Patrick Sellar, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Patrick Sellar

British lawyer

Date of Birth: 05-Dec-1780

Place of Birth: County of Moray, Scotland, United Kingdom

Date of Death: 20-Oct-1851

Profession: lawyer, factor

Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius


Show Famous Birthdays Today, World

👉 Worldwide Celebrity Birthdays Today

About Patrick Sellar

  • Patrick Sellar (1780–1851) was a Scottish lawyer, factor and sheep farmer.
  • In 1811, he was employed as factor by the Sutherland Estate in a joint (but subordinate) position with William Young.
  • The estate had started some clearances, integral to their program of agricultural improvements.
  • Whilst clearances in 1812 went reasonably smoothly, in 1813 Sellar failed to successfully negotiate with angry resistance in the Strath of Kildonan.
  • A state of confrontation existed for more than six weeks and concessions ultimately had to be made by the estate to defuse the situation.
  • In 1814, Sellar had the job of clearing some of the residents of Strathnaver.
  • His actions here gave rise to a number of charges brought by the Sheriff-substitute Robert McKid, who was an enemy of Sellar's.
  • The most serious of these was culpable homicide.
  • Sellar was acquitted at his trial in April 1816, but has remained as the focus for much of the anger and indignation arising from the clearances.
  • Sellar and Young were replaced by a new factor later in 1817, and Sutherland estate continued with even larger clearances, particularly in 1818-1820. Sellar remained on the Sutherland estate as a tenant sheep farmer, becoming successful and well respected by others in the sheep and wool sector.
  • In 1838 Sellar bought a sheep farm at Morvern in Argyll, thereby becoming a landowner. Sellar was keen to express his opinions on the management of the Highlands, writing highly emphatic letters on the subject.
  • He never deviated from his view that the Highland clearances were the correct course of action.
  • As a lawyer he had had a very confrontational manner, clearly enjoying dispute and, by his own admission, being too willing to break someone in the courts.
  • His precise view of the law is, in the eyes of some historians, his most believable defence against the charges on which he was tried - that he would always follow the process of law precisely.

Read more at Wikipedia

See Also