Seth Newman

Mayor from 1888-1890

Seth Newman was born on December 7, 1836 in Russia, Herkimer County, New York. His early education was at Fairfield Academy. He studied law at Buffalo, New York and interned at the law firm of Sarwin & Lockwood in that city. He was admitted to the bar in 1860. He practiced law at Erie, Pennsylvania.

In 1861 he moved to Iowa, practiced law in Waterloo and Independence. He married Laura F. Newell and had two daughters. In 1882 he moved to Fargo and formed a law practice with V. S. Stone until 1891 when he went into practice with William C. Rosser. In 1893 he joined the firm Spalding & Phelps, which eventually became Newman, Spalding & Stambaugh. He later withdrew from this firm and joined Holt and Frame.

He held interest in the Fargo Gas & Electric Co. and was a stockholder and director of the First National Bank. He was elected mayor in 1888. He resigned as mayor on March 24, 1890 due to a conflict of interest in a city contract. He served in the N.D. State Legislature from 1893-1894. In September 1899, the State Bar of North Dakota was formed and Seth Newman served as the organizations first president. He died in Fargo on August 13, 1906. As a hobby, Seth Newman enjoyed inventing gadgets. One such invention allowed him to operate his house furnace while lying in bed by means of buttons and levers.