Speech of Orange Seely Sr. at Seely Reunion 1912
Orange Seely Sr. at the Seely Reunion, Mt. Pleasant, Utah 26 June 1912
Robert S. Seely came from England to America in 1630 with the John Winthrop Fleet and settled in Watertown, Massachusetts. Subsequently, he was one of the thirty-nine who founded the township and colony of New Haven, Connecticut.
My great-grandfather, Justus Seely, moved from Connecticut to Nova Scotia with his family, his reasons being loyalty to the crown. Among this family was my grandfather, Justus Azel Seely, who was born in Connecticut 17 November 1779. After living in Nova Scotia for some time, my grandfather returned to the United States and located in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania where he married Mehitable Bennett in 1800 and remained there until five (5) children were born, namely; Rachel Seely Webb, 2 Sept 1801, Rebecca Seely Young, 4 July 1803, John , 8 June 1805, Elizabeth Seely Young, 29 July 187, Mary Seely Hemmenway, 24 January 1810.
My grandfather moved from Pennsylvania and settled in Pickering, Home District, Upper Canada where four (4) more children were born, namely; William Stewart (Stuart) born 18 May 1812, Justus Wellington Seely (my father), 30 January 1815, Sarah Seely McGahen, 27 August 1817, and David Seely, 12 October 1819. While in Canada my father, Justus Wellington Seely learned the cooper's trade (barrel or cask making) from his father.
The Seely family joined the Mormon Church 15 February 1837. They moved from Canada to Far West, Caldwell ,Missouri. Father and his younger brother David came overland and the remainder of the family traveled by water. They crossed Lake Michigan to Chicago, then down the Illinois river to Crafton, Illinois and then up the Mississippi River to Far West where in August 1838 they were mobbed and driven out to Nashville, Lee county, Iowa, where father met and married Clarissa Jane Wilcox 10 March 1842. At this place three children were born to the young couple, namely; Orange Seely, Sarah Seely Tidwell, and Don Carlos Seely.
In the spring of 1846, Grandfather Seely (Justus Azel Seely) and family consisting of Justus Wellington Seely, William Stewart Seely, David Seely and Elizabeth Seely Young and their families left Nashville, Iowa and crossed the state to the Missouri River, the distance benign about five hundred miles. Here they wintered at Pigeon Grove, above Council Bluffs.
In the spring of 1847, the Seelys crossed the Missouri River and started west across the plains as part of John Taylor’s One-hundred, Edward Hunter’s Fifty and John Lowry’s Ten. They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on 29 September 1847 and moved into the Fort where Hyrum Seely and Justus Wellington Seely II were born. Late in the fall (2 November 1849) Father, David Seely, and Edwin Pettit started for California to dig for gold. They went as far as the Muddy, now called Moappa, Nevada as teamsters for a merchant by the name of Pumroy (Pomroy) who had fitted out a large freight train of ox teams at Omaha, Nebraska and loaded them with merchandise to be hauled across the plains to California. Being too late in the season to cross the mountains of the North Route he turned south, but when he arrived at the Muddy, on account of losing so many of his oxen, he unloaded a great part of the merchandise which he destroyed. Everything that would sink; axes, hammers, etc., was thrown into a pool on the east side of the Old Mormon Crossing. At this place father, uncle David, and Edwin Pettit purchased a yoke of oxen from Pumroy, rigged up a cart, placed their blankets, provisions, and cooking outfit in it and continued on their way to California.
They reached San Pedro Harbor some four hundred miles from the Muddy where they sold their belongings and boarded a ship bound for San Francisco. After being on board this ship for twelve days they arrived at San Francisco and worked on the streets for $10.00 each per day so as to get sufficient to take a steamboat to Sacramento. At this place they got a grub stake and went into the mountains and worked in the mines digging for gold until late Fall of 1850 when father, uncle David, and Edwin Pettit returned to Salt Lake City in company with Charles C Rich, Amasa Lyman, James Bailey, J. M. Rollins, Peter Fife and others.
