Herman Gastrell Seely

Born in Chicago in 1891 and dying in 1958, Herman Gastrell Seely was an American writer and editor whose work moved between journalism and books. Public-domain and library records confirm him as the author of A Son of the City: A Story of Boy Life, and later sources also connect him with Sagebrush Dentist, a book told from the experiences of Dr. Will Frackelton.

Seely's writing has the feel of someone used to explaining the world plainly. That background fits with records describing him as a financial editor and with evidence that he published magazine work, including pieces in The Atlantic. Taken together, those sources suggest a career shaped by both newsroom discipline and an interest in vivid personal stories.

Although detailed biographical information is limited online, the outline that emerges is of a versatile working writer from the Midwest whose books preserved slices of everyday American life, from city childhood to frontier reminiscence.