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Seeley Genealogical Society
Chasing Robert, Obadiah, and...

Family Research

Dedicated to discovering, preserving, and sharing Seeley history—engaging in research, verification, discussion, and publication—to enrich our members’ understanding of and ensure our family legacy endures for generations to come.
Research Reports
Inside main hall of a large multi-story ornate library with a sweeping arched ceiling.

Curating Seeley Family Information

Discovering as much as we can about immigrants Robert & Obadiah as well as other Seeley immigrants—and tracing their descendants in order to help break through our collective "brick walls" and understand our lineage, is how the SGS focuses its research.
The SGS Board of Directors determines research objectives and priorities, and commissions professional researchers to pursue lines of inquiry of particular interest to the Society and it's membership.
We also invite members who are experiencing challenges in their family history research to submit a query to our Chief Genealogist. She will review your request and  help you uncover the information you seek.
Learn About the Query Process

Research Reports

Most of the reports on this page provide the researcher's methodology and resource citations.  They often include suggestions for further research as well, so whether a lot or little was discovered, knowing this information can help you focus your time with resources that haven't been explored instead of duplicating effort.

Reports Become Dated

Keep in mind, each research report is from a moment in time.  The researcher's findings and conclusions are based on the best known information they could find at the time within the scope of their objectives.  Later research reports may expand upon and find evidence that changes our knowledge of the facts, but previous reports are not updated.  For this reason, your due diligence in reviewing all the reports for each research subject is important.  One example is that two of the original immigrants, Robert and Obadiah, are not related (see below).

Website Addresses Go Stale

Websites get updated often so website addresses and links in the reports may no longer point to a live page.  You may see a few corrections to these if they're known.

Immigrants Robert Seeley (SGS #1) and Obadiah Seeley (SGS #4) Are Not Related

For many years, the Society, and others, thought immigrant Robert Seeley (who arrived in New England with the Winthrop Fleet in 1630) was related to immigrant Obadiah Seeley (who arrived abt. 1640). However, DNA analysis of descendants of both Robert Seeley’s son (Nathaniel Seeley) and Obadiah Seeley indicate Robert and Obadiah were not related - neither father/son nor brothers nor even close cousins.  So be aware, earlier reports on these immigrants and other sources of information beyond the Society will still state they are related, but we know now that's not the case. 

Research on Immigrant Robert Seeley (SGS #1)

Robert Seeley:  b. 1602  d. October 11, 1667 (New York, NY)
Sailing with the Winthrop Fleet from England, Robert immigrated and settled in the Massachusetts Colony in 1630, making him one of the first known Seeleys in North America.  He is the beginning of one of two primary descendant lines of Seeleys on the continent.  The following research into Robert's ancestry, therefore, is of special interest to the Society.
Public Members Only

The English Ancestry of Robert Seeley (1602-1666)

March 1987
View Report
Author
Alan J. Phipps, Accredited Genealogist
Summary
Genealogical research instigated by the Utah branch of the descendants of Robert Seeley into his ancestry has added many new details and changed still others to the account of his origin by Ralph M. Seeley, published in July 1962 in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register. The research has been conducted intermittently 1976-86 by myself, an Accredited Genealogist, using the microfilmed and printed records of the Genealogical Society of Utah and by personal visit to record repositories in London and Huntingdon, England.

What We Know About Robert Seeley

September 2007
View Report
Author
Kathie Olsen (former SGS President)
Summary
Robert was off on new adventures all his life! He left his native Huntingdonshire to take up an apprenticeship in London. He left that life to join the Winthrop Fleet and come to the new world. He settled in Watertown, Mass. in 1630... and from there lead adventure-filled life.

The Eel-Catcher's Travels: Robert Seeley 1602-1667
(Excerpts from the book)

October 2012
View Report (external link)
Author
Carol Seeley Scott
Summary
Robert Seeley, one of the founders of Wethersfield, left no written records of his own from which today we can judge his character and personality, but from his life we can infer a number of attributes.

