George Oberkirsh Seilhamer

George Oberkirsh Seilhamer (November 12, 1839 – January 12, 1916) was an American historian. He was known for his documentation of early American theater and local Pennsylvania genealogy. He published several books as well as a noted periodical. His 1904 publication, Chambers: Missing Branches of Our Oldest Family, and his 1908 book The Bard Family: A History and Genealogy of the Bards of "Carroll's Delight", Together With a Chronicle of the Bards, and Genealogies of the Bard Kinship, are in the possession of the Library of Congress.

Life and career Seilhamer was born in 1839 in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, to John Seilhamer and Elizabeth Overcash. He was youngest of their eight known children, followed by John, William, Mary, James (died at five months), Aaron (died at nine months), James and Reuben. He was educated in the public schools of Franklin County, then at Milnwood Academy in Shade Gap, Pennsylvania, and the Chambersburg Academy. Before he reached the age of sixteen, he was teaching in the public schools. He taught three terms: 1855 to 1858.

After returning from London on a year-long "confidential mission" in 1886, Seilhamer settled in Philadelphia for a decade, working for both the Philadelphia Times (1886–1892) and the Philadelphia Inquirer (1892–1896). With his health beginning to fail, he returned to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in the fall of 1896 and worked with the Kittochtinny Historical Society. In 1898, Seilhamer published History of the Republican Party. In 1905, Seilhamer began publishing a periodical titled The Kittochtinny Magazine, dedicated to the local history and genealogy of Cumberland Valley.

In 1908, Seilhamer published The Bard Family: A History and Genealogy of the Bards of "Carroll's Delight", Together With a Chronicle of the Bards, and Genealogies of the Bard Kinship.

Death Seilhamer died in 1916, aged 76. He had been a widower for six years, and was interred beside his wife in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Chambersburg.