Fred Loring Seely

Fred Loring Seely (December 22,1871 – March 14,1942) was a newspaperman, chemist, inventor and philanthropist.

Born in Monmouth, New Jersey, Seely worked for some time as an executive for his father-in-law Edwin Wiley Grove's "Paris Medicine Company," a patent medicine business. In 1906 he founded the Atlanta Georgian daily newspaper which he sold to Randolph Hearst in 1912. [Garrett, Vol.II, p.498] Then he went to North Carolina where he built the Grove Park Inn with his father-in-law Edwin Wiley Grove and ran Biltmore Industries. He acted as the architect and builder of his home "Overlook" (sometimes called "Seely's Castle") on Sunset Mountain overlooking Asheville. The home later became the home of Biltmore College, the forerunner of what is now the University of North Carolina at Asheville. And in 1917 Seeely purchased Biltmore Estate Industries from Edith Vanderbilt and changed the name to Biltmore Industries. He died in Asheville, North Carolina.

The relationship between Seely and his father-in-law Grove, who would not sell him the Grove Park Inn, apparently was troubled from the start, and never improved. Writes Helen Wykle, who studied their relationship and wrote on the relationship between the two men:

"Seely managed the Grove Park Inn for his father-in-law for nearly 27 years but was unable to convince E.W. Grove to sell him the hotel. The resulting animosity between the two put a strain on their relationship and on Fred Seely's marriage to Grove's daughter Evelyn. Seely had come to Asheville to work with Grove as a chemist. Grove's Chill Tonic and other "medicinal' remedies made both Grove and Seely large fortunes but it also made them bitter rivals. Grove's jealousy and his competitive nature were never overcome and Seely, talented and charming as he was, never was successful in charming or winning the affection of his father-in-law. The correspondence and the ensuing law-suit in which Seely sued Grove for breach of promise were bitter and futile engagements for Seely." [ [http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/mss/biltmore_industries/seely_women/Default.htm Fred Seely's Women, Helen Wykle, Special Collections, D.H. Ramsey Library] ]

References

* Garrett, Franklin, "Atlanta and Its Environs", 1954, University of Georgia Press.
* [http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/mss/biltmore_industries/history/historydefault.htm Through a cooperative agreement with Grovewood Gallery ] at toto.lib.unca.edu
* [http://www.heritagewnc.org/historic_register_sites/biltmore_industries/biltmore_industries_shops.htm Biltmore Industries Shops ] at www.heritagewnc.org
* [http://152.18.128.193/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/CompoundObj&CISOPTR=1068&REC=16 Overlook, home of Fred Loring Seely]

Notes