Samuel Lee Selden (October 12, 1800 – September 20, 1876) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

in 1862.

Life

Selden was born in

Lyme, Connecticut Lyme is a New England town, town in New London County, Connecticut, New London County, Connecticut, United States, situated on the eastern side of the Connecticut River. The town is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Conn ...

in 1800 and moved to

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

in 1821 following his sister who had married Rochester lawyer Joseph Spencer. Selden studied law with

Addison Gardiner Addison Gardiner (March 19, 1797 – June 5, 1883) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the lieutenant governor of New York from 1845 to 1847 and Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1854 to 1855. Early life and caree ...

, and formed a partnership with him after being admitted to the bar in 1825. On July 27, 1831, Selden married Susan Matilda Ward. From 1831 to 1837, he was First Judge of the Monroe County Court. From 1847 to 1855, he was a justice of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

. He was a judge of the

from 1856 to 1862, elected on the

Hard Hard means something that is difficult to do. It may also refer to: * Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture * Hard water, water with high mineral content Arts and entertainment * Hard (TV series), ''Hard'' (TV ser ...

Democratic ticket. He was Chief Judge from January to July 1862 when he resigned from the bench, and his brother Henry R. Selden was appointed to fill the vacancy. He died in 1876 in

References

Sources

Political Graveyard''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 348, 352 and 362; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
''History of the Pioneer Settlement of Phelps and Gorham's Purchase, and Morris' Reserve: Embracing the Counties of Monroe, Ontario, Livingston, Yates, Steuben, Most of Wayne and Allegany, and Parts of Orleans, Genesee, and Wyoming''
by Orsamus Turner (William Alling, 1851; page 613) {{DEFAULTSORT:Selden, Samuel Lee 1800 births 1876 deaths People from Lyme, Connecticut Chief judges of the New York Court of Appeals Politicians from Rochester, New York New York Supreme Court justices New York (state) Democrats Lawyers from Rochester, New York 19th-century New York state court judges 19th-century American lawyers Rochester City School District superintendents