CHURCH,  Selden  Marvin,  capitalist,  was  born
at  East  Haddam,  Conn.,  March  4,  1804;  taken  by
his  father  to  Monroe  County,  N.  Y.,  in  boyhood,
and  grew  up  on  a  farm  there,  but  at  the  age  of
21,  went  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where  he  engaged
in  teaching,  being  one  of  the  earliest  teachers  in
the  public  schools  of  that  city.  Then,  having
spent  some  time  in  mercantile  pursuits  in  Roches-
ter, N.  Y.,  in  1835  he  removed  to  Illinois,  first
locating  at  Geneva,  but  the  following  year
removed  to  Rockford,  where  he  continued  to
reside  for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  In  1841,  he
was  appointed  Postmaster  of  the  city  of  Rock-
ford  by  the  first  President  Harrison,  remaining
in  office  three  years.  Other  offices  held  by  him
were  those  of  County  Clerk  (1843-47),  Delegate  to
the  Second  Constitutional  Convention  (1847),
Judge  of  Probate  (1849-57),  Representative  in
the  Twenty-third  General  Assembly  (1863-65),
and  member  of  the  first  Board  of  Public  Charities
by  appointment  of  Governor  Palmer,  in  1869,
being  re-appointed  by  Governor  Beveridge,  in
1873,  and,  for  a  part  of  the  time,  serving  as  Presi-
dent of  the  Board.  He  also  served,  by  appoint-
ment of  the  Secretary  of  War,  as  one  of  the
Commissioners  to  assess  damages  for  the  Govern-
ment improvements  at  Rock  Island  and  to  locate


HISTORICAL   ENCYCLOPEDIA   OF   ILLINOIS.
