| Summary: | George Henry Seymour (1818-1869) was a Royal Navy Officer who became a Third Naval Lord. He descends from a distinguished line of Royal Navy Admirals, including his grandfather Lord Hugh Seymour, his father Sir George Francis Seymour and his father-in-law Sir George Cranfield Berkeley. Seymour joined the Royal Navy in 1831 and was promoted to Captain in 1844. He commanded the HMS Pembroke during the Crimean War, and also commanded the HMS Victory, HMS Hero, and HMY Victoria and Albert. In 1863 he was promoted to Rear Admiral, and served as a Third Naval Lord between 1866 and 1868. From 1865 to 1869, he served as a Conservative Member of Parliament for Antrim. Fonds consists of a travel journal kept by Vice-Admiral George Henry Seymour when he accompanied Edward VII, Prince of Wales (later King of England) for a tour of the Province of Canada, including a visit to Niagara Falls. The journey begins from Plymouth Sound, with subsequent entries at Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston, Belleville, Toronto, Niagara, Halifax, and Portland. Highlights of the tour include encounters with Governors Sir Alexander Bannerman (Newfoundland) and George Dundas (Prince Edward Island), the Governor General [Sir Edmund Walker Head], Sir George Simpson (Governor-in-Chief of the Hudson’s Bay Company), Charles Blondin,(tightrope walker), and First Nations tribes. Also contains two letters written by Seymour to his family during the tour, and copies of a letter inquiring about an incident in which a vessel had hit ground at the entrance to the Saguenay River. Also included are two certificates of appointment to Seymour from the Admiralty relating to HMS Hero and a large map showing the British Provinces of North America in 1860.
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