JOHN W. SELMAN
John W. Selman, according to his headstone at Bethel Church in Good Hope, Walton County, Georgia, was born in 1763 and died in 1832. He shares a headstone with his wife (Elizabeth) Sarah Cowan born 1799, died 1853. Some records show a date of birth as 1776 and date of death at 1829. His birth place is consistently shown at Stafford, Virginia.
The words "Revolutionary War" and the rank of "Colonel" are inscribed on his tombstone.
I have researched countless hours in an attempt to identify a unit that John W. Selman served in during the Revolutionary war. I have been unable to find that information.
There is a John Selman listed as residing in Franklin County, Georgia, in the book "Roster of Revolutionary Soldiers in Georgia, Volume 1, Names of Revolutionary Soldiers who Drew Land in Georgia in the "Lottery of 1827" and the counties of Georgia in which they lived".
It appears that John married first Bridget "Biddy" Wright in 1805 in Clarke County, Georgia. Biddy died in 1821. He married second Elizabeth Sarah Cowan 1823 in Jackson County, Georgia. (source: "Georgia Marriages 1699-1944")
John and Bridget had six children; Thomas Jefferson, William Wright, James Jackson, John Walker, Frances Walker and Wylie R.
John and Sarah had three children, George Cowan, Benjamin Francis and Josiah P.
John and Sarah Cowan Selman's son, George Cowan (1825-1899) was a prominent citizen who resided first in Charleston South Carolina, returned later to Walton County and served in the legislature. He organized a company of soldiers and joined Mell's Regiment in the Civil War. He was, among other things, president of the Bank of Monroe in 1891 and owned over 6000 acres of land in the county.
The 1820 census for Clark County, Georgia, shows a John Selman with 19 slaves and 7 free whites. The 1830 census for Walton County shows John Selman with 28 slaves and 9 free whites. I am going on the assumption that this is the John W. Selman listed here.
Records show that John drew several land lots in the lottery of 1820. He was living in Clarke County, Georgia, at the time. There is a John W. Selman who drew land in the Georgia Cherokee Land Lottery, 1832 residing in Walton County.
John was one of the original land owners in Walton County, and donated the land on which the Bethel Church was built.
According to information on the ancestry.com family tree page of Janet Selman, the following was furnished:
"John Selman built a one room building which served as a school during the week and a church on Sunday on the Selman place. This is where the children in the area attended school. At the time it was called Mt. Tabor Primitive Baptist Church and was later hanged to Jack's Creek Primitive Baptist Church after the creek that the early settlers depended upon for their supply of water and to run their mills.
Jacks Creek Primitive Baptist Church is still in existence today and services are still held in the Church. The minutes dating back to the formation of the Church are still intact. The Church minutes of January 8 1831 states: "John W. Selman deeded this property tot he church". This was a son of John Selman."
If anyone has more information on this John W. Selman, please feel free to contact me and I will be glad to correct or add to any information I have researched on John W. Selman. ( Suzanne Forte )