Robert Seeley's Ancestry Examined

May 1, 2019
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Author
Apryl Cox, Accredited Genealogist
Summary
The objectives of this project were to continue to check the accuracy of the ancestry of Robert Seeley (b. 1602) as seen on FamilySearch Family Tree, obtaining documentation for each generation. Beginning with verifying Robert’s great-grandparents, William Seeley and Elizabeth Burr.

Research on Immigrant Obadiah Seeley (SGS #4)

Obadiah Seeley: b. 1614 (England) d. Aug. 25, 1657 (Stamford, CT)
Obadiah has been established living in Stamford, CT in the 1640's. He is the beginning of one of two primary ancestral lines of Seeley's in North America (the other being Robert Seeley (SGS# 1)). As such, Obadiah's ancestry and lineage is of significant interest to the Society.
Public Members Only

Hart Research on Obadiah
(Part 1)

December 29, 1998
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Author
Fredrick C. Hart Jr., Certified Genealogist
Summary
Advance the understanding of the career of the first Obadiah Seeley in Stamford, particularly concerning any clues to his origin. Specifically, compile a comprehensive listing of all primary records in which he is named.

Hart Research on Obadiah
(Part 2)

February 22, 1999
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Author
Fredrick C. Hart Jr., Certified Genealogist
Summary
Determine: (1) Records relating to a relationship between Obadiah Seeley and John Lawre(n)son, and (2) Records relating to a relationship between Obadiah Seeley and the family of John Miller.

Hart Research on Obadiah
(Part 3)

March 13, 1999
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Author
Fredrick C. Hart Jr., Certified Genealogist
Summary
Determine: (3) If the parish register of St. Martin, Birmingham, Warwickshire contains names that are associated with other Stamford settlers, and (4) If any clues to the origin of Obadiah Seeley result from examining the known origins of other Stamford settlers.

Hart Research on Obadiah
(Part 4)

June 25, 1999
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Author
Fredrick C. Hart Jr., Certified Genealogist
Summary
Investigate the identity of Obadiah's wife Mary, formerly the wife of John Miller of Wethersfield and Stamford.

Hart Research on Obadiah
(Part 5)

December 31, 1999
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Author
Fredrick C. Hart Jr., Certified Genealogist
Summary
Continue research on Obadiah's English origin.

Stott Research Outline on Obadiah Seeley

April 27, 2006
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Author
Clifford L. Stott, Certified Genealogist, A.G.
Summary
Observations and recommendations for research into Obadiah after a review of the materials sent by the Seeley Genealogical Society.

Stott Research Report on Obadiah Seeley

July 22, 2006
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Author
Clifford L. Stott, Certified Genealogist, A.G., FASG
Summary
This report discusses the results of the research objectives described in Stott's research outline dated April 27, 2006. The results were largely unproductive. No additional evidence of any real value was found. This report discusses what was done and provides suggestions for other research.

Inventories of the Estates of Obadiah Seeley (SGS #4) & Obadiah Seeley (SGS #17)

Nov. 2007 & feb. 2008
View Report
Author
Karl Weiler, Former SGS Chief Genealogist
(Documents interpreted by Clifford L. Stott, Certified Genealogist, A.G., FASG)
Summary
Summary: Searching for more proof that the Obadiah (SGS #4) in records in England are for the same Obadiah who appears in New England records starting in the 1640's. Obadiah (SGS #17) is the oldest son of Obadiah (SGS #4).

Obadiah Seeley

February 15, 2016
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Author
Apryl Cox, Accredited Genealogist
Summary
The objectives of this project were to (1) determine if Sarah Seelie was christened at St. Martin’s Birmingham parish or at Sheldon parish in Warwickshire, (2) determine when and where Obadiah Bruen (husband of Sarah Seelie) died, and (3) pursue the Augustus Seeley line in New York.

