Initial Response Information:

Perhaps by researching William C. Seeley we can discover descendants whom Don can try to contact.
1930 census Housatonic, Great Barrington, Berkshire, MA (North Plain Rd)
– Seeley, William V, age 35, b. MA, MA, NY, lumber dealer, 1st md. at age 24
– Seeley, Martha L, age 27, b. NY, GER, GER, 1st md. at age 23

They are also listed there in 1940, still no children, William is farming.
1920 census Housatonic, Great Barrington, Berkshire, MA (North Plain Rd)
– Seeley, William C, age 69, b. MA, MA, NY, sawyer, lumber yard
– Seeley, Alice R, age 62, b. NY, NY, NY

Next house
– Seeley, William, Jr, age 24, b. MA, MA, NY, lumberman, lumber yard
– Seeley, Maud Irene, age 28, b. MA, IL, Australia

1910 census Great Barrington, Berkshire, MA (North Plain Rd)
– Seeley, William C, age 59, b. MA, MA, NY, farmer, md. 7 yrs. to
– Seeley, Alice R, age 53, b. NY, NY, NY, 1st marr., 1 child
– Seeley, Bessie A, age 24, calendar girl at paper mill; Edward H, age 21, sawyer at saw mill; William V, age 15; all b. MA, MA, NY

1900 census Great Barrington, Berkshire MA
– Seeley, William C, b. Aug 1850, MA, MA, NY, sawyer at lumber mill, 2nd marr., md. 17 yrs to
– Seeley, Alice, b. Apr 1857, NY, NY, NY, 1st marr., 1 child
– Seeley, Annie B, b. Jan 1879, CT, MA, MA, assembler in electric shop
– Seeley, Lulu M, b. Jan 1882, CT, MA, MA, bakery cashier
– Seeley, Ella M, b. Jun 1884, CT, MA, MA
– Seeley, Bessie A, b. Apr 1886; Edward H, b. Nov 1888; both b. MA, MA, MA
– Seeley, William B V, b. Jan 1895, MA, MA, NY
– Carmal, James S, boarder, b. Jun 1830, CAN, ENG, ENG, machinist at mill, md. 43 yrs

1880 census Andover, Tolland, CT
– Seeley, William C, age 28, b. MA, MA, MI, steam engineer in saw mill
– Seeley, Lilly, age, 16 b. MA, MA, MA
– Seeley, Ann, age 1, b. CT, MA, MA
– Williams, Aaron, age 61, father-in-law, b. MA, MA, MA, works in steam saw mill

1880 census Great Barrington, Berkshire, MA
– Seeley, William, age 62, b. MA, CT, CT, machinist
– Seeley, Margaret, age 61, b. NY, NY, NY
– Seeley, Stewart, age 21, b. MA, MA, NY, tinsmith, md. within yr.
– Seeley, Charles, age 36, laborer; Fred, age 22; Samuel, age 19, both tinsmiths; Ella, age 15; all b. MA, MA, NY
– Seeley, Anna, age 20, dau-in-law, b. MA, md. within yr.
– Seeley, Frank, age 5, grson, b. RI, MA, RI

1870 census Exeter, Washington, RI
– Seeley, William, age 52, b. MA, sawyer
– Seeley, Mary F, age 50, b. NY
– Seeley, Charles H, age 27; Albert A., age 25; William, age 20, all work in sawmill; Steward, age 16; Frederick, age 12; Samuel, age 9; Ella, age 6; all b. MA
– Noble, Edward, age 25, b. CT, teamer
– Ward, Frederick A, age 36, b. MA, carpenter
– Kilborn, Mark age 37, b. MA, works in sawmill

1865 census Great Barrington, Berkshire, MA
– Seeley, William, age 47, b. MA, sawyer
– Seeley, Mariette, age 46, b. NY
– Seeley, Charley H, age 21, soldier; Albert, age 18, laborer; John B, age 17; Wm C, age 15; Stewart and Julia, twins, age 11; Frederick, age 7; Samuel, age 3; Ella M, age 9 mos; all b. MA
– Seely, Sally, age 74, b. CT

