Seth Leslie Cheney

Seth Leslie Cheney was born on January 12, 1874 to Frank Woodbridge Cheney (1832-1909) and Mary Bushnell Cheney (1840-1917). He was the sixth of twelve children.

Seth served as a corporal in Company G, 1st Regiment of the Connecticut Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish-American War. He and five of his brothers served. One of them, Ward (1875-1900), died during the war. Seth later served as chaplain of a chapter of the United Spanish War Veterans named in his brother's honor: Ward Cheney Camp, No. 13, U.S.W.V.

Seth married Katherine R. Bell (1872-1947) of Los Alamos, California on December 16, 1908. The had two children: Stuart Bell Raphael (b. 1903) and Katherine Cheney Hammond (1906-1995). Seth's older brother Charles (1866-1942) met and married, as his second wife, Katherine's sister Mary E. Bell (1882-1953).

The family lived at 139 Hartford Road, Manchester, Connecticut, in a house that first belonged to Ralph Cheney and then served as the summer home of Emmeline Lewis Cheney (wife of Arthur Cheney). An early-morning fire on the day after Christmas 1920, caused significant damage to the building. The structure survived. It was converted into a bed and breakfast in the early 2000s.

Seth died on January 15, 1942 after a long illness.

Source: The biographical information above was sourced from Seth's obituary which appeared in the Hartford Courant on January 16, 1942 and other Courant articles. Ancestry.com and FindAGrave.com provided supporting details (accessed 1/3/24). The fire was reported in the Courant on December 26, 1920.