The Selden family has a long history both in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. The name originated from the ancient location of Selkeden in Eccleston,
Sussex
Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
, England. The first known Selden in this family was John, born about 1210.
A subsequent
John Selden
John Selden (16 December 1584 – 30 November 1654) was an English jurist, a scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law. He was known as a polymath; John Milton hailed Selden in 1644 as "the chief of learned m ...
, born in 1584, was a famous English jurist and member of the
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...
.
John Milton
John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...
referred to him as "the chief of learned men reputed in this Land." He was confined by the Sheriff of London due to his involvement with the
Protestation of 1621, which resulted in the dissolution of Parliament.
Several years later, because he helped draft and present the
Petition of Right
The Petition of Right, passed on 7 June 1628, is an English constitutional document setting out specific individual protections against the state, reportedly of equal value to Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights 1689. It was part of a wider ...
to the House of Lords in 1628, a document that objected to the overreach of authority by King
Charles I of England
Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649.
Charles was born ...
and protested his infringement on the civil liberties of the people of England, he was imprisoned in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
.
Selden published a number of scholarly works. His book "History of Tithes" was an important and influential account of the history of English law, leading some to call him the "father of Legal History." He also wrote "
Mare Clausum
''Mare clausum'' (legal Latin meaning "closed sea") is a term used in international law to mention a sea, ocean or other navigable body of water under the jurisdiction of a state that is closed or not accessible to other states. ''Mare clausum ...
," a significant treatise regarding the law of the sea.
Seldens were numbered among the early settlers of the original American colonies. Dorothy Selden married Stephen Hosmer; their son settled in
Connecticut
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
, another son James lived in
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is n ...
. The Selden name in America was carried by Thomas Selden (b. 1616/17; d. aft Aug 1655) and by Samuel Selden (b. 1662; d. 1720). The Selden family is among the
First Families of Virginia
The First Families of Virginia, or FFV, are a group of early settler families who became a socially and politically dominant group in the British Colony of Virginia and later the Commonwealth of Virginia. They descend from European colonists who ...
.
Notable people of Selden descent
* Col.
Samuel Selden (January 11, 1723 - October 11, 1776)
* Rev. Miles Selden (1726 - March 20, 1785), rector of
St. John's Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia when
gave his memorable speech at the
Second Virginia Convention
The Virginia Conventions were assemblies of delegates elected for the purpose of establishing constitutions of fundamental law for the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia superior to General Assembly legislation. Their constitutions and subsequ ...
*
Dudley Selden (1794 – November 7, 1855), Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
*
Morrison Remick Waite (November 29, 1816 – March 23, 1888), son of Maria Selden and Chief Justice of the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
*
Samuel L. Selden (October 12, 1800 - September 20, 1876), Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals
*
Henry R. Selden (October 14, 1805 – September 18, 1885), Abraham Lincoln's first choice for vice president
*
George B. Selden
George Baldwin Selden (September 14, 1846 – January 17, 1922) was an American patent lawyer and inventor from New York who was granted a U.S. patent for an automobile in 1895.Flink, p. 51 ''Probably the most absurd action in the history of pa ...
(September 14, 1846 – January 17, 1922), Henry Selden's son, possibly first to patent the automobile
*
Arthur Selden Lloyd (May 3, 1857 – July 22, 1936), bishop and president of the Board of Missions of the Episcopal Church
*
Dixie Selden (February 28, 1868 – November 15, 1935), artist
*
Armistead Selden (February 20, 1921 – November 14, 1985), Member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Ambassador to New Zealand, Fiji, and other islands
References
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Sources
American families of English ancestry