Seeley, Son & Company, Contractors and Architects
Principals:
Marquis (or Marcus) Franklin Seeley, Fremont, Nebraska, c. 1875-1903; Chicago, Illinois, 1905-1909
Joseph S. Seeley, Fremont, Nebraska, 1880-1900, 1905; Sheyboygan, Wisconsin, 1903, 1906
Partner:
Charles R. DeLaMatyr, Fremont, Nebraska
Seeley, Son & Company of Fremont was comprised of Marquis (or Marcus) Franklin Seeley (1828-1909), his son Joseph S. Seeley (1854-1923) and Charles R. DeLaMatyr, all in Fremont.[7][8] The Seeleys were involved in elevator building in Nebraska by the mid-1870s and were carpenters in Fremont before 1880. By 1885, "Seeley, Son & Co." were listed in the Fremont city directory. A Fremont newspaper reported in 1889 that they were "Fremont's leading contracting firm" with 110 men employed on a half dozen projects.[13] The company built such major structures as the Dodge County Courthouse (1889-1890), Nuckolls County Courthouse (1890) and the U.S. Post Office in Fremont in 1892, and advertised as "architects and contractors" in 1891-1892. But elevator building throughout the region apparently remained a key focus. The company was no longer listed among architects in Fremont from 1903 on. DeLaMatyr was still employed by the Seeleys in 1906-1907, then he was listed as an elevator builder (without mention of the Seeleys) in the 1908 Fremont directory and as an architect and civil engineer in 1910-1911.
This page is a contribution to the publication, Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. See the format and contents page for more information on the compilation and page organization.
Contents
Compiled Nebraska Directory Listings
Fremont, Nebraska, 1885-1892, 1903, 1905, 1910-1911.
Educational & Professional Associations
c. 1885-1907: elevator builders, Fremont, Nebraska.
1891-1892: architects and contractors, Fremont, Nebraska.
Other Associations
1885: Everett E. Hanks (1850-1912), Fremont, Nebraska.[10][11][d]
c. 1885-1907: employed Charles R. DeLaMatyr, architect and civil engineer.
1893, 1896: employed A. H. Dyer, for at least two projects.[3][16]
Buildings & Projects
Construction of Dodge County Courthouse (1889-1890), Fremont, Nebraska.[1][13][a]
German American bank (1889), Fremont, Nebraska.[13]
Fremont pump house (1889), Tenth Street, Fremont, Nebraska.[13]
Postmaster Wolcott house (1889), I Street, Fremont, Nebraska.[13]
Watson house (1889), Fremont, Nebraska.[13]
Construction of Nuckolls County courthouse (1890), Nelson, Nebraska.[14][a]
"[T]wo fine ones [houses] (1890) Sixth Street near I, Fremont, Nebraska.[15]
Superintended construction of U. S. Post Office (1892), Fremont, Nebraska.[2][b]
Construction of Blumenthal Clothing Store Building (1893), Fremont, Nebraska.[3][c]
Seeley, Son & Company bid on new Fillmore County court house (1893), Geneva, Nebraska.[19][g]
A "large grain elevator" (1893), Indian Territory.[4]
Elevator (1895), Omaha, Nebraska.[18]
Elevator and drying kilns (1896), "five-acre tract of land immediately south of the Fremont Brewing Company's plant, Fremont, Nebraska.[16][e]
"100,000 bushel elevator" by "the Seeley company" (1897), Coffeyville, Kansas.[5]
300,000 bushel elevator (1902), at Germantown, near Philadelphia.[17]
Notes
a. When the Dodge County Courthouse burned in December 1915, a sidebar to the main newspaper story noted "The ruined building was erected in 1889 and 1890 by Seeley, Son & Co., of Fremont" and added "Charles R. DeLaMatyr, who was connected with the company, was in active charge of the construction. Mr. DeLaMatyr is now clerk of Fremont." The designer of the Dodge County Courthouse of 1889-1890 was George E. McDonald of Fremont.[1] McDonald also designed the Nuckolls County Courthouse, built by the Seeleys in 1890.
