The early work of the Seeley Genealogical Society was to gain members and begin compiling Seeley information.  They began by scanning through physical phone books - remember those?  They sent out queries all across the country to any Seeley they found asking what ancestor information they might have.  The responses came in and the first SGS Genealogist, Esther Walter,  began compiling the information.  Much of that information was the foundation for the first of the "generation" books published for the SGS by Madeline Mills and Kathy Olsen. Unfortunately, Esther's house was struck by lightning in 1982 and most of the original documents were lost in the ensuing fire, though not all.

By the late 1990's, the Society decided to house family documents, materials, and artifacts at the Seelye Mansion in Abilene, Kansas.  The Seelye Research Center (SRC) was formally established in 1997 by Marshall Seelye, then President of SGS, and Terry Tietjens, owner of the Seelye Mansion.

Concerted efforts began to organize the SRC in 2003 resulting in a filing system in 2004 devised by James Seeley, SGS President.  In 2006, James Seeley asked Pam Turner to be the Librarian.  She's held that post ever since.  With Pam's consistent leadership, the SGS board established a mission statement and acquisition policy in 2015 to help guide the scope of the collection. This provided the criteria from which acquisition decisions are made.

With the fire destroying Ester's house and Seeley files always in mind, Pam has been hard at digitizing the collection so it's at least protected in two different ways.  Organization work is never-ending at the SRC as new materials come in.

The establishment of the SRC has had a profound effect on the collection of Seeley genealogical data, allowing for a centralized location for collection, protection, and use for generations to come.