Who Were Sallie Selman Hutson’s Parents: A Theory

This month, I’m working on the Hutson/Selman family, one of my sixteen 2x-great-grandparents, P. H. Hutson and his wife, Sarah “Sallie” H. Selman.

What I Know
Sallie died on 26 September 1916 in Throckmorton County, Texas, though her residence was likely in Comanche County.[1] The Texas death certificate has no information about a person’s residence, only about the place of death. She was married but her husband is not listed (no line for it) and he was not the informant. Other documents point to her residence. On 28 January 1915, P.H. Hutson and his wife, S. H. H. Hutson, of Comanche County, sold land to N. E. Palmer, pointing to their residence in Comanche County.[2] She is buried at Union Cemetery, located in Gustine, Comanche County.[3]

P. H. Hudson and Miss S. H. S. Selman married in Hood County, Texas, on 11 September 1879.[4] The surname of Hudson is a minor conflict as the two names sound similar. The index at FamilySearch listed his name as R. H. Hudson, the image does look like a P instead of an R.

Sallie was listed on the death certificate as being born on 27 September 1855 in Texas. Her father was named as Green Selman of Mississippi. Her mother was listed as unknown, but also of Mississippi. The informant, N. E. Palmer, was her nephew, a son of her sister, Mary C. Palmer.[5]

Who were Sallie’s parents?
The FamilySearch Family Tree lists Greenlee Bean Selman (1820-1888) and Amanda Deborah Oldham (1822-1880) as Sallie’s parents.[6]


The only source on the FamilySearch Family Tree that is associated with her parents is the 1860 census in Cherokee County, Texas. She is likely the youngest child in the Green Selman household. His assumed wife is Ama D. Selman. The household is listed as:

Green Selman, 39, m, Alabama
Ama A Selman, 40, f, Alabama
George W Selman, 18, m, Mississippi
E. A. Selman, 16, f, Mississippi
T. B. Selman, 17, m, Mississippi
M. C. Selman, 8, f, Texas
R. L. Selman, 5, m, Texas
S. H. Selman, 2, f, Texas[7]

It is frustrating when the enumerator list residents by their initials. S. H. is listed as two years old, making a birth about 1857/1858, which conflicts with the 1855 birth. Also conflicting is the birthplace of Green and Amanda in Alabama instead of Mississippi as on her death certificate. Perhaps the informant remembered that some of the children were born in Mississippi and assumed the parents had been, too.

A marriage license was issued in Cherokee County to Green Lee B. Selman and Mrs. Deborah A. Selman on 23 April 1851. However, there was no return.[8] The oldest children are not the children of Green as the three oldest children were born before the marriage, and there is a gap between the third child, T. B. Selman and the fourth child, M. C. Selman.

Amanda was previously married to James Selman. Willis Selman petition to the court in Cherokee County to administer the estate of James Selman. He explained the relationship: James Selman died 15 November 1850. He left a widow, who had since married Green Selman, and had two children George W. and Emma Olivia Selman. Willis was a brother of James.[9]

Amanda Oldham married James Selman on 25 November 1841 in Carroll County, Mississippi.[10] This supports the births of the first children listed in the census as being born in Mississippi.

Sallie’s Siblings
Green and Amanda had three children: Mary Caroline, born in 1852, Robert Louis, born in 1855, and Sallie.

Robert died on 6 Nov 1831 in Las Vegas, San Miguel County, New Mexico. He was born in Cherokee County, Texas on 4 Apr 1855 to G. B. Selman of Alabama, and Amanda D. Oldham of Mississippi. The informant was hospital records.[11] No obituary was found, as the main newspaper websites do not have 1931 papers.

Mary Caroline died on 4 November 1938 in Gustine, Comanche County, Texas.[12] Her son was the informant and he named her parents as Greenlee Bean Selman of Mississippi and Amanda Deborah Oldham of Hinds Co, Mississippi.

Sallie’s Half-Siblings
George Washington Selman died in 1905, too soon for a death certificate. He is buried in Baylor County, Texas.[13]

Emma Olivia Selman married Noah Griffin in 1860. She died on 15 October 1920 in Leon County and is buried at Concord Cemetery.[14] The bio placed at the Find a Grave memorial states she was born to James and Amanda Oldham Selman.

