PIONEER IRON MAN DIES — BOUDINOT SEELEY PREDECESSOR OF STEEL KINGS — Successful Manufacturer of Days Before Civil War Passes Away In Portland
The Oregon Daily Journal, 24 July 1910
July 25, 1910, Oregonian – Boudinot Seeley, who died in this city Saturday night, was one of the pioneer captains of industry in the great coal and iron regions of Ohio. Long before the world had ever heard of Andrew Carnegie, H. C. Frick, or any of the modern steel and iron kings, or before the Lake ore region had been discovered, Mr. Seeley was making charcoal iron and shipping it down the Ohio River to St. Louis and other early manufacturing centers.
Boudinot Seeley was born on a farm in Ohio in 1822. He left the farm and located himself at Buckhorn Furnace, Ohio, in 1843 and became one of the first successful pig iron manufacturers in the Ohio Valley. He was so successful in that industry that he retired with a fortune in 1869. Before and during the Civil War, he took an active part in politics and was the personal friend and associate of such noted abolitionists as the late Gideon Wells, Joshua Giddings, and Ben Wade: Salmon P. Chase and other famous leaders of the day.
While Mr. Seeley was engaged in the iron trade, his eldest son, L. B. Seeley, and E. W. Crichton were learning the business with him. When the Oswego Iron Works were running at full blast in the early ‘70s, L. B. Seeley came to Portland and took charge of the works.
He was followed a year later by Mr. Crichton. Soon afterward, Captain U. B. Scott, who had been engaged in manufacturing axes at Ironton, Ohio, and had been an intimate friend of the Seeleys, came to Oregon and became associated with the Seeleys and Crichton in the steamboat business. In building and operating the steamers, Ohio, Fleetwood, Telephone, Flyer, and other famous crafts, these men man much transportation history in the Pacific Northwest.
Boudinot Seeley came to Oregon in 1893 to visit his children and look over the investments made in this new country. He was accompanied by his wife and intended to stay a month, but they decided to make it their home here. They celebrated their golden wedding at Flavel, Oregon, in 1898, with all their six children present. Mrs. Seeley died in 1904, and since then, Mr. Seeley has made his home with his daughter, Mrs. Anna Bernard.
The surviving children are Mrs. A. H. Tuttle, wife of Professor Tuttle, of the University of Virginia; L. B. Seeley and Mrs. Anna Bernard, of this city; Uri Seeley, of Seattle; E. A. Seeley, of the City of Mexico, and Orville W. Seeley of Austinberg, O. Ever since his arrival in Oregon Mr. Seeley has taken an active interest in the development of the country. The funeral will be held at the Crematorium at 3 o’clock today.
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