1860 census Great Barrington, Berkshire, MA
– Seeley, Wm, age 41, b. MA, sawyer
– Seeley, Mariette, age 40, b. NY
– Seeley, Charles, age 16, laborer; Albert, age 15; John, age 13; William, age 10; Stewart and Julia, twins, age 6; Joel F and Frederick, twins, age 2; all b. MA
– Chapter, Horace, age 25, laborer b. MA

1855 census Great Barrington, Berkshire, MA
– Seeley, William, age 26, b. MA, miller
– Seeley, Maryette, age 28, b. NY
– Seeley, Charles, age 12; Albert, age 8; William, Jr, age 5; Stewart Annable and Julia Harrison, twins, age 15; all b. MA
– 16 others (not Seeley), mostly in late teens and 20s, working in mill or no occ. listed

1850 census Great Barrington, Berkshire, MA
– Seeley, Joel, age 60, b. MA, cooper
– Seeley, Sally, age 55, b. MA
– Seeley, William, age 22, b. MA, laborer
– Seeley, Mariette, age 21, b. MA
– Seeley, Chas, age 7; Albert, age 5; John, age 2; all b. MA
– Case, Emeline, age 35, b. NY

From previous research we have Joel Butler Seeley, b. 1788, New Haven, CT, md. to Sally A Allen in 1809 in Seneca Co., NY, son of Abraham, b. 1763, New Haven, CT, md. to Eunice Butler in 1787 in New Haven, son of Abraham, b. 1730, md. Mary Barnes in 1758 in New Haven. We do not know the ancestry of this Abraham Seeley (see Query 0808-6 on the SGS website).
From Findagrave.com: At Mahaiwe Cemetery, Great Barrington, MA
– Seeley, William C, b. 1850, d. 1921
– Seeley, Alice Van Valkenburgh, b. 1857, d. 12 Jan 1923, “His wife”
– Tremper, Ella M Seeley, dau. of William and Marietta Seeley, wife of William A, b. 1864, d. 22 Jun 1886. Ella had a dau. also named Ella M., who was b. 15 Jun 1886 and d. 17 Jun 1886