Obadiah Seeley Lineage

August 11, 2017
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Author
Apryl Cox, Accredited Genealogist
Summary
The objective of this project was to continue research on Obadiah Seeley’s ancestry in England by (1) continuing with probate research in an attempt to prove or disprove Thomas and Elizabeth Bissell as the parents of William Bissell (b. abt. 1547), (2) seeking the parents of Alice Chamber who was probably born in the late 1540s or early 1550s, and (3) locating the marriage of William Seeley and Anne or Alice Bloxish, and continuing to extend their lines.

Full Genealogical Lineage Report for Obadiah Seeley (PDF)

August 11, 2017
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Author
Compiled on April 17, 2018 from a GEDCOM File Created by Apryl Cox, Accredited Genealogist
Summary
Ancestors of Obadiah Seeley including the Birch, Bissell, Bloxish, Chamber, Collins, and Greve families.

Obadiah Seeley, Early American Records

May 25, 2018
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Author
Apryl Cox, Accredited Genealogist
Summary
A list of immigrant Obadiah Seeley's ancestors looking back four generations - as far back as the late 1400's and early 1500's.

Research on Immigrant Augustus Seeley

Augustus Seeley: b. abt. 1739 (New England, probably Boston) d. unknown
Augustus has a lot of descendants, but his parents have not been identified and therefore his lineage is not clear. DNA evidence suggests he is related in some way to Obadiah (SGS #4). The hope of research into Augustus is to confirm the gap between him and two or three generations back to tie him into his 1700's ancestors. This could help clear up a number of brick walls various Seeley's have come up against.

Augustus Seeley

April 19, 2016
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Author
Apryl Cox, Accredited Genealogist
Summary
Summary: The objectives of this project were to:
(1) locate the military record that stated Augustus Seeley was born in Boston,
(2) seek records in Massachusetts that might prove Seeleys lived in Boston about the time Augustus Seeley was purportedly born there,
(3) trace the men identified in the previous report who are candidates to be Augustus Seeley’s father,
(4) search for records in Elizabethtown, Leeds, Canada, that may provide information about Augustus Seeley’s living relations or his ancestry, and
(5) consider the possibility that Seeley families may have lived in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, in the mid-1700s as Berkshire borders Rensselaer County, New York (where the Brisbins lived).

The first four objectives were addressed during this project, but only the first objective was fully met. The other objectives require additional research time.

In Search of Augustus Seeley

August 1, 2018
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Author
Bruce Murduck
Summary
Bruce Murduck, a family-historian who specializes in Ontario research, has researched land records, Loyalist records, etc., for SGS. This first report deals mostly with Augustus Seeley. "Augustus Seeley, United Empire Loyalist, seems a very elusive character..."

Land Title Transfer Records Pertaining to Augustus Seeley's Land Ownership in Lancaster Township, Glengarry County, Ontario, Canada

May 25, 2020
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Author
Bruce Murduck
Summary
In this report, Murduck attempts to find references to Augustus Seeley in Canadian land records.

Early Lists of Loyalists (American Revolution)

Loyalist was the term of self-identification for British subjects in the Thirteen Colonies of British America who remained loyal to the British crown. It was initially coined in 1774 when political tensions rose prior to the outbreak of the American Revolution and throughout the period. They were often also referred to as Tories, Royalists, or King's Men at the time.

Early Lists of Loyalists in Upper Canada

April 19, 2016
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Author
Bruce Murduck
Summary
Beginning in 1796, all Loyalists residing in what had become, after 1792, the Province of Upper Canada, were required to appear before a magistrate, proclaim that they had adhered to the royal standard during the American Rebellion, and swear an oath of allegiance. Seeleys who did so from 1796 to 1803 were recorded and are listed in this report.

Note: Bruce Murduck, a family-historian who specializes in Ontario research, has researched land records, Loyalist records, etc., for SGS. His first report, carried in the August 2018 SGS Newsletter dealt mostly with Augustus Seeley. In this report Murduck lists early Seeley Loyalists in Upper Canada.
Genealogy is an ongoing journey, full of unexpected discoveries. The information here reflects our best knowledge at the moment, but it may have gaps or the occasional error. And, it will change as we learn more.