Eliza (Sornberger) Pierce Sanford and Her Descendants - Part 6

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 Merritt Seeley After Lizzie’s Death

After Lizzie’s death, Merritt returned to Detroit and his work at the American Express Company. His work kept him quite busy. In November 1879, he sent flags from Detroit to Chicago for a reception for President Grant. [82] In 1880, shipping around the holidays meant long hours for Merritt. In November, he put in eighteen hour days, and in December, was on duty for a week with only ten hours of sleep. [83] During these years, he was active in local dramatic societies, and church activities. [84] He remained in Detroit until late December 1881, when he left to take a job in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. [85] Before he left, several events were held honoring his time and service in Detroit. [86]

Figure 8. 1884 Aerial Map of Great Barrington.
Crop showing likely location of Seeley home. [87]

While Merritt worked in Detroit, his children remained in Great Barrington with his family. In 1880, all four children were attending school while living with their grandparents Isaac and Electa Seeley and aunts Julia and Alice. [88] Despite the distance, the family stayed in touch. In May 1881, Merritt had a trailing arbutus on his desk in Detroit that his daughter Eliza had sent him. She had dug the plant up from the snow for him. [89] In July of that same year, Merritt shipped a fifty-pound watermelon to his family in Great Barrington that he had received from Georgia. [90]  Quite likely, Merrit’s work for a shipping company made it relatively simple to ship things back and forth.

In 1882, Merritt Seeley returned to Massachusetts, where he lived for the remainder of his life. Between 1882-1885, He lived at Four Ashburton Place in Boston, in a home owned by George R. Baldwin and Catherine R. Griffith. Each year he lived there, he paid a poll tax of $ 2. [91] During those years, he worked at the National Express Company of Boston. [92] In 1886, his son, Isaac, lived with him while also working at National Express. [93]

Figure 9. Train Wreck at Bardwell's Ferry, 1886.
Courtesy Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association's
 Memorial Hall Museum, Deerfield, MA. [94]

On 8 April 1886, Merritt Seeley was one of several people killed in a train derailment. The Eastern Express train went off the rails at Bardwell’s Ferry along the Deerfield River in Franklin County, Massachusetts. The engine and several train cars went off the track, down the embankment to the river and caught fire. According to newspaper reports, Seeley was severely injured in the crash, “he had a wound four inches long and half inch wide over his left temple. His left thigh was broken and also his left leg at the knee, beside which he sustained internal injuries from which he will die.” [95] Taken from the wreckage, Seeley was brought to Greenfield, Franklin County, where he died early the next morning. [96] A review of the accident by the Board of Railroad Commissioners determined the crash was caused by:

  •  “1. The use as a portion of the embankment of crib-work battered against the slope of a steep ledge.
  • 2. The want of proper drainage at this spot. 
  • 3. The over-loading of the embankment at a place where a concealed defect existed.” [97]

Merritt Seeley died without a will, resulting in significant court actions following his death. According to the administration of his estate, he left minor four children, sons Issac and Merret and daughters Eliza and Julia. [98] The inventory of his estate was presented on 18 June 1886, which identified $1,360 in real estate and $4,471.97 in personal estate. [99] On 5 May 1886, Merritt’s sister Julia was appointed guardian for the four children. [100] On 29 September 1886, the guardianship inventory listed $1,360 in real estate and $19,840 in personal estate. [101] The September inventory included $17,000 in insurance money that was not included in the June inventory. Part of that $17,000 was likely the $ 4,000 paid to the family by the Fitchburg Railroad on 7 April. [102]

82.  “Sayings and Doings,” Detroit Free Press (Michigan), 8 November 1879, page 1, column 4, Merritt Seeley.

83.  “City Personals,” The Detroit Free Press (Michigan), 27 November 1880, page 2, column 3, Merret Seeley. “Another Evidence of Great Prosperity,” The Detroit Free Press (Michigan), 28 December 1880, Page 1, column 4.

