Charles Louis Seeger Sr. (January 13, 1860 – November 6, 1943) was an American international businessman of the turn of the 20th century. He was the father of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

poet

Alan Seeger Alan Seeger (22 June 1888 – 4 July 1916) was an American war poet who fought and died in World War I during the Battle of the Somme, serving in the French Foreign Legion. Seeger was the brother of Elizabeth Seeger, a children's author and educ ...

and musicologist/composer Charles Seeger Jr., and grandfather of folk singers

Pete Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a characte ...

, Peggy and

Mike Seeger Mike Seeger (August 15, 1933August 7, 2009) was an American folk musician and folklorist. He was a distinctive singer and an accomplished musician who mainly played autoharp, banjo, fiddle, dulcimer, guitar, harmonica, mandolin, dobro, jaw harp, ...

. He was an influential figure in international commerce, particularly in the American role in the development of modern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, and in the international

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

industry.

Early life

Seeger was born in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, on January 13, 1860, the son of Elisabeth Amelia (White) and Edwin Seeger. He was of part German descent. His father and grandfather had been doctors. Graduating at the top of his high school class, Seeger was urged to attend

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

by a group of wealthy Springfield citizens who offered financial assistance, but he did not accept their charity.

Career

Seeger saw an opportunity to find his fortune in Mexico. He became an editor and co-owner of the bilingual newspaper ''Mexican Financier'', during a time of dramatic development of the nation’s railroads and electrification. The newspaper became influential and informative in the common economic life of the two countries, but faltered in the late 1880s and was sold for a high price to a Mexican-British syndicate, securing Seeger’s fortune. In 1899, Seeger and his former partner in the newspaper published the
Cyclopedia of the Manufactures and Products of the United States
', a 1400-page catalogue of American industrial products that could, incidentally, be purchased through his trading company. At the time, Seeger was commuting between the United States and Mexico, and played a role in the electrification, street paving and development of a street railway company in Mexico City. His Mexican Electric Vehicle Company sold electric and gasoline powered vehicles manufactured by the

Columbia Automobile Company Columbia was an American brand of automobiles produced by a group of companies in the United States. They included the Pope Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut, the Electric Vehicle Company, and an entity of brief existence in 1899, ...

of Hartford, Connecticut. Seeger remained an advocate for Mexico long into his international career in the American rubber industry. In 1915, he was a severe critic of American policy during the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

that had evolved out of the last years of the

Porfiriato The Porfiriato or Porfirismo (, ), coined by Mexican historian Daniel Cosío Villegas, is a term given to the period when General Porfirio Díaz ruled Mexico under an Authoritarianism, authoritarian military dictatorship in the late 19th and e ...

. In a lengthy critique published in the ''New York Times'' of January 3, 1915, he called American policy toward Mexico under President Woodrow Wilson inconsistent, confused and counterproductive both in relation to the efforts of Americans in Mexico of the previous years to continue progress between the two countries, and to American allies in Europe who would be inclined to see them as an attempt to bring Mexican territory into the United States. Seeger’s attention to Europe became more focused with the death of his son Alan in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

on July 4, 1916 at the village of

Belloy-en-Santerre Belloy-en-Santerre (, literally ''Belloy in Santerre'') is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated on the D79 road, about from the junction of the A1 autoroute and the N29, so ...

, France. With his wife, Elsie Simmons Seeger, he donated a new bell to the village church in Alan’s name and donated a number estimated by some as thousands of fruit trees to the region surrounding the village to help rehabilitate an agricultural industry that had been devastated by the war. After Alan’s death, Charles led the effort for

Charles Scribner’s Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City that has published several notable American authors, including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjor ...

to publish two posthumous books by Alan Seeger
''Poems''
an
''Letters and Diary''
of which he was the editor. In 1918, he began the process of founding the modern

American Library in Paris The American Library in Paris is the largest English-language lending library on the European mainland. It operates as an independent, non-profit cultural association in France incorporated under the laws of Delaware. Library members have access ...

in his son’s honor, with a dedication of 50,000 francs from the royalties of the Seeger books. He led the library’s founding and became chairman of its board of directors.

Death

Charles Seeger Sr. died on November 6, 1943, in New York City. His hand-produced memoirs reference a life of interest in music and art, and include some of his etchings of various places to which he had traveled. They are held in the Director's Archives of the American Library in Paris.https://alp.polarislibrary.com/polaris/search/searchresults.aspx?ctx=3.1033.0.0.3&type=Keyword&term=charles%20seeger&by=KW&sort=RELEVANCE&limit=TOM=*&query=&page=0&searchid=1

Early life

Career

Death

References

Further reading