James M. Seymour

James Madison Seymour (January 30, 1837 – April 1, 1905) was the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, from January 1, 1896, to January 1, 1903.

Biography He was born on January 30, 1837, in New York City. At the age of two, in 1839, Seymour's father died in a yellow fever epidemic in New Orleans. His mother remarried Jose Vantana, and the family went to reside in Spain. Seymour attended St. Austin's College in Cádiz. At the age of 17 he began an apprenticeship at Novelty Iron Works of New York and was subsequently employed by the Erie Railroad. When he was 21, in 1858, he was appointed master mechanic of a railroad from Matanzas to Puerto Príncipe in Cuba, and later worked for two years as chief engineer of a large Cuban sugar plantation.

Seymour was a candidate for Mayor of Newark in 1894 but lost by nearly 5,000 votes. He ran for mayor again in 1896 and won by a margin of 3,396 votes. He was re-elected as mayor in 1898 and 1900.

Seymour died in 1905 at his Newark, New Jersey, home at the age of 68.