1857
Arthur Gaius Selleck and his twin brother Walter Horace Selleck were born 30 June 1857 in Harrison County, Iowa.
1869 Arthur and Walter may have accompanied his father and a Mr. Teeter on a train trip to the west. Paul Mears, grandson of Arthur Selleck recalled being told that they went to Oregon.
Arthur and his family removed from Harrison County, Iowa, to DeSoto, Kansas in the fall of 1869.
1870
In the late winter, 1870, they the took the train to Solomon City, Kansas, traveled by wagon to Lindsey. A little track of land in Lindsey was acquired by Eliza and Arthur’s father, James, built a small home on the property.
In May and June of 1870, Arthur accompanied his father and a number of other cattlemen to Texas. The purpose was to buy longhorn steers, drive them back to Kansas and sell them to markets back east for two or three times their original cost. (See James Selleck, Jr. history for details of the trip.)
Arthur Selleck wrote to his mother and brother from Cleburne, Johnson County., Texas, May 14, 1870.
Dear Mother and Walter
I am well and I hope you are to[o] Pa is also well [He] has gone out to look for some ponies for us to ride home the mules Sally and Kate are improving and worth 400 dollars in gold we’re in camp on [the] Nolon [Nolan] river 5 miles from Cleburne Kiss Kate for me & tell her to be a good girl Tell Florey I think right smart of herYours truly
Arthur Sellick
1871
In the spring of 1871, Arthur’s main ambition with his twin brother was hunting wild turkeys. Arthur said, “Since the turkey’s nature is to fly only once and then run from its pursuer, our method of hunting was riding our pony and chasing the birds with clubs as our only weapons. This was great sport, and proved very helpful to the family as a means of securing meat for food.”
Early in March or April of 1871, Arthur accompanied his father and five other men on a buffalo hunt in western Mitchell County. Arthur and Mr. Bush Hoy were left in charge of the camp near Carr creek while the other men went with James in the Selleck wagon pulled by a yoke of oxen to shoot buffalo. The buffalo sensing water was near in the creek came at a run toward the wagon and the creek. The men shot into the herd to divide it. Fortunately for Mr. Hoy and Arthur, the herd remained divided until after crossing the creek. Arthur reported that, “After the herd had passed and the excitement was somewhat over, the curiosity led me up the creek where I found two buffalo calves less than a week old. These calves were perhaps a little smaller than our common cattle. I carried them down to camp and made them some buffalo grass tea on which I could see them thrive.” (See James Selleck, Jr. History for details of the trip.)
After the buffalo hunt Arthur accompanied his father to Salina to pick up money from relatives in Iowa. They made most of the return trip in darkness off the main trails to avoid the possibility of being ambushed and robbed.
On the night of April 22 or early morning hours of April 23, James Selleck was shot by Elmer Maxson whose goal was to murder and rob the Sellecks. After being captured inside the dugout, Arthur and Walter guarded Maxson through the remainder of the night. When daylight came, Arthur ran for help from the neighbors. (See James Selleck, Jr. History for details of the murder.)
Another personal story from Arthur’s youth: “One day in the fall of 1871, very near where [I] now live, I chanced to see a single buffalo running across the field headed toward Third Creek for water. Grabbing my gun I dashed down across the creek below him, looked over the bank, and I saw him drinking. I aimed and fired, and suddenly I realized the animal was enraged and in his madness was struggling up the bank making for me. As a boy of fourteen, I lacked the presence of mind to run up or down the creek, and so I did the wrong thing, and ran back away from the timber as fast as I could go while I reloaded my gun. When I saw the animal at the top of the bank, I whirled, made a lucky aim, and floored him in his tracks. This little incident in my childhood has always been a very vivid one.” Beloit Daily Call, Beloit, Kansas, May 1936
1881
In consideration of $1,200 Eliza Selleck conveyed to Arthur Selleck 116.20 acres consisting of the east side of the SW¼ of Section 18, Township 8 South of Range 5 West of the 6th Prime Meridian. Recorded 15 November 1881. (Cloud County, Kansas, Deed Book N, p. 104)
 |  |
| Arthur Selleck. Tintype | Arthur, seated on the left, with friends. Tintype |
1882
Arthur Selleck married Julia Catherine Murphy on 10 April 1882.
 |
| Arthur Selleck at age 25 about the time that he married. |
On 31 May 1882, Arthur and Julia Selleck convey to Eliza Selleck in consideration of $1.00 116.20 acres consisting of the east side of the SW¼ of Section 18, Township 8 South of Range 5 West of the 6th Prime Meridian. (Cloud County, Kansas, Deed Book M, p. 537)
1883
To Arthur and Julia Selleck daugher Eva Irene was born 26 January 1883.
