{{Short description|American soldier and politician (1810 – 1888)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = William Seeger | office = 4th Minnesota State Treasurer | image = File:William Seeger.jpg | caption = Seeger c.1873 | predecessor = Emil D. Munch | successor = Edwin W. Dyke | term_start = January 5, 1872 | term_end = February 7, 1873 | governor = Horace Austin | office2 = Minnesota Deputy Treasurer | term_start2 = 1867 | term_end2 = 1871 | birth_date = May 12, 1810 | birth_place = Lauenburg, Schleswig-Holstein | death_date = May 22, 1888 | resting_place = Oakland Cemetery<br/>Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | other_party = Republican | allegiance = United States of America | branch = Union Army | service_years = 1862–1863 | rank = 35px Sergeant | unit = Company D, 9th Minnesota Infantry Regiment | battles = Dakota War of 1862 }}
'''William Seeger''' (May 12, 1810 – May 22, 1888) was a German American soldier, politician, and immigration official who served as the Minnesota Deputy State Treasurer from 1867 to 1871, and later served as the fourth Minnesota State Treasurer from 1872 to 1873. Seeger resigned from the office of state treasurer following an indictment for corruption and embezzling state funds in 1873.
== Early life and career == Seeger was born on May 12, 1810, in the city of Lauenburg in Schleswig-Holstein.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=University of Minnesota Libraries |first= |title=Candidate: William Seeger |url=https://mn.electionarchives.lib.umn.edu/candidate/william-seeger/ |access-date=April 20, 2026 |website=Minnesota Historical Election Archive}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news |date=May 23, 1888 |title=William Seeger, Who Had Lived in the State Thirty-Two Years, Died Saturday |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn90059522/1888-05-23/ed-1/?sp=2 |access-date=April 20, 2026 |work=St. Paul Daily Globe |pages=2}}</ref> According to the ''Minnesota Historical Election Archive'' Seeger emigrated to the United States in 1852 and moved to Minnesota Territory in 1856.<ref name=":0" /> Seeger was one of the founding citizens of New Ulm, Minnesota in 1856 alongside William Pfaender and A. Prieser.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fritsche |first=Louis A. |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofbrownco0012unse/page/n133/mode/2up? |title=History of Brown County Minnesota |date=1916 |publisher=B. F. Bowen & Company Inc. |location=Indianapolis |pages=135 |language=en}}</ref> Seeger was also an early citizen of St. Peter, Minnesota where he was employed as a brewer alongside Joseph Engesser.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gresham |first=William G. |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89064048309&seq=132&q1 |title=History of Nicollet and LeSueur Counties, Minnesota: Their People, Industries and Institutions: With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of many of the Old Families |date=1916 |publisher=B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc. |volume=2 |location=Indianapolis |pages=112 |language=en}}</ref>
At the outbreak of the American Civil War Seeger volunteered for service in the Union Army on August 19, 1862, and was enrolled into the ranks of Company D of the 9th Minnesota Infantry Regiment as a Sergeant under the command of Captain Asgrim Knutson Skaro.<ref>{{cite web |title=Soldier Details |url=https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-soldiers-detail.htm?soldierId=ED269BCE-DC7A-DF11-BF36-B8AC6F5D926A |access-date=April 20, 2026 |website=The Civil War (U.S. National Park Service) |ref={{sfnref|The Civil War (U.S. National Park Service)}}}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Minnesota Adjutant General's Office |url=https://archive.org/details/annualreport01minn/page/424/mode/2up |title=Annual Report of the Adjutant General, of the State of Minnesota, for the Year Ending December 1, 1866, and of the Military Forces of the State from 1861 to 1866. |date=1866 |publisher=Pioneer Publishing Company |location=Saint Paul |pages=424 |language=en}}</ref> Company D of the 9th Minnesota acted as the military guards for the 1862 Mankato mass execution.