From Seeley Genealogical Society Newsletter #95
- February, 1998, Page 18
Seeley Lake, Montana
Seeley Lake is a small town on the banks of a lake of the same name, located in the Swan Mountain range of western Montana, near Missoula. The lake was named after its first substantial homesteader, Jasper Byron Seely, who settled on the lakeshore, and ultimately became the first Forest Ranger for the southern half of the Lewis and Clark Reserve in 1889.
Jasper Byron Seely was born in Niles, Michigan, 12 Oct 1857. He was the son of Nathanial Richmond Seely and Ann Haggarty. He was said to be a grandson of a British Member of Parliament, also named J. B. Seely. At age 16, he was a schoolteacher in Osceola Co., MI, and at the age of 23 he left for Washington State where he worked in the timber industry. A year later, he moved to Montana as a timber scout for one of the largest lumber mills in Montana.
Seely built his first cabin on the south end of what was then Clearwater Lake, which he probably only occupied during the fair months of the year. In 1889, he became a partner in the Jakway and Faust Mercantile at Drummond, MT. He apparently had the time and energy to run a small stage line and mail delivery contract from Drummond to Woodworth, and began to raise cattle on his land at the lake.
In 1893, Seely married Leonora Turrell, daughter of George Turrell, who owned a ranch near Ovando, near the mouth of the south fork of the Blackfoot River. The Seelys continued to live at the lake, raising a large herd of cattle, and trapping furs during the winter months. Leonora had a large garden where she raised vegetables and flowers and Jasper cleared a large field to raise hay for his stock. Life on the Seely farm was hard, but comfortable work according to Ruth Odom, one of the Seely children.
In a 1930 interview, five months before he died, Seely told a reporter “Those were real days. Friends would come to see us from Butte and from Missoula. They would hunt and fish. Game was plentiful. I recall killing twelve bears in one season. A bear pelt was worth thirty dollars. Many of the pelts were made into robes for use on our beds. The bears never molested our cattle then. Now and then bands of Indians would pass through. They were friendly to us.”
The Flathead Indians would camp near the Seely place on their way to and from the South Fork country on their fall hunting trips. The Indian women traced the feet of the Seely children when they stopped on their way into the South Fork and upon their return a few weeks later would present the Seely children with beaded moccasins.
Jasper Seely died in Helena in 1931. Leonora Seely and daughter Doris, died in an automobile accident near Somers in 1953. In addition to Ruth Seely Odom mentioned above, who lived in California, Francis Seely Johnson lived in Helena. Two grandsons, Dick and Bill Samson, and a granddaughter, Jane Seely Solberg contributed to the biography of J. B. Seely, by J. D. Black, on which the above notes are based.
[Jasper Bryon is son of SGS # 2653 – Jasper Byron; Nathaniel R. (# 2653); Horace (#950); Nathaniel; Justus; John; Benjamin; Nathaniel; Robert]
Pioneer Seeley Family Holds Helena Reunion
HELENA – Four descendants of a pioneer Montana family were reunited last week in Helena before leaving for a pilgrimage to sites of family homes.
Brad Seeley of Whitefish, and sisters, Mrs. Stuart (Ruth) Odom of Long Beach; Mrs. James (Jess) Castell, San Diego; Mrs. Thomas (Frances) Johnson, and Mrs. R.J. (Joyce) Carstensen, both of Helena, are children of J.B. Seeley, who homesteaded at Seeley Lake, and for whom the lake was named. Their mother, the former Leonora Turrell, was born in 1873, in Helena, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Washington Turrell.
Two of the eldest Seeley daughters, Jess and Ruth, were born at Seeley Lake, where their parents were engaged in ranching. Their father was employed by the U.S. Department of Interior before coming here in the early 1900’s as forest supervisor. He retired at Missoula with the greatest number of years service to his credit.
The pilgrimage will in include visits to Ovando, site of the Turrell homestead, thence to Seeley Lake, Whitefish, Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park.
Published in The Daily Inter Lake (Kalispell, MT), Wednesday August 15, 1962, page 5