In 1850, James and Amanda were living in Cherokee County, Texas with children George and Emma. James’ brother, Willis, lived next door. James was born in Mississippi and Amanda in Alabama, and the children in Mississippi.[15] The birthplaces for James and Amanda alternate between Alabama and Mississippi. Future places to look will be Hinds County, Mississippi, from Mary Caroline’s death certificate, and Pike County, where James and Amanda were married. There is no clue to a specific place in Alabama.

Another clue is from a published biography posted on James’ Find a Grave memorial, saying his siblings, Willis and Amanda married Oldham siblings.[16]

Conclusion
Some sources support my theory that Greenlee B. Selman and Amanda Deborah Oldham were the parents of Sarah H Selman, who married P. H. Hutson. Other supporting documents could be found in probate and deed records. That will be the next step, utilizing full-text search at FamilySearch, which must be done at a FamilySearch Center, as the Cherokee and Leon County probate and deed records are locked.

#52Ancestors: Week 4: Theory in Progress

This is my ninth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe.

I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.


[1] “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976," digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6SHD-L8); no. 17663, Mrs. Sallie H. Hutson, 1916; citing Texas Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics.

[2] Comanche Co, Texas, deeds, v. 101, p. 320, PH & SH Hutson to NE Palmer, Jr, 1915, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9Q97-YSJJ-DZL : 3 Jan 2026); IGN 004506562, image 321 of 641.

[3] Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64910657/sarah_hellena-hutson: accessed January 22, 2026), memorial no. 64910657, Union Cemetery, Gustine, Comanche Co, Texas, Sarah Hellena Selman Hutson (27 Sep 1857–26 Jul 1916), gravestone photo by Ken Jones.

[4] Hood Co, Texas, marriages, v. B, p. 42, P.H. Hudson-S.H.S. Selman, 1879, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GP38-9RBD : accessed 5 Aug 2025), IGN 004820349, image 435 of 736. 

[5] “Texas Deaths, 1890-1976," digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6SHD-L8 : 22 Jan 2026); no. 17663, Mrs. Sallie H. Hutson, 1916; citing IGN 004165882, image 172 of 3354.

[6] “FamilySearch Family Tree,” entry for Sarah Helena Selman (KZMT-H9M), imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/KZMT-H9M : accessed 22 Jan 2026).

[7] 1860 U.S. census, Cherokee Co, Texas, Beat No. 1, p. 417b, dwelling 106, family 106, Green Selman.

[8] Cherokee Co, Texas, marriage, v. A, p. 210, Greenlee Selman to Mrs. Deborah A Selman, 1851, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939Z-YD9V-63 : viewed 27 July 2025); citing 004539374, image 246 of 575.

[9] Cherokee Co, Texas, probate, Minutes, v. A, p. 16, petition to probate the estate of James Selman, 1852, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9XQ-6456 : accessed 21 Jan 2026); IGN 7573955, image ??. Note, this film is locked and needs to be viewed again to capture image number.

[10] Carroll Co, Mississippi, marriage records, marriage bonds, v. A, p. 316, marriage of James Selman to Amanda Oldham, 1841, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9VP-12LN : accessed 4 Aug 2025), IGN 007615974, image 187 of 538.

[11] “New Mexico, Deaths, 1889-1945,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9T2-JSBM-K : accessed 22 Jan 2026), San Miguel Co, no. 16606, Robert Lewis Selman, 1931; IGN 004229715, image 2029 of 2709.

[12] "Texas Deaths, 1890-1976," digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9B9Z-9GNY : accessed 22 Jan 2026), Comanche Co, #49356, 1938, Mary Caroline Palmer; IGN 005144932, image 1179 of 3546.  

[13] Find a Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/37942971/george_washington-selman : accessed 22 Jan 2026), memorial no. 37942971, Round Timber Cemetery, Baylor Co, Texas, George Washington Selman, photo by Nona Forrest.

[14] Find A Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/38396897/emma_olivia-griffin : accessed 22 Jan 2026), memorial no. 38396897, Emma Olivia Selman Griffin, Concord Cemetery, Concord TX, image by Mary Jo Fellers Fraley.

[15] 1850 US census, Cherokee Co, Texas, p. 889 (penned), family 577, Jas Selman.

[16] Bio, unknown source and date, posted by Donna McKSher, Find a Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/149873439/james-selman : accessed 22 Jan 2026), memorial 149873439, Selman-Roark Cemetery, Linwood, Cherokee Co, Texas, James “Jimmy” Selman.


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