location=Oxford, England, UK |publisher=Oxford University Press |jstor=1841027 |ref={{sfnRef|"Thurlow Weed: A Character Study"}}}}

• {{cite web |url=https://www.tulane.edu/~sumter/Weed.html |title=Biography, Thurlow Weed |website=Crisis at Fort Sumter |publisher=Tulane University |location=New Orleans, LA |access-date=February 12, 2020 |ref={{sfnRef|"Biography, Thurlow Weed"}}}}
• {{cite web |url=https://www.tulane.edu/~sumter/Seward.html |title=Biography, William H. Seward |website=Crisis at Fort Sumter |publisher=Tulane University |location=New Orleans, LA |access-date=February 18, 2020 |ref={{sfnRef|"Biography, William H. Seward"}}}}
• {{cite web |url=https://www.wgpfoundation.org/historic-markers/thurlow-weed/ |title=Historic Marker: Thurlow Weed, Acra, New York |website=WGP Foundation.org |publisher=William G. Pomeroy Foundation |location=Syracuse, NY |access-date=February 13, 2020 |ref={{sfnRef|"Historic Marker"}}|date=2018-12-19 }}
• {{cite web |url=https://www.historynet.com/american-history-1840-us-presidential-campaign.htm |title=American History: 1840 U.S. Presidential Campaign |website=History Net.com |publisher=World History Group |location=Leesburg, VA |access-date=February 13, 2020 |ref={{sfnRef|"1840 U.S. Presidential Campaign"}}|date=June 12, 2006}}
• {{cite web |url=http://blueandgraytrail.com/event/1860_Republican_Convention |title=1860 Republican Convention |website=America's Civil War |publisher=Georgia's Blue and Gray Trail |access-date=February 18, 2020 |ref={{sfnRef|"1860 Republican Convention"}} |archive-date=May 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505135338/http://blueandgraytrail.com/event/1860_Republican_Convention |url-status=dead }}
• {{cite web |url=https://greatamericanhistory.net/nomination.htm |title=How Lincoln Won the 1860 Republican Nomination |last=Leidner |first=Gordon |date=2019 |website=Great American History |ref={{sfnRef|"How Lincoln Won the 1860 Republican Nomination"}}}}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/residents-visitors/notable-visitors/notable-visitors-thurlow-weed-1797-1882/ |title=Notable Visitors: Thurlow Weed (1797-1882) |date=2016 |website=Mr. Lincoln's White House |publisher=The Lehrman Institute |location=New York, NY |access-date=June 3, 2020 |ref={{sfnRef|"Notable Visitors: Thurlow Weed"}}}}
• {{cite web |url=https://www.ushistory.org/us/32d.asp |title=The Election of 1860 |website=US History.org |publisher=Independence Hall Association |location=Philadelphia, PA |access-date=June 3, 2020 |ref={{sfnRef|"The Election of 1860"}}}}
• {{cite web |url= http://www.mrlincolnandfriends.org/the-journalists/thurlow-weed/ |title=The Journalists: Thurlow Weed (1797-1882) |date=2016 |website=Mr. Lincoln and Friends |publisher=Independence Hall Association |location=Philadelphia, PA |access-date=June 3, 2020 |ref={{sfnRef|"The Journalists: Thurlow Weed"}}}}

• [http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/nyhs/weed.html Thurlow Weed Miscellaneous Manuscripts,1818-1882] New-York Historical Society
• [http://www.mrlincolnandnewyork.org/inside.asp?ID=67&subjectID=3 Mr. Lincoln and New York: Thurlow Weed] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050829085844/http://mrlincolnandnewyork.org/inside.asp?ID=67&subjectID=3 |date=2005-08-29 }}
• [http://www.mlwh.org/inside.asp?ID=40&subjectID=2 Mr. Lincoln's White House: Thurlow Weed]
• [https://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/finding-aids/AW39 Thurlow Weed Papers] at the University of Rochester
• {{Find a Grave|1085}}

{{Authority control}}

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