Scope and Contents
Correspondence, writings (including school essays and exercises, poetry and political essays), miscellaneous accounts, school bills, and other papers of the Selden family of Hadlyme, Connecticut. The principal family members represented are Richard Ely Selden (1797-1868), a member of the class of 1818 at Yale, a justice of the peace, and a state senator, and his son Samuel Hart Selden (1826-1891), a member of the class of 1848.
Dates
- 1787 - 1883
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of this collection are in the public domain. There are no restrictions on use. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Transferred from Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library in 1973.
Extent
3.83 Linear Feet (4 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
Correspondence, writings (including school essays and exercises, poetry and political essays), miscellaneous accounts, school bills, and other papers of the Selden family of Hadlyme, Connecticut. The principal family members represented are Richard Ely Selden (1797-1868), a member of the class of 1818 at Yale, a justice of the peace, and a state senator, and his son Samuel Hart Selden (1826-1891), a member of the class of 1848.
Biographical / Historical
Samuel Hart Selden was the second son of Richard Ely Selden (1797-1868), who graduated from Yale College in 1818, was a farmer and a member of the Connecticut State Senate in 1844. Samuel's mother was Elizabeth, daughter of William Lynde, of Saybrook, Connecticut. He was born in Hadlyme, in the township of Lyme, Connecticut, March 16, 1826.
After graduation from Yale College in 1848, it was his desire to study for the ministry, but his health did not permit. For a year he was a tutor in the family of William Denniston, in Salisbury Mills, New York, and thereafter followed the profession of civil engineering. From 1850 to 1862 he was engaged in railroad work, principally with the Erie & Pittsburgh Railroad, making his home at first in Batavia, New York, and afterwards in Erie and Girard, Pennsylvania. From 1862 to the time of his death he was connected with the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, as resident engineer in charge of the North Michigan Peninsula Division, residing for three years at Marquette, and from 1865 at Escanaba, Michigan.
On June 16, 1853, Selden married Sarah A., the eldest child of Oliver I. Lay, of Lyme, Connecticut. Mrs. Selden and five of their seven daughters outlived him. The third daughter is the wife of C. P. Coffin (Yale, 1881), and the fourth of T. H. Linsley (Yale, 1876s). Early in November 1891, Selden left Escanaba with his family for their winter home in Harrison, Florida. Making a few days' stop at Linsley's home in Evanston, Illinois, he was there taken ill with erysipelas and passed away on November 25, 1891, at the age of 65.
Selden was a man of winning presence, of strong character, and of deep religious convictions. For twenty-five years he was an elder in the Presbyterian Church. His life was blameless and his influence strongly felt in the community on the side of religion and morality.
(Derived from Yale Obituary Record, 1859-70 and 1880-1902).
After graduation from Yale College in 1848, it was his desire to study for the ministry, but his health did not permit. For a year he was a tutor in the family of William Denniston, in Salisbury Mills, New York, and thereafter followed the profession of civil engineering. From 1850 to 1862 he was engaged in railroad work, principally with the Erie & Pittsburgh Railroad, making his home at first in Batavia, New York, and afterwards in Erie and Girard, Pennsylvania. From 1862 to the time of his death he was connected with the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, as resident engineer in charge of the North Michigan Peninsula Division, residing for three years at Marquette, and from 1865 at Escanaba, Michigan.
On June 16, 1853, Selden married Sarah A., the eldest child of Oliver I. Lay, of Lyme, Connecticut. Mrs. Selden and five of their seven daughters outlived him. The third daughter is the wife of C. P. Coffin (Yale, 1881), and the fourth of T. H. Linsley (Yale, 1876s). Early in November 1891, Selden left Escanaba with his family for their winter home in Harrison, Florida. Making a few days' stop at Linsley's home in Evanston, Illinois, he was there taken ill with erysipelas and passed away on November 25, 1891, at the age of 65.
Selden was a man of winning presence, of strong character, and of deep religious convictions. For twenty-five years he was an elder in the Presbyterian Church. His life was blameless and his influence strongly felt in the community on the side of religion and morality.
(Derived from Yale Obituary Record, 1859-70 and 1880-1902).
Creator
- Title
- Guide to the Selden Family Papers
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- compiled by Steve Hensen
- Date
- March 1973
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Created In Accordance With Manuscripts And Archives Processing Manual
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository
Contact:
Yale University Library
P.O. Box 208240
New Haven CT 06520-8240 US
(203) 432-1735
(203) 432-7441 (Fax)
mssa.assist@yale.edu
Yale University Library
P.O. Box 208240
New Haven CT 06520-8240 US
(203) 432-1735
(203) 432-7441 (Fax)
mssa.assist@yale.edu
Location
Sterling Memorial Library
Room 147
120 High Street
New Haven, CT 06511