Early in the year of 1851, the church conceived the idea of manufacturing wine and olive oil or sacrament purposes, subsequently they made a call for a company of 100 men to go to Southern California for the purpose of planting grapevines and olive trees from which to manufacture the olive oil and wine. Father and Uncle David and their families and Edwin Pettit left for Southern California 13 March 1851 and arrived at Sycamore Grove at the mouth of the Cajon Pass on 11 June 1851. They settled in San Bernardino the same year. They planted ten acres of grape vines east of the Santianna River at what was called the old San Bernardino Catholic Mission, now called Smilly Heights. They then sold the vineyard to a man by the name of Aldrich and built a new sawmill on the headwaters of a stream that emptied into the Majava River. They operated this mill for several years until their departure again for Utah.
We left San Bernardino the latter part of December 1857 for Pleasant Grove, Utah. We crossed the Sierra Nevada Mountains at the head of Cajon Pass 1 January 1858 and arrived in Pleasant Grove in April 1858. Father bought two city lots and at once began to build a house. We got the lumber and timber for the corral in Provo and American Fork canyons. We lived in this home one year. During this time my grandfather, Justus Azel Seely died on 1 April 1859 in Pleasant Grove. It was soon after his death, William Stewart Seely, Justus Wellington Seely I, Don Carlos Seely, myself, James Ross Young, John Carter, John Young, and Thomas Duton left Pleasant Grove to locate to the south in Moroni, Utah.
After arriving at Moroni, the land for the Seelys, Tidwells, and Meryicks was pointed out west of Moroni on Silver Creek. After examining it, it appeared unproductive and unsatisfactory. Father made the remark, “If there is no land I can get other than this, I will start back for Pleasant Grove in the morning.” We stayed in Moroni a few days and William Stewart Seely then proposed that we take a trip up to Pleasant Creek (Mt. Pleasant). Uncle William, Father, John Tidwell Sr., and Nelson Tidwell came up here where they met with James R Ivie, who had charge of locating people on the land. We went back to Moroni and returned to Mt. Pleasant the next day. There were a few people camped on Pleasant Creek close to where the fort was built. This was in the early part of May, not later than the 5th. We began to plant our crops immediately after our arrival here. As soon as the crops were in the ground, ditches had to be dug and water turned into the fields. All the water of Cedar Creek was turned from the channel of the creek up to the mouth of the canyon into Twin Creek. All of the waters of North Creek were turned into Birch and a canal was dug and a dam put into the Sanpitch River above Spring Creek and the waters turned into it. This canal crossed Spring Creek,, North Creek, Pleasant Creek, and the lane at the Sand bed. It was intended to water all of the land lying west of the canal extending to the Sanpitch River. The pioneers of Mt Pleasant laid a foundation for a goodly supply of water for the settlement. The fort had to be built before the men were permitted to bring their families, which was done. Father, Uncle William and the Tidwells went to Pleasant Grove and returned with their families. A bowery was built and the 24th of July was celebrated. What hay we had on the canal bottoms was cut with scythes and snath (the handle of a scythe), and hauled to town by ox teams. Houses, including the schoolhouse, were built inside the fort. All of the people lived in them during the winter of 1859 and 1860. The schoolhouse was used for church work as well as for education.
The town was surveyed in the spring of 1860 into lots of 13 rods square. Father bought the east half of the block where Joseph (Seely) now lives, from J.R. Ivie. who retained the west half of the block and the land immediately to the west of that. Father assisted in putting in the first steam sawmill in the canyon and was in that business for many years. The first mowing machine, horse rake, twine binder, thresher, and fanning mill purchased in Mt. Pleasant were his. He served as Bishop’s counselor for 17 years, Justice of the Peace for 20 years, a member of the city council for 20 years, and marshall for several years. He was a surgeon, setting fractured bones and sewing up cuts and wounds, and a dentist, pulling teeth.
At the Jubilee celebration in 1897, my mother, Clarissa Jane Wilcox Seely, Sarah Seely, Don Seely, and I were awarded pioneer medals. Father had a family of twelve children. There were as follows: Orange Seely, Sarah Seely, Don Carlos Seely, Hyrum Seely, Justus Wellington Seely II, William Hazzard Seely, John Henry Seely, Miranda Seely, David Seely, Joseph Seely, Stewart Randolph Seely and Eva R Seely. All were married after they moved to Mt. Pleasant.
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