HON. SILAS E. SEELY. It is the good fortune of Oklahoma to have, among its citizens and public officers, a number of men who have served in positions of responsibility in other sections of the United States, and whose wide experience and superior ability quality them to aid in the progress of this territory. Among the number mention belongs to Silas E. Seely, who was elected to the territorial legislature in the fall of 1900, and has since given his attention largely to the discharge of the duties connected with that office. In addition, he superintends the management of his farm in Logan county, comprising the northwest quarter of section 33, township 15, range 3.

Mr. Seely was born in Oakland county, Mich., September 27, 1834, a son of Samuel and Susan (Clingen) Seely. His youth and early manhood were spent in Michigan, and he received an academic education in Northville, that state. In 1853 he went to Iowa, where he engaged in teaching, also served as deputy county treasurer and recorder of Guthrie county. Upon the death of the treasurer, he was appointed to fill the office, and while filling that position he devoted his leisure hours to reading law. In the spring of 1856 he moved to Nebraska, where, in connection with his duties as a teacher, he continued to study law, and was admitted to the bar in 1857. During the same year he was elected to the Nebraska legislature, where he served for two terms.

Upon the breaking out of the Civil war, Mr. Seely enlisted in the Second Nebraska Cavalry, and for nearly three years was acting captain of his company. Until his transfer to the department of Nebraska, he was connected with the department of Missouri, his service being principally upon the frontier. After the close of the war he bought a farm in Andrews county, Mo., and combined agriculture with the practice of law. In 1874 he was elected to the office of circuit clerk, and that position he filled for eight years. April 22, 1889, he made the run to Oklahoma, and secured some very good land in Guthrie, as well as the claim he now owns and manages. He is a stanch believer in Republican principles, and has cast his vote for every Republican presidential candidate since the candidacy of U.S. Grant. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.

In Pittsfield, Ill., in 1864, Mr. Seely married Mary I. Brown who was born in Quincy, Ill. Her parents were natives of New York, and her mother descended from the Adams family, of Revolutionary fame. Mr. and Mrs. Seely have two sons and four daughters, of whom two reside in Missouri and four in Oklahoma.

Pages 1089 – 1090, “Portrait and Biographical Record of Oklahoma,” Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, 1901.

[Son of SGS # 3040 – Silas Eber; Samuel (#3040); Jonas (#1320); John; John S; Obadiah; Obadiah; Obadiah]