The Napier Family
Francis Napier, or the 10th Lord Napier, was the British Minister to the United States in the late 1850s. Lord and Lady Napier and their children were quite close with the Sewards, and they often are mentioned in Fanny’s 1859 diary entries. Fanny was clearly fond of the family, especially Lord Napier, who gave a special present to his “friend.” They are not mentioned after 1859 since the Lord and his family returned to the United Kingdom and were replaced by the next Minister, Lord Lyons. While serving his brief tenure in Washington, Lord Napier was suspected of being pro-slavery and pro-Monroe Doctrine. This is interesting, seeing that Seward was anti-slavery yet a passionate proponent of America’s westward expansion. Seward struggled with maintaining neutrality and a positive relationship with England during the Civil War, after Napier was stationed elsewhere.
“Since Lady Napier is gone my little book shall be the last to chronicle her defects, which like all other persons were numerous—I cannot deny that I was disappointed in her, but I will not write down her faults, trust in that I should desire others to do the same by me.”