MA Town Vital Records:
– William C Seeley, b. 20 Aug 1850, Great Barrington, to William Seeley, shoemaker, b. Great Barrington, and his wife, Maryette, b. Austerlitz, NY
– Dau., b. April 1848, Great Barrington, to William and Mariette Seeley of Great Barrington
– Stewart A and Julia H Seeley, twins, b. 1 Feb 1854, Great Barrington, to William Seeley, shoemaker, b. Great Barrington, and his wife, Maryette, b. Austerlitz, NY
– Joel F. and Theodore Seeley, twins, b. 2 Feb 1858, Great Barrington, to William Seeley, shoemaker, b. Great Barrington, and his wife, Maryette, b. Austerlitz, NY
– Frederick Seeley, age 23, of Great Barrington, b. Great Barrington, to William and Mariette Seeley, tinsmith, md. 23 Nov 1881, Great Barrington, by Horace W Byruss, Minister of the Gospel, to Anna Dellert, age 19, b. Great Barrington, dau. of Frederic and Anna Dellert
– Stewart A. Seeley of Great Barrington, b. Great Barrington, to William and Mariette Seeley, age 26, tinsmith, md. 23 Jan 1880, Monterey, Berkshire, MA, by Rev A E Todd, Congregationalist Minister, to Anna L. Higgins, age, 20, of Monterey, b. Sheffield, to John and Anna Higgins, 1st marr. for both.
– Samuel Seeley, b. 6 Jun 1861, Great Barrington, to William Seeley, shoemaker, b. Great Barrington, and his wife, Maryette, b. Austerlitz, NY
– Ella M Seeley, age 21, of Great Barrington, b. Great Barrington, dau. of William and ___ Seeley, md. 2 Mar 1885, Great Barrington, by Evarts Scudder, Congregationalist Pastor, to William A Tremper, age 23, of NY City, bookkeeper, b. Rheinbeck, NY, to Edward and Amanda Tremper
– There is also a record for Ella and William’s mg., 30 Jun 1884, Sheffield, Berkshire, MA, by Fields? Hunnance?, pastor of the ME Church
– William Van V Seeley, b. 23 Jan 1895, Great Barrington, to William C Seeley, sawyer, b. Great Barrington, and his wife, Alice, b. Lexington, NY
– William Van V Seeley md. Maud Irene Crane in Great Barrington in 1919
– Annie Seeley, age 23, of Great Barrington, operative, b. CT, dau. of William C Seeley and Nellie Williams, md. 26 Nov 1902, Albany, NY, to Robert S Weeks, age 26, waiter, Great Barrington, b. West Stockbridge, Berkshire, MA, to Robert S Weeks and Kate Stevens
– Lulu M Seeley, age 19, b. and residing in Great Barrington, dau. of William C Seeley and Lillie Williams, md. 12 June 1901, Great Barrington, by H M Dumbell, Episcopal priest, to Frank W Barber, age 22, of Riverside, RI, salesman, b. Lexington, NY, to George B Barber and Mary E Gildersleeve
– Leah Alice Seeley, b. 5 Apr 1886, Great Barrington, to William C Seeley, lumberman, b. Great Barrington, and Lillie b. Alford
– Edward H Seeley, b. 12 Nov 1888, Great Barrington, to William C Seeley, sawyer, b. Great Barrington and Lillie
– Freda Agnes Seeley, b. 23 Jun 1887, Great Barrington, to Frederick T Seeley, clerk, and Anna M, both b. Great Barrington
– Raymond D Seeley, b. 21 Jun 1892, Great Barrington, to Frederick T Seeley, asst. undertaker, and Anna M Dellert, both b. Great Barrington
– Julia Seeley, age 14, of Egremont, Berkshire, MA, dau. of William and Mary, md. 13 Oct 1867, Egremont, to George Brayne, age 27, of Egremont, laborer, b. England, to William and Mary Brayne
– Ella M Seeley, age 24, of Great Barrington, bookkeeper, b. Bolton Notch, Tolland, CT, dau. of William C Seeley and Lillie Williams, md. 24 Dec 1908, Great Barrington, by HM Dumbell, to Frank J Oaks, age 28, of Albany, NY, hotel steward, b. Rochester, Monroe, NY, son of Joseph A Oaks and Philipena Reinhart

MA Death records
– Julia Brayen of Sheffield, aged 61 yrs., 2 mos, 22 days, d. 25 Apr 1910, Sheffield, of breast cancer; wife of George Brayen; b. Great Barrington, dau. of William Seeley, b. Great Barrington, and Marietta Curtis, b. Austerlitz, NY; bur. Greenlawn Cemetery, Great Barrington
– Albert A Seeley, aged 58, d. 8 Aug 1903, Pittsfield, Berkshire, MA, of bubular paralysis; b. Great Barrington to William Seeley, b. Great Barrington, and Mariette Curtis, b. Green River, NY; bur. Mahaive Cemetery, Great Barrington
– William Seeley, widower, aged 75 yrs., 9 mos., 30 days, d. 30 Nov 1893, Great Barrington, of paralysis; b. Great Barrington, to Joel Seeley, b. North Haven, CT, and Sally Allen, b. Springfield, Hampden, MA
– Joel F Seeley, aged 4 yrs., 3 mos., 11 days, d. 15 May 1862, Great Barrington, of chronic diarrhea, son of William and Mariette Seeley
– Edward H Seeley of Great Barrington, single, sawyer, d. 4 Oct 1910, Great Barrington, of typhoid fever; b. 12 Nov 1888, Great Barrington, to William C Seeley, b. Great Barrington, and Lillian Williams, b. Great Barrington; bur. Mahaive Cemetery, Great Barrington
– Frederick Theodore Seeley, d. 1940, Great Barrington
– Stewart Seeley aged 32, tinner, md., d. 24 May 1885, Great Barrington, of inflammation of the knee joint, son of William and Mariette Seeley, b. Great Barrington, MA, and Green River, NY