<ref>{{cite web |title=Battle Unit Details |url=https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=UMN0009RI |access-date=April 20, 2026 |website=The Civil War (U.S. National Park Service) |ref={{sfnref|The Civil War (U.S. National Park Service)}}}}</ref> Seeger was discharged from service on February 28, 1863, due to disability.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Gresham |first=William G. |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89064048291&seq=252&q1 |title=History of Nicollet and LeSueur Counties, Minnesota: Their People, UIndustries and Institutions: With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families |date=1916 |publisher=B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc. |volume=1 |location=Indianapolis |pages=234 |language=en}}</ref>
Following his service in the military, Seeger was appointed as deputy to the State Treasurer and served from 1867 to 1871 under Emil D. Munch.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Beginning in 1871 Seeger ran for the political office of Minnesota State Treasurer as a Republican.<ref name=":3">{{cite web |last=University of Minnesota Libraries |first= |title=1871 Treasurer Election |url=https://mn.electionarchives.lib.umn.edu/election/2318711099925600/ |access-date=April 20, 2026 |website=Minnesota Historical Election Archive}}</ref> Seeger won the November 7, 1871 treasurer election against Democrat candidate Barney Vosberg and Prohibition Party candidate William L. Mintzer with a majority vote of 60.41% and a margin of victory of +21.00%.<ref name=":3" /> In 1873 Seeger was indicted by the Minnesota House of Representatives and investigated by the Minnesota Senate for the embezzlement of state funds and corrupt misconduct.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Minnesota Senate |url=https://www.lrl.mn.gov/docs/2017/other/170489.pdf |title=Proceedings of the Senate of Minnesota, Sitting as a High Court of Impeachment, for the Trial of William Seeger, Treasurer of State, for the Corrupt Conduct and Misdemeanors in Office |date=March 7, 1873 |publisher=Johnson & Smith |location=Minneapolis |pages=11, 16, 17–18 |language=en}}</ref> Seeger resigned from office before he could be charged, he was replaced by Edwin W. Dyke.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Treasurers, 1849-present - Minnesota Legislative Reference Library |url=https://www.lrl.mn.gov/mngov/treas |access-date=2026-04-20 |website=www.lrl.mn.gov}}</ref>
Following his political career Seeger was placed in charge of the Minnesota Board of Immigration.<ref name=":4">{{cite web |last=Kroeker |first=Elaine E. |date=October 30, 2017 |title=How Mennonites came to Cottonwood County, Minnesota |url=https://www.minnpost.com/mnopedia/2017/10/how-mennonites-came-cottonwood-county-minnesota/ |access-date=April 20, 2026 |website=MinnPost}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{cite web |last=Backerud |first=Thomas K. |date=September 19, 2012 |title=Mennonites of Mountain Lake |url=https://www.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/group/mennonites-mountain-lake |access-date=April 20, 2026 |website=MNopedia}}</ref> Seeger was instrumental in the establishment of a Russian expatriate colony of Mennonites in Minnesota from the Chortitza Colony in the Russian Empire and the Molotschna Colony in modern-day Ukraine who ended up settling in Mountain Lake, Minnesota and Cottonwood County, Minnesota.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> Seeger chose Mennonites due to their strong work ethic.<ref name=":5" /> Seeger later established another Mennonite colony in Yankton, South Dakota.<ref name=":5" />
== Death == Seeger died on May 22, 1888, from dropsy (edema).<ref name=":1" /> Seeger is buried in Oakland Cemetery in Saint Paul, Minnesota.<ref>{{cite web |title=Oakland Interment Search |url=https://oaklandcemeterymn.com/map/ProcessDocument.asp?doc_id=?18224 |access-date=April 20, 2026 |website=Oakland Cemetery |ref={{sfnref|Oakland Cemetery}}}}</ref>
== References == <references />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seeger, William}} Category:1810 births Category:1888 deaths Category:State treasurers of Minnesota Category:Minnesota Republicans Category:People from Schleswig-Holstein Category:People from Lauenburg Category:American people of German descent