A prominent position among the well-to-do farmers and dairymen of Orange County is held by this gentleman, who is the fortunate possessor of one of the finest farms within its bounds. It is two hundred and five acres in extent, and is embellished with all necessary outbuildings of modern build, besides a handsome brick residence, conveniently arranged and finished, and furnished in a manner which indicates its occupants to be people of taste and means.

Mr. Seely was born in the town of Goshen, September 14, 1845, and was the eldest but one of the family of Charles B. and Hannah J. (Coleman) Seely, also natives of the above town, within whose bounds their entire lives were spent. The father was a prominent agriculturist of this locality, and his death, which occurred in 1893, was widely felt and mourned, for in him the county lost one of its best citizens. The Seely family are landmarks in Orange County, for the grandparents of our subject were also born and reared here.

Fred B., of this sketch, spent his early life on the home farm. When but a lad he received a serious injury, being thrown from a horse, which injured his spine and prevented him from performing manual labor. He received his primary schooling at Chester, after which he attended business college at Poughkeepsie. When a young man of twenty years he assumed the management of the Chester Flour and Feed-mills, successfully carrying on the same for a period of twenty-two years. About that time, desirous of settling down to a life of quiet and comfort, he purchased this property, which is one of the most beautiful and attractive estates within the county. As stated before, it comprises over two hundred acres of tillable land, adorned with a fine set of modern buildings and a handsome brick residence. This abode is furnished tastily, and is presided over by a most intelligent and worthy lady.

Mr. Seely makes dairy farming his chief occupation, and has between seventy and eighty cows. Although his experience as a farmer is not of such long standing as many of the citizens of the county, he is widely known and highly regarded, and is classed among its best residents. When ready to establish a home of his own, Mr. Seely was married, in December, 1873, to Miss Ruth A., daughter of Cornelius B. and Julia Ann (Young) Davis, both natives of Orange County. The father is still living, at the venerable age of eighty-two, while his wife is many years his junior. Mr. and Mrs. Seely have been blessed by the birth of four children, named, respectively, Howard, Julia Y., Floyd and Fred B., Jr. They are bright and intelligent, and are all attending school, it being the desire and ambition of their parents that they may be well educated. With their three eldest children the parents are members of the Presbyterian Church at Chester. In politics Mr. Seely is a Democrat, and is consequently opposed to monopolies of all kinds. He has never aspired to official honors, yet is always ready and willing to do his part in advancing the best interests of the community.

Pages 696-699, “Portrait and Biographical Record of Rockland and Orange Counties New York,” published by Chapman Publishing Co., New York and Chicago, 1895.

[Son of Charles Board SGS # 3890 – Fred B.; Charles Board (SGS # 3890) Thaddeus ; Thaddeus; Thaddeus; Ebenezer, Jonas; Obadiah]