1885
On 17 January 1885, Eliza J. Selleck conveyed to Arthur Selleck in consideration of $6.00 40 acres consisting of the W½ of the W½ of the SW¼ of Section 18, Township 8, Range 5 West. Recorded 19 January 1885 (Cloud County, Kansas, Deed Book V, p. 374)
On Tuesday, May 5, 1885, Arthur Selleck and eight other Simpson area men left for the mouth of Bluff Creek on the Cimarron River in Comanche County, Kansas, and to visit the Salt Plains in the northwest part of Indian territory, now Oklahoma. The objectives of the trip were to “invest in land or any other project in which there was ‘big’ money” such as a good stock ranch and a good location for the goods business. Two of the party were looking for claims, and one was interested in good health. The party consisted of Arthur Selleck, farmer and stockman; Arthur’s dog Jack “whose bit was dreaded more than his bark;” Alfred Simpson, owner of the land on which the town of Simpson was located, owner of the Simpson mills and two business buildings; J. S. Lyon, employee of the Prairie Lawn Creamery; A. H. Edwards, grain and stock dealer and farmer; Joseph Stout, farmer; Edwin Alsoup, a young man seeking a claim; H. D. Jett, telegraph operator and hunter; Walter Warren, interested in anything that might turn up; E. S. Foote, who was the postmaster of the firm of Foote, Austin & Co., of Simpson, Kansas. Details of the trip were written by Mr. Foote and printed in the Simpson newspaper
The outfit consisted of three “prairie schooners,” a spring top wagon, tent, and other necessities for such a trip. Their trip to the mouth of Bluff Creek took them through Lincoln, Ellsworth, Ellinwood, Great Bend, Dundee, Pawnee Rock, Larned, Garfield, Kinsley, Mullinville, Protection and to the mouth of Bluff Creek. Larned was described as a town one half the size of Simpson. The party crossed the Arkansas River at Kinsley. The Simpson paper reported that early in the trip Arthur was “feeling a little anxious about his family.” Arthur, Mr. Edwards, and Mr. Alsoup attended Congregational church services in Kinsley on the 10th. Somewhere near Mullinville on the afternoon of May 11, Arthur shot a prairie chicken.
During the 24 hours prior to reaching the Cimarron, the spirits of the party rose to a high pitch as the men talked of what they would do in the way of investing in real estate. Their high hopes went crashing when they got their first glimpse of the Cimarron River and the sand hills that stretched up and down the river “as far as we could see.”
They crossed the Kansas border into Indian territory and went as far south as Camp Supply on the north fork of the Canadian River. (Camp Supply is noted as Fort Supply on modern maps.) The party camped at Camp Supply on the 16th, Arthur shot a turkey that got away from him and ran into a canyon. The men had been attending Sunday services in what ever town they were in on the Sabbath. There being no services at Camp Supply, they read two of Moody’s sermons. After dinner, Simpson, Foote and Arthur went to the postoffice to mail letters. That Sunday evening the 17th Arthur got up at 11:30 PM, took a look at the clouds and decided that there might be a storm. He woke the men and told them he believed that it would be a good plan to get up and dress. They dressed and soon a “storm burst upon us with fury almost indescribable. Wind, rain and hail came down on the tent with a force that required our united efforts to hold it down... The scene outside was terrific; blinding, flashes of lightning and deafening peals of thunder, and the roar of the storm all combined to inspire us with awe and dread.” The storm seemed to the party to last about an hour in its first fury of hail and then it rained for two more hours. The rain beat through the tent and wet the bedding and other contents, but the exhausted men were able to lie on their wet bedding and sleep through the rest of the night.
Arthur and Mr. Foote went to the postoffice the evening of the 18th but were told the mail would not be in 'till nine or ten o’clock. During the night, they had a repeat of the rain minus the hail.
During the morning of the 19th Arthur started for the postoffice but could not cross the river. By evening he was quite sick with a cold. They camped that evening 18 miles west of Camp Supply at a stage station.