b. DeLaMatyr was identified as the superintendent, on behalf of Seeley, Son & Company.[3]
c. Attributed to A. H. Dyer, in association with Seeley & Son.
d. Hanks was listed among the Seeley, Son and Company employees and as a resident of Fremont in the 1885 Fremont city directory. He was a carpenter in Hooper, Nebraska in 1880 and a carpenter in Fremont in 1900.[10][11][12]
e. A Fremont newspaper reported on development of a chicory processing facility in Fremont in 1896, noting "The plans for the buildings have been drawn by Seeley, Son & Co and A. H. Dyer..."[16]
f. C. R. DeLaMatyr traveled to Omaha to "look after" this elevator-building contract.[18]
g. C. R. DeLaMatyr went to Geneva, Nebraska to present the Seeley company bid to build the Fillmore County courthouse.[19]
References
1. "Dodge County Court House Burns--Raging Flames Almost Entirely Ruin Fine $75,000 Building," Fremont (Nebraska) Tribune (December 6, 1915), 1 (illustrated with photo of building ablaze).
2. "Superintendent Appointed," Fremont (Nebraska) Tri-Weekly Tribune (May 26, 1892), 4.
3. Fremont Tribune (May 20, 1893), 4:2.
4. "Personals...Charles R. DeLa Martyr returned yesterday from Indian Territory...," Fremont (Nebraska) Tri-Weekly Tribune (July 4, 1893), 4.
5. "Personals...Charles DeLaMatyr went to Coffeeville [sic], Kan...," Fremont (Nebraska) Tri-Weekly Tribune (June 15, 1897), 3.
6. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census, s.v. "Marcus Seeley," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.
7. Ancestry.com. Cook County, Illinois, U.S., Deaths Index, 1878-1922, s.v. "Marquis F. Seeley," [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
8. Ancestry.com. U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current, s.v. "Joseph Sterling Seeley," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
9. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census, s.v. "Joseph S. Seeley" (in Brazoria County, Texas), [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
10. Ancestry.com. U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current, s.v. "Everett E. Hanks," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
11. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census, s.v. "E. E. Hanks," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.
12. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census, s.v. "Everett E. Hanks," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
13. "A Small Army.--Something About the Laborers in Our City," Fremont (Nebraska) Tri-Weekly Tribune (October 24, 1889), 5.
14. "Personal....Ben Bolt...went down to Nelson to look after...work on the new Nuckkoll's county court house which Seeley, Son & Co., are building." Fremont (Nebraska) Tribune (April 21, 1890), 4.
15. "A Few Improvements," Fremont (Nebraska) Tribune (April 28, 1890), 4.
16. "The German Chicory Co.--It will build large dry kilns at Fremont," Fremont (Nebraska) Tri-Weekly Tribune (August 1, 1896), 5.
17. "Local Brevities...."Seeley, Son & Co. have just been awarded a big contract for an elevator at Germantown, near Philadelphia...capacity of 300,000 bushels and...cost a little more than $90,000." Fremont (Nebraska) Tri-Weekly Tribune (December 13, 1902), 1.
18. "C. R. DeLaMatyr went to Omaha to look after an elevator contract Seely, Son & Co., have secured there," Fremont (Nebraska) Tri-Weekly Tribune (August 10, 1895), 4.
19. "C R. DeLaMatyr was at Geneva...where he submitted...the bid...on the erection of a new court house,' Fremont (Nebraska) Tri-County Tribune (January 12, 1893), 4
Page Citation
E. F. Zimmer & D. Murphy, “Seeley, Son & Company, Contractors and Architects,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, December 21, 2023. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, November 22, 2024.
Contact the Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office with questions or comments concerning this page, including any problems you may have with broken links (see, however, the Disclaimers link at the bottom of this page). Please provide the URL to this page with your inquiry.