TN Death Records
Lulu Seeley Barber, b. 8 Jan 1882, Berkshire Co., MA, to William C and Lillian Williams Seeley, both b. Berkshire Co., MA; d. 22 Feb 1948, Nashville, Davidson, TN, of heart disease; resident of Fayetteville, Lincoln, TN; wife of Frank Barber; bur. Elmwood Cemetery, Great Barrington
WWI Draft (1917)
William Van Valkenburgh Seeley of No Plains, Housatonic, MA, b. 23 Jan 1895, Great Barrington, MA, farmer and lumber dealer, working for William Curtis Seeley, single, partially supports parents. He gives the same info for WWII Draft, naming Martha E Seeley as next of kin.
SSDI
– Name: William Seeley
– Birth: 23 Jan 1895
– Death: Jun 1985, West Stockbridge, Berkshire, MA
– Civil: Massachusetts

Here’s what I found about Frederick Theodore Seeley, son of William and Mariette Seeley:
1910 census Great Barrington, Berkshire, MA
– Seeley, Fred T, age 52, b. MA, MA, NY, repairer in repair shop, md. 29 yrs. to
– Seeley, Anna M, age 50, b. MA, MA, GER, 1 ch., 1 living
– Seeley, Raymond, age 18, b. MA, MA, MA
– Seeley, John B, age 62, brother, b. MA, MA, MA, widower, repairer
– (Fred, Anna, and John are still together in Great Barrington in the 1930 census)

In 1900 Anna has had 2 ch., 1 living; Fred is a furniture salesman.
1930 census Great Barrington, Berkshire, MA
– Seeley, Raymond D, age 38, b. MA, MA, MA, telephone tester for tel. co., md. 7 yrs. to
– Seeley, Margaret, age 38, b. MA, ENG, ENG
– Seeley, John S, age 4 yrs., 10 mos., b. MA, MA, MA

WWI Draft
– Raymond Dellert Seeley, b. 21 Jan 1892, Great Barrington, where he resides, instrument installer for phone co., md.

(Same info for WWII Draft, naming Mrs. Margaret Seeley as next of kin)
MAMI
– Raymond Dellert Seeley, age 23, telephone repairman, of Great Barrington, where he was b. to Fred T and Annie Dellert Seeley; md. 22 Dec 1915, Albany, Albany, NY, to Gladys Pearl Garrette, age 21, trained nurse, of Collinsville, CT, where she was b. to Wilfred W and Elizabeth Hyde Garrette
– Raymond D Seeley, md. 1922, Great Barrington, to Margaret Metcalfe

MADI
– Raymond D Seeley, aged 70, d. 1962, Great Barrington

Here’s what I found about Julia, dau. of William and Mariette Seeley:
1880 census Austerlitz, Columbia, NY
– Brayne, George, age 33, b. ENG, ENG, ENG, farmer
– Brayne, Julia, age, 26, b. MA, MA, MA
– Brayne, Willie, age 10; Minnie, age 7; Mary, age 3; Ella, age 1; all b. NY, ENG, MA

In Austerlitz in 1875 the ch. were George W, age 5, and Minnie, age 2 yrs., 6 mos. vIn 1900 in Chatham, Columbia, NY, Julia Brayne, b. Feb 1854, servant for Lewis Coons family, md., mother of 7 ch., 7 living.
1910 census Sheffield, Berkshire, MA
– Brayen, Charles E, age 25, b. MA, ENG, MA, trackman on steam road, md. 5 yrs. to
– Brayen, Ella E, age 24, b. CT, CT, CT
– Brayen, Julia, age 61, mother, b. MA, MA, MA, md, 7 ch., 6 living
– Brayen, Leon, age 10 mos., nephew, b. NY, NY, MA

