William Henry Seaman (November 15, 1842 – March 8, 1915) was an American lawyer, jurist and Wisconsin pioneer. He served 22 years as a United States federal judge, first as a United States district judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin (1893–1905), and then as a judge of the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (1905–1915). Prior to his judicial service, he was the 21st mayor of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and served in the Union Army for nearly the entire American Civil War.
William Henry Seaman
Born 1842 in New Berlin, WI
Died 1915 in Coronado Beach, CA
FJC ID: 2135
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 2/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 2/year
Wisconsin Eastern District Court · 1893–1905U.S. Circuit Courts for the Seventh Circuit · 1905–1911Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals · 1905–1915
Both charts share the same year axis. Opinion counts include only opinions in our corpus attributed to this judge so far — a year at zero can mean an attribution gap, not judicial silence. Influence typically outlasts the career: citations keep climbing after the last opinion.
- Gender
- Male
- Race
- White
Prior employment
- Private practice, Sheboygan, Wisconsin1868–1893
Quartermaster DepartmentU.S. Army chief clerk · 1864–1866- U.S. Army sergeant1861–1864
- Sheboygan, WisconsinMayor
- Sheboygan, WisconsinAlderman
Appointments
1905–1911 · Appointed by Theodore Roosevelt (Republican)Term ended: Abolition of Court- 1905–1915 · Appointed by Theodore Roosevelt (Republican)Term ended: Death
1893–1905 · Appointed by Grover Cleveland (Democratic)Term ended: Appointment to Another Judicial Position
Education
- Read law1868