This was their farthest point from home, and from then the group returned via Ashland. They arrived late Saturday afternoon of the 23rd in Great Bend and went into camp on Walnut Creek where they planned to camp over Sunday. It again rained and Mr. Foote and Arthur came back into town and put up in the hotel. Arthur was still probably suffering from his cold. Both men returned to camp in the morning. Only Mr. Foote went to church that Sunday as the other men decided that their wardrobe was not in good enough condition.
On Monday the men got an early start. At Ellsworth Arthur got some mail. The men were anxious to return so were able to get home Tuesday night. The men were gone three weeks and one day. They were glad to get home but also glad that they took the trip. Favorite expressions of the men were repeated in the newspaper account. Arthur’s seemed to be, “If I could only hear from my woman, I would be all right.” (The account of the trip is from issues of the newspaper, Simpson Siftings, Simpson, Kansas, May 8, 1885, May 15, 1885, June 12, 1885 and June 19, 1885.)
On October 25, 1885, Arthur Selleck and W. H. White purchase from the City of Beloit, Kansas, Lot 59 in the First Addition to the Elmwood Cemetery in Beloit. (Mitchell County, Kansas, Deed Book P, p. 417) This would have been for a cemetery lot to bury Arthur's sister and Bill White's wife Kate (Selleck) White who died October 21.
 |
| Arthur, Julia and Eva. |
1891
Son Verne was born to Arthur and Julia Selleck 1891 and died shortly after birth.
1892
To Arthur and Julia daughter Dora was born 02 September 1892.
1895
Daughter Marie Alberta was born 21 January 1895.
On 25 September 1895, Eliza Selleck conveyed to Arthur Selleck in consideration of $1,000 the E½ of the W½ of the SW¼ of Section 18, Township 8, Range 5 West. (Cloud County, Kansas, Deed Book 17, p. 100)
1897
On 9 October 1897, Eliza Selleck of Cloud County sold to Arthur Selleck of Cloud County in consideration of $1,000 her half interest in the E½ of the NE¼ of Section 13, Township 8, Range 6 West in Mitchell County by Warranty Deed. Recorded May 11, 1899. (Mitchell County, Kansas, Deed Book 14, p. 204)
About 1900
 | |
| Back: Edgar Strawn (half-brother of Eliza), Walter Selleck, Bertha (Selleck) Mincy (daughter of Maria), Arthur Selleck, Eva Selleck (daughter of Arthur and Eliza). Seated: Catherine "Kitty" (Grecian) Strawn (wife of Edgar), Maria (Morey) Selleck (wife of David), Eliza (Strawn) Selleck (wife of James), Julia (Murphy) Selleck (wife of Arthur). Children: Dora Selleck and Marie Selleck (daughters of Arthur and Eliza). Picture taken around 1900. |
1902
 |
| Arthur and Julia having a quiet moment together. Photo taken by daughter Eva. |
1904
On 24 December 1904, Calvin C. Blair and Lena M. Blair his wife of Mitchell County sold to Arthur Selleck of Cloud County in consideration of $5,800, 160 acres consisting of the SE¼ of Section 5, Township 7, Range 8 West by Warranty Deed. Recorded 26 December 1904 (Mitchell County, Kansas, Deed Book 23, p. 307)
1905
On 1 January 1905, Eliza J. Selleck conveyed to Arthur Selleck by Warranty Deed 80 acres consisting of the W½ of the NE¼ of Section 18, Township 8, Range 5 West. (Cloud County, Kansas, Deed Book 31, p. 46)
1906
Daughter Neva was born 25 May 1906.
On 27 August 1906, Arthur Selleck and Julia Selleck husband and wife of Cloud County sold to Walter Selleck of Mitchell County in consideration of $6,000, 160 acres consisting of the SE¼ of Section 5, Township 7, Range 8 West by Warranty Deed. Recorded 27 August 1906 (Mitchell County, Kansas, Deed Book 27, p. 11)
On 27 August 1906, Eliza J. Selleck conveyed to Arthur Selleck by Warranty Deed 80 acres consisting of the E½ of the SW¼ of Section 18, Township 8, Range 5 West. (Cloud County, Kansas, Deed Book 31, p. 361)
1907
Eliza Selleck died 13 September 1907 and was buried in the Simpson Cemetery.
Arthur and Walter dug up their father's remains on the farm where he was buried May 1871 and reburied him beside their mother in the Simpson Cemetery. The bullet that killed James Selleck was found at the time of his removal and kept by the family.