(In 1920 in Sheffield Charles and Ella have adopted Leon and also have son Harry, age 6)
1900 census Canaan, Litchfield, CT
– Brayen, William, b. Feb 1870, NY, NY, NY, farmer, md., 7 yrs. to
– Brayen, Laura, b. Oct 1874, MA, MA, MA, 3 ch., 3 living
– Brayen, Fred, b. Aug 1894; Mary, b. Jul 1895; Emma, b. Jul 1898; all b. CT, NY, MA

1910 census Salisbury, Litchfield, CT
– Brayen, William G, age 41, b. NY, ENG, MA
– Frederick, age 16; Emma L, age 12; George, age 5; Charles S, age 4; Myrtie, age 11 mos., all b. CT, NY, CT
– LeForest, May E, age 17, dau., b. CT, NY, CT, md. 8 mos.
– Forest, Frederick, age 54, b. MA, MA, MA,
– LeForest, Garfield, age 24, b. CAN, CAN, CAN, md. 8 mos.
– Conklin, Delbert, age 42, b. CT, CT, NY

In 1920 William and Laura are in Montgomery, Orange, NY, with ch. George, age 18; Chas, age 16; and Myrtle, age 10.
In 1930 and 1940 William is widowed, living in Cazenovia, Madison, NY, with dau. Emma C LaGore and her dau. Julia, age 19 in 194-.
VTMI
Emma Seeley Brayen, age 28, of Austerlitz, NY, b. Alford, MA, dau of Geo Brayen, b. England, and Julia Seeley, b. Great Barrington, MA, md. 14 Aug 1915, Bennington, VT, to Walter Almstead Williams, age 24, of Pittsfield, MA, b. Austerlitz, NY, to Wm C Williams, b. Switzerland, and Mary E Almstead, b. Austerlitz, NY.
Here’s what I found about Ella, dau. of William C and Lillian Seeley:
1920 census Buffalo, Erie, NY
– Oaks, Frank J, age 39, b. NY, NY, NY, brush salesman
– Oaks, Ella, age 35, b. CT, CT, CT
– Oaks, Marjorie L, age 10; Frank J, age 8; both b. NY, NY, CT

Family still in Buffalo in 1925.
In 1910 Frank and Ella are md. 5 yrs., residing in Albany, Albany, NY, with dau. Margory, age 4 mos.
From Findagrave:
Frank Joseph Oaks, b. 1911, d. 1965, bur. Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, Erie, NY
Here’s what I found about Annie, dau. of William C and Lillian Seeley:
1930 census Great Barrington, Berkshire, MA
– Weeks, Robert S, age 53, b. MA, NY, ENG, barber, md. 28 yrs. to
– Weeks, Annie, age 51, b. CT, MA, MA
– Weeks, Robert, age 19; Kenneth, age 11; both b. MA, MA, CT
– Mulhall, Harry, age 55, roomer, b. MA, MA, MA, single, molder at bottle factory

MABI
Robert Franklin Weeks, b. 17 Oct 1910, Great Barrington, to Robert S and Annie Seeley Weeks
MADI
Harold Robert Weeks, age 5 mos., 17 days, son of Robert Weeks and Annie Seeley, d. 26 Jul 1909, Great Barrington
SSDI
– Name: Kenneth E. Weeks
– Birth: 24 May 1918
– Death: 31 Jul 1999, Great Barrington, Berkshire, MA
– Civil: Massachusetts

This research has provided many of entries for the Seeley Ancestor File but not any direct male descendants of William C or William V Seeley who were involved with the lumber mill. If anyone has pictures of North Plain Road from the 1920s or further information on this Seeley family, please contact Don and copy your query editor.

Responder: Query Editor