 84.  “Amusements”, Detroit Free Press (Michigan), 24 October 1879, page 6, column 4, Phoenix Hall. “Presentations to Merret Seeley”, Detroit Free Press (Michigan), 11 December 1881, page 4, column 6.

 85.  “Personal”, Detroit Free Press (Michigan), 25 December 1881, page 18, column 6, Mr. Merret Seeley.

 86.  “Presentations to Merret Seeley”, Detroit Free Press (Michigan), 11 December 1881, page 4, column 6. “A Farewell Dinner to Merret Seeley, The Detroit Free Press (Michigan), 25 December 1881, page 18, column 4.

87.  L.R. Burleigh, Great Barrington Mass., (Troy, New York, 1884), aerial map; image, Library of Congress. Location determined from land descriptions in deeds.

88.  1880 U.S. Census, Massachusetts, Berkshire, Great Barrington, population schedule, ED 48, page 23, dwelling 203, Isaac Seeley household; Ancestry.com, image 23 of 51.

89.  “Personal Mention”, Detroit Free Press (Michigan), 1 May 1881, page 6, column 4, Mr. Merret Seeley.

90.  “Sayings and Doings”, Detroit Free Press (Michigan), 30 July 1881, page 1, column 2, Mr. Merret Seeley.

91.  For 1882, Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Boston, Tax Records, Street Books, Ward 10, Part 1, 1882, page 75, line V, Merritt Seeley; FamilySearch.org, DGS 100834966, image 103 of 228.  and Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Boston, Tax Records, Tax Book, Ward 10, 1882, K to Z, page 578, Merritt Seeley; FamilySearch.org, DGS 1008346495, image 236 of 372. For 1883, Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Boston, Tax Records, Tax Book, Ward 10, 1883, K to Z, page 498, Merritt Seeley, FamilySearch.org,  DGS 100892566, image 202 of 328. Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Boston, Tax Records, Tax Book, Ward 10, 1884, K to Z, page 507, Merritt Seeley; FamilySearch.org, DGS 100953704, image 227 of 364. Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Boston, Tax Records, Tax Book, Ward 10, 1882, K to Z, page 578, Merritt Seeley; FamilySearch.org, DGS 101021012, image 208 of 345.

92.  “Superintendent Seeley,” The Boston Globe (Massachusetts), 9 Apr 1886, page 5, col 5.

93.  “Superintendent Seeley,” The Boston Globe.

94.  J.K. Patch, Train Wreck Along the Deerfield River, 1886 photograph: American Centuries, (http://americancenturies.mass.edu/).

95.  “Railroad Horror,” Niles Weekly Mirror (Niles, Michigan), 14 April 1886, page 3, column 5.

96.  Massachusetts, Franklin County, Greenfield, Deaths 1857-1891, page 88, 8 April 1886, Merrit Seeley; FamilySearch.org, DGS 00780135, image 217 of 828.

97.  Sara Campbell, “Train Wreck at Bardwell’s Ferry,” Disasters in the Valley (https://pvhn3.wordpress.com).

98.  Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Courthouse, Probate Office, Probate Records volume 583, 1886, page. 377, 17 April 1886, Petition,  Merrit Seeley estate; FamilySearch.org, DGS  007703381, image 202 of 603.

99.  Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Courthouse, Probate Office, Probate Records volume 581, 1886, pages 170-171, 24 May 1886, Inventory, Merrit Seeley estate; FamilySearch.org, DGS  007703380, image 92 of 605.

100. Massachusetts, Berkshire County, Pittsfield, Probate Court, Probate Records, volume 100,  Guardianships Minors, number 9,  page 393, 5 May 1886, Isaac, Eliza, Julia E., and Merritt Seeley; FamilySearch.org, DGS 00705788, image 679 of 826.

101. Massachusetts, Berkshire County, Probate Records, Probate Estate Files, no. 15363 Seeley, Isaac (minors) - no. 15430 Benson, Albert F. (minors), 1900, file 15363, Guardian’s Inventory , 5 October 1886, Isaac Seeley et al; FamilySearch.org, DGS 103217315, images 16-17of 1295

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