He was a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing Green Lake and Marquette counties during the 1859 and 1860 sessions.
[6] He also served three years as municipal judge of the city and town of Ripon, Wisconsin, holding office from July 1862 to May 1865.
Later in life, he went to live with his son, Charles, in Canton, Dakota Territory, where he died of a stroke in August 1889.
The Seely family were descendants of Robert Seeley, an early Puritan settler at Massachusetts Bay Colony.
[8][10] Their son Charles Merritt Seely was a successful businessman in Canton, South Dakota, served two terms as mayor, and was appointed financial clerk of the federally-administered Hiawatha Asylum.