Selina Mills facts for kids

Selina Anne Mills (born in 1767, died in May 1831) was a dedicated school teacher. In December 1789, she and her sisters, Mary and Fanny, bought a girls' school in Bristol. They bought it from the sisters of Hannah More, who was a well-known writer and educator.

Selina's Family Life

Selina was the daughter of Thomas Mills, a printer and bookseller from Bristol. She married Zachary Macaulay in August 1799. A famous writer named Hannah More introduced them.

Selina and Zachary settled in a place called Clapham, in Surrey. They had nine children together. One of their most famous children was:

• Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–1859), who became a well-known historian, poet, and politician.

Her other children included:

• Selina Macaulay (1802–1858)
• Jean Macaulay (1804–1830)
• Rev. John Macaulay (1805–1874)
• Henry William Macaulay (1806–1839)
• Frances Macaulay (1808–1888)
• Hannah More Macaulay (1810–1873), who married Sir Charles Trevelyan. She was the mother of Sir George Otto Trevelyan.
• Margaret Macaulay (1812–1834)
• Charles Zachary Macaulay (1814–1886)

The Bristol Elopement Story

A drawing about the Bristol Elopement by Thomas Rowlandson

Selina Mills was involved in a surprising event at her school. A rich student named Clementina Clerke, who was being educated there, ran away. This is called an "elopement" when someone leaves secretly to get married or escape.

A drawing by Thomas Rowlandson shows this event, but it's not exactly how it happened. What really happened was that someone pretending to be a servant delivered a letter to Selina. The letter claimed to be from Clementina's guardian. It asked Clementina to take a waiting carriage to go see him right away.

Selina and her sister Mary helped Miss Clerke get into the carriage. But later, they realized they had been tricked! Clementina had used this clever plan to run away from the school.