1910
Arthur traveled to Austinburg, Ohio, to visit his uncle Harrison Selleck. "Mr. Arthur Selleck came from near Kansas City, to visit his uncle, Harrison Selleck. Of the large family he told me uncle Harry is the last relative of his generation." (Astabula County Sentinel Jefferson, Ohio, January 20, 1910, p. 8.) Harrison died 28 June 1910.
1911
On 8 November 1911, Arthur and Julia Selleck signed in the presence of I. O. Severell, Simpson, Kansas, a document appointing Arthur's cousin Lula V. (Blakeslee) Finke, Sedalia, Missouri, as their "true and lawful attorney in fact." She was to collect and receive their distributive share of the claims made against the estate of their Uncle Harrison Selleck, deceased.
1912
 |
| Back: Marie, Eva and Dora. Front: Arthur, Neva and Julia. |
According to the 4 April 1912 issue of the Simpson News Arthur Selleck left Monday 1 April 1912, for Sedalia, Missouri and Cleveland, Ohio. Sedalia was where his cousin Lula Finke lived with her husband. Their Uncle Harry Selleck's estate in Ohio was being settled, and Arthur needed to either confer with Lula or perhaps pick her up and together they would go to Ohio.
Arthur & Julia Selleck, et al. conveyed to Frank Allen, via Quit Claim deed 40 acres, Lot 85, and 60 acres, Lots 76 & 86 in Austinburg Township in Ashtabula County, Ohio. Arthur & Julia appeared before I. O. Sewell, Notary Public, at Simpson, on 11 April 1912 to sign.(Ashtabula County, Ohio, Deed Book 201, p. 304 & 305.) Et al. included Walter & Polly Selleck, William White, Nellie White Kennedy and husband Will S. Kennedy, James W. Blakeslee, and Lula B. Finke and husband Harry R. Finke.
1924
On 9 July 1924, Arthur Selleck and wife conveyed to Dora Vernon by Warranty Deed 80 acres consisting of the W½ of the NE¼ of Section 18, Township 8, Range 5 West. (Cloud County, Kansas, Deed Book 55, p. 154)
On 9 July 1924, Arthur Selleck and wife conveyed to Marie Shoemaker by Warranty Deed 80 acres consisting of the E½ of the SW¼ of Section 18, Township 8, Range 5 West reserving life estate. (Cloud County, Kansas, Deed Book 55, p. 156)
1927
On 11 April 1927, Arthur Selleck and wife conveyed to Dora Vernon by Warranty Deed 80 acres consisting of the W½ of the NE¼ of Section 18, Township 8, Range 5 West. (Cloud County, Kansas, Deed Book 55, p. 332)
1928
Took Rat Poison
"Arthur Selleck, 71 year old farmer living south of town is recovering from a serious illness caused by taking barium carbonate, a rat poison. Mr. Selleck complained of not feeling well Wednesday evening and asked for some medicine. Mr. John Vernon, a son-in-law, told him where the medicine was. Mr. Selleck went for the medicine, and thinking he had found what he wanted, took a dose and went to bed. Toward morning he wakened the family with his screams. Mrs. Selleck and Mr. Vernon fearing he had taken medicine from the wrong box went to examine and found that instead of taking the medicine he had taken a poison, which was kept to kill rats. Emetics were administered and a doctor summoned. Mr. Selleck who was dangerously ill for a few hours is recovering slowly and is able to be up part of the time." (Simpson News, July 4, 1928)
1932
On Sunday April 10, 1932, Arthur and Julia Selleck celebrated their golden wedding anniversary with 45 relatives and pioneer friends at a sit-down three-course dinner in their home south of Simpson. From two o'clock through the rest of the afternoon, "other friends came in to offer felicitations to the bride and groom and these visitors were refreshed with ice cream and cake."
 |  |
| Arthur and Julia Selleck around the time of their golden wedding anniversary. | |
1934
On 9 July 1924, Arthur Selleck and wife conveyed to Neva (Selleck) Pruitt by Warranty Deed 80 acres consisting of the W½ of the SW¼ of Section 18, Township 8, Range 5 West reserving life estate. (Cloud County, Kansas, Deed Book 60, p. 576)
1936
Arthur Selleck died 26 May 1936 and was buried in the Elmwood cemetery in Beloit, Kansas.
to Isaac Selleck