Patrick Sellar facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Patrick Sellar
Sellar's portrait in Recollections and Impressions 1907
Born	5 December 1780 Elgin, Moray
Died	20 October 1851 (aged 70) Elgin, Morayshire
Known for	Role in the Highland Clearances

Patrick Sellar (1780–1851) was a Scottish lawyer, estate manager (called a factor), and sheep farmer. He is best known for his part in the Highland Clearances. These were a time when many people in the Scottish Highlands were moved from their homes. This happened to make way for large sheep farms.

In 1811, Sellar started working for the Sutherland Estate. This estate owned a lot of land in the Highlands. He helped manage the changes, which included moving people. In 1813, there was strong resistance to these changes in a place called Strath of Kildonan. Sellar faced angry people, and the estate had to make some changes to calm things down.

In 1814, Sellar was involved in moving people from Strathnaver. His actions led to serious accusations against him. He was accused of causing harm and setting fires. However, he was found not guilty at his trial in April 1816. Even so, many people still remember him as a symbol of the anger from the Clearances. Sellar left his job as factor in 1817. The Sutherland estate continued with even bigger clearances after he left.

Sellar stayed on the Sutherland estate as a sheep farmer. He became very successful and respected in the sheep and wool business. In 1838, he bought his own sheep farm. Sellar always believed that the Highland Clearances were the right thing to do. He was known for being very direct and sometimes confrontational.

Early Life and Education

Patrick Sellar was born in Elgin, Moray in December 1780. His family was involved in new farming methods in northeast Scotland. Patrick's father, Thomas, studied law and became a successful lawyer in Elgin.

Patrick Sellar also studied law at Edinburgh University. He then worked in his father's law office. They helped landowners improve their farms. This included adding drainage and building new farm buildings. Sellar learned about modern farming ideas. He saw himself as a man of science and a product of the Enlightenment.

Sellar was influenced by his family's story. His grandfather had been a poor farmer who was moved from his land by a landlord. Patrick saw this as a lesson. He believed that being forced to move had pushed his family to improve their lives.

Moving to Sutherland

In 1809, Patrick Sellar visited Sutherland for the first time. He went with William Young, an older farmer who knew a lot about modern farming. They were looking for new business chances. They wanted to convince the owners of the Sutherland Estate, Lord and Lady Stafford, to invest in a new shipping service.

Young and Sellar were surprised by the old farming ways in Sutherland. They were very different from the modern farms back home. They soon met the Staffords. To show they were serious, Sellar and Young leased a farm called Culmaily. They paid a higher rent than other farms nearby. They wanted to show how modern farming could work.

They put in new drainage and grew crops like potatoes and oats. This new way of farming meant that 213 people had to move from Culmaily. Young and Sellar hoped these people would find new jobs in other industries on the estate. They gave Lady Stafford lots of free advice on how to improve her land. This was important because the estate was just starting a big improvement plan.

The Sutherland Estate's Plans

The Sutherland Estate was the biggest landowner in the county. Lady Stafford was in charge of many decisions. She wanted to make changes quickly. The estate's plans focused on creating large sheep farms in the inland areas. They also wanted to move people to new small farms (crofts) along the coast. Here, people could work in fishing or other new industries.

The estate had different managers (factors) over the years. Lady Stafford was not happy with how fast things were moving. In 1809, Young and Sellar arrived. They gave Lady Stafford lots of advice. This made the current factor, Cosmo Falconer, feel undermined. He resigned in 1810.

Sellar Becomes a Factor

After Falconer left, William Young and Patrick Sellar were hired as joint factors. Young was the senior factor, in charge of big improvements. Sellar's job was to collect rents, keep accounts, and make sure tenants followed their leases. He also protected the estate's forests and game. Sellar often tried to get equal status with Young. This showed he could be difficult to work with.

The Clearances Begin

The first clearances under Young and Sellar happened in Assynt in 1812. Sellar led these, creating large sheep farms and moving people to the coast. This went smoothly.

However, in 1813, planned clearances in the Strath of Kildonan led to protests. An angry crowd stopped sheep farmers from looking at the land. This went on for over six weeks. Sellar could not calm the protesters. The army had to be called in. The estate then made some agreements, like paying good prices for the cattle of those who were moving. Some people also moved to Canada. Lady Stafford and her advisors were very surprised by this strong reaction. They thought their plans were good and helpful.

More clearances were planned for Strathnaver in 1814. This was complicated because Sellar had leased one of the new sheep farms there. So, he was responsible for clearing the land he would then farm himself. As factor, he sent out eviction notices to people in January 1814.

In March, Sellar's shepherds started burning heather on the hills. This was a normal way to help new grass grow for sheep. But it caused problems for the people still living there. It meant less food for their cattle, making them weak before they had to be sold. Also, the new coastal farms were not ready. People did not know where they would go or have time to build new homes. Sellar's own sheep were also suffering because they were overcrowded at his old farm.

Some people moved before their eviction date. Others stayed until the eviction teams arrived. It was common practice to destroy house roofs after people left. This was to stop them from moving back in. On June 13, 1814, a house was burned at Badinloskin. An elderly woman who was sick might have still been inside. Accounts differ, but Sellar said she was carried out as soon as he realized. She died a few days later.

The Trial of Patrick Sellar

Sellar had made an enemy of Robert Mackid, the local sheriff. Sellar had caught Mackid hunting illegally on the estate. Mackid wanted to get back at Sellar. He accused Sellar of serious charges, including causing harm and setting fires.

As the trial got closer, the Sutherland Estate did not want to help Sellar much. They tried to keep their distance from him. Sellar was found not guilty of all charges on April 23, 1816. The estate was very happy about this. They saw it as proof that their clearance activities were right. Robert Mackid had to leave the area after the trial.

Leaving the Estate

William Young wanted to leave his job on the Sutherland Estate. After a review in 1816, his resignation was accepted. This left the problem of Sellar. The estate manager, James Loch, felt Sellar's personality was not right for the job. Sellar was seen as a scapegoat for some of the estate's problems. Sellar stayed until 1817.

The winter of 1816-1817 brought very hard times and food shortages. As factor, Sellar was in charge of getting food for the tenants. Rents were not paid. Sellar's plans to buy food were seen as too generous by the estate. This led to great hardship in many parts of Sutherland. Sellar began to suggest that poor people should move away.

Sellar as a Sheep Farmer

Sellar stayed on as a tenant of a new sheep farm in Strathnaver. He had lost money earlier because of delays in moving his sheep. But when his father died in 1817, Sellar inherited a good amount of money. He put a lot of energy into sheep farming and became very respected in the industry. He was a major tenant of the Sutherland Estate. He continued to write to them about his farm. More clearances in 1819 added to his land, but he was told not to take part in those clearances.

Patrick Sellar died in Elgin in 1851. He is buried in Elgin Cathedral.

Family Life

Patrick Sellar had several children with his wife, Ann Craig. Some of them became successful in different fields:

• Thomas Sellar, a merchant
• Patrick Plenderleath Sellar, a farmer
• William Young Sellar (1825–1890), a famous Scottish classical scholar
• Robert Sellar (1828–1900), who became a merchant in Australia
• John Alexander Sellar, a merchant
• David Plenderleath Sellar, a merchant
• Alexander Craig Sellar MP (1835–1890), a Scottish lawyer and politician

His grandson was the funny writer Walter Carruthers Sellar, who wrote the book 1066 and All That.

In Literature

Patrick Sellar is a character in Iain Crichton Smith's novel, Consider the Lilies (1968).

Images for kids

• 

  Sellar's portrait in Recollections and Impressions 1907

See also

• John Prebble