John H. Seger was born in Geauga County, Ohio, on February 23, 1846. Shortly after his birth, the Seger family moved to Illinois and operated a tavern and hotel in Dover. He attended Dover Academy while growing up there. In 1864 John enlisted in the Union Army and seved under General Sherman until the close of the war. Following the war, Seger returned to Illinois but shortly thereafter left and was employed as a mason in the Indian Service and was assigned to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Agency. He moved to Darlington, Indian Territory, in December of 1872. Seger worked for almost sixty years on the Oklahoma reservations. In 1874 he was appointed superintendent of the Arapaho Boarding School and he later oversaw the operations of the Seger Indian Training School / Seger Colony Schools.
Seger married Mary Esther Nichlas of Manlius, Illinois, in Atchison, Kansas, on October 6, 1875. The couple had seven children: Neatha, Jassa, John, Harry, James O., Lena Cronk, and Bessie. John Seger died on February 6, 1928, at Seger Colony, Oklahoma. He was buried at Fairview cemetery.
From the description of John H. Seger letters, 1903-1912. (Montana Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 279223228
