Unnamed Latrobe

1793 - 1793  (~ 0 years)

• Name	Unnamed Latrobe
  Born	Nov 1793
  Gender	Male
  Died	Nov 1793
  Person ID	I674	mytree
  Last Modified	20 Jul 2022

  
  

  Father	Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe,   b. 1 May 1764, Fulneck, Leeds, Yorkshire, England ,   d. 3 Sep 1820, New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, USA  (Age 56 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Lydia Sellon,   b. 22 Aug 1760,   d. Nov 1793, London, England  (Age 33 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Married	27 Feb 1790	St James Church, Clerkenwell, London, England   [1]
  Notes	Benjamin Henry Latrobe proposed to Lydia Sellon in the true eighteenth century manner. The Reverend Dr. Sellon acquiesced at once, apparently with enthusiasm, but among the rest of the family there was much opposition. Years later in Richmond, Latrobe wrote out in 1797 a vivid account of the affair, with pungent character sketches of all members of the Sellon group. It was obvious that Mrs. Sellon was more worldly than her husband and had hoped for a wealthy marriage, but was eventually brought around to accept. One married daughter was violently opposed, the other favorable, and the sons were equally divided. Finally after various family meetings - at some of which Latrobe, to his great embarrassment, was forced to be present - the father won out and the marriage was at last approved. Then came the question of a settlement. Lydia's father was generous; she had been his favorite daughter, and she was to be protected at all costs. Here he was adamant; the hostile children raged, without avail. On Lydia the Doctor settled a generous income during her lifetime, a small reversion to her husband, and a large reversion to her children after her death. It is ironic to find that after Lydia's death, when Latrobe (in 1795-6) and the children (in 1800) had come to America, all Latrobe's efforts to collect for his daughter and his son what was their due came to naught. The children's estate had been left in charge of their uncles, William and John Sellon, who never paid. Again and again, when Latrobe found himself faced with almost insoluble financial difficulties and his mind turned to this inheritance, he wrote to his brother Christian in London, urging him to seek a settlement. He suggested that Christian call on John Sellon (which Christian did), without result) and later that the whole matter be put in the hands of John Silvester, the Latrobes' counsel, for handling. In one of those letters, (May 7, 1804) Latrobe wrote: "The conduct of the Sellons to me & my children, in not rendering an account of the money accumulating in their hands is unpardonable, and even dishonest, & the neglect of John Sellon in not returning your visit is ungentlemanly. William, I know, is no better than a bankrupt. If justice were done, he should pay, principal and interest, to my children of at least £20,000. But they will never get a penny." Latrobe tried through his brother, Christian Ignatius, and with John Silvester, legal counsel to get the Sellons to pay - all to no avail. The efforts finally ended after some two decades with the bankruptcy of William Sellon. After their marriage the couple lived in a house on Grafton Street.
  Family ID	F1	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  He died at birth.

  
  

• Sources

  [S20] Benjamin Henry Latrobe, Talbot Hamlin, (Name: Oxford University Press; Location: New York; Date: 1955;), Page 29-30.