Linus Seely (1848-1923) was born in Richibucto, New Brunswick, Canada,
and died in Portland, Maine. He immigrated to the United States in 1875, becoming a
naturalized citizen in 1884. He married Helene "Ellen" B. Seely (b. Barker) in
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1878, and they settled in Deering, Maine, where Seely
worked as a carpenter. Between approximately 1890 and 1910 they lived in Buffalo, New
York, where Seely was a contractor and superintendent of fortifications and lighthouse
construction. While there he ran for mayor as a prohibition candidate. After moving to
Portland sometime around 1910, Seely continued working as a contractor and building
inspector. In 1916 he ran for governor of Maine as a prohibition candidate. He was a
member of the Prohibition party, the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, and the
Congregational church. In 1886 Seely wrote to Mary Baker Eddy to order two copies of
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.
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