Blickensderfer, William Jacob Davenport, Adelaide Hutchings Davenport, Harriet Grant Chesebrough Dewing, Clark Leonard Dewing, Hiram Duffy, Edward Gildemeister, Clara Parsons Hanrahan, John T. Hoit, Edward B. Hoyt, Joseph Blachley Jones, Cortland Mead Lathrop, The Reverend Edward Lockwood, Judge Charles Davenport Machlett, Raymond R. Palmer, Delos Peters, The Reverend Cyril S. Quintard, Elizabeth Quintard, Mary “Polly” Selleck, Charlotte Gregory Selleck, George Selleck, Harriet Banks Selleck, James Weed Selleck, Captain William Studwell, Theodore Towne, Frederick Tallmadge Waterbury, Captain Marcus Wilensky, Julius Morris Introduction

The Stamford Historical Society Presents

Best Face Forward
Portraits from the Society's Collection
April through September 2009

Captain William Selleck (1773–1846)

Oil on canvas Artist unknown H152w-1 Gift of William Howard Haines

William was born in Stamford, one of three sons of James and Sarah Weed Selleck. His father, James (1742-1809), was a Revolutionary War soldier. William and his two brothers, James and Hezekiah, carried on their father’s successful shipping business, James Selleck and Sons in New York City and Norwalk. Some of their boats were the Perseverance, Delight, Rosetta, Victory, Farmer, Minerva, Rising Sun, Enterprise, Waterford, Thomas, Charlotte, Rose and Washington.

James and William were partners in the ship Enterprise and the brig Perseverance.

The Enterprise was a three-masted ship, built in Norwalk in 1801. It was 90’ long and carried 235 tons.

The Perseverance was a 73’ brig which carried 143 tons. It had been built in Norwalk in 1802 and was declared a castaway in 1812, perhaps as part of the practice of sinking old boats during the War of 1812 to blockade ports against the enemy. In her ten years the Perseverance sailed between Norwalk, New York and the West Indies, transporting among other things, passengers, hogsheads of Antigua rum and fresh fruit.

On May 2, 1811 William married Charlotte Gregory of Norwalk. They had eight children and in 1817 moved to Wilton, Connecticut. Captain Selleck died September 9, 1846 and, according to the donor, his great grandson, he is buried in the Sharp Hill Burying Ground in Wilton.

James Weed Selleck
Charlotte Gregory Selleck
George Selleck
Harriet Banks Selleck

It has been suggested that the portraits of William, James, and Charlotte were commissioned at the same time to the same artist. However, William and Charlotte’s portraits are painted in oil on canvas while James portrait is an oil on panel and is the only one currently attributed to the well-known portraitist, Charles Loring Elliott.

Image © Stamford Historical Society