Our Selleck family emigrated (see the soap maker, David Selleck’s, story) from Over Stowey, in the Sedgemore District, Somerset, in South West England. Other sources indicate the family seat in earlier times was in Herefordshire England. The name is another that originates as a habitational place, meaning the ancestor came from a village known as Selleck (or something similar). On the edge of the Quantock Hills, in a heavily wooded area just above Nether Stowey, the parish includes the hamlets of Plainsfield, Aly, Adscombe, Friarn, and Bincombe.
The Quantock Online community has fascinating information on the area. Here is an excerpt that gives a pretty picture of the village of Over Stowey: “There is no commercial centre because there is virtually no commerce – not a pub, post office or shop but we have some of the most beautiful and varied landscape in the southwest, many far-reaching views across the Somerset levels to Glastonbury Tor and the Mendips or across the Bristol Channel to Wales and all of it protected as a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Visitors come from far and wide to enjoy walking, riding and mountain biking.”
Photo courtesy of author, Burn the asylum on Wikipedia
The Anglican parish church, St. Peter and St.Paul, has stood Over Stowey since the 12th century.
We have yet to find David Selleck’s parents’ records or David’s Baptism, so not really sure how long the family remained in Over Stowey. We do know that David emigrated to Americain 1633.
If you would care to see the direct line of Selleck ancestors down to our greatgreat grandmother, Angeline Selleck, please click on Selleck Ancestors.
If you’d like to see a video of the Parsonage, which is now a delightful B&B (I will definitely stay there if visiting OverStowey :-)), watch the video (Parsonage Farm B&B, Over Stowey) made by a happy guest in 2012. You can see the church in the background. Gives a fairly good idea of the countryside the Sellecks came from. And if you’d like to take a virtual walk in the area where Coleridge and Wordsworth took their legendary forays into the countryside (hmmm, I may have written a MA paper on Wordsworth’s Prelude Book Sixth!!!), click on the poets’ names.