Father Charged with Torturing Seven Sons
February 17, 1906
Summary
William Selhurst tortures his seven sons in terrible ways that are recited in a report of the crime.
Transcription
Father Charged with Torturing Seven Sons
Unnatural Parent Accused of Searing Their Flesh with a Large Wire Brush
Pittsburgh, Pa-- Charges of shocking brutality practiced on all his seven sons were made against William Selhurst of Allegheny in an action brought by the Humane society, the agents of which said the case was the most pitiable in the records of the society.
Selhurst has a family of boys, all bright-eyed and intelligent. They range almost from the cradle to about 15. Their mother died two years ago and it was sworn that since that time the father had treated them with revolting cruelty.
A long series of offenses was recited. One of them was that Selhurst had forced two of his sons to scrub each other with a wire brush. It was sworn that the father had taken the three boys into the yard and after flogging to of them, had made them strip the other little fellow, and take turns in swearing his back and sides with the sharp wire strands of the brush.
Another offense held against Selhurst was that he forced all his sons to go into the yard and stand there naked for three hours on Sunday evenings. Another punishment he was alleged to have inflicted was on one of his sons, ten years old. Because the little fellow caused him irritation Selhurst ordered him to take off his nightshirt and go to the coal cellar.
The boy shivered in the coal hole for several hours. Then, unable to stand the exposure any longer, he crept past his father asleep in bed and returned to his own.
Selhurst has worked steadily in a lucrative position in a manufacturing plant, but witnesses testified that the boys often were compelled to subsist on soup.
A heavy fine was imposed after Selhurst had promised that in the future he would treat his children with kindness and provide for them liberally.
Unnatural Parent Accused of Searing Their Flesh with a Large Wire Brush
Pittsburgh, Pa-- Charges of shocking brutality practiced on all his seven sons were made against William Selhurst of Allegheny in an action brought by the Humane society, the agents of which said the case was the most pitiable in the records of the society.
Selhurst has a family of boys, all bright-eyed and intelligent. They range almost from the cradle to about 15. Their mother died two years ago and it was sworn that since that time the father had treated them with revolting cruelty.
A long series of offenses was recited. One of them was that Selhurst had forced two of his sons to scrub each other with a wire brush. It was sworn that the father had taken the three boys into the yard and after flogging to of them, had made them strip the other little fellow, and take turns in swearing his back and sides with the sharp wire strands of the brush.
Another offense held against Selhurst was that he forced all his sons to go into the yard and stand there naked for three hours on Sunday evenings. Another punishment he was alleged to have inflicted was on one of his sons, ten years old. Because the little fellow caused him irritation Selhurst ordered him to take off his nightshirt and go to the coal cellar.
The boy shivered in the coal hole for several hours. Then, unable to stand the exposure any longer, he crept past his father asleep in bed and returned to his own.
Selhurst has worked steadily in a lucrative position in a manufacturing plant, but witnesses testified that the boys often were compelled to subsist on soup.
A heavy fine was imposed after Selhurst had promised that in the future he would treat his children with kindness and provide for them liberally.
About this article
Source
Location on Page
Lower Right Quadrant
Topic
Contributed By
Emma Roberts
Citation
“Father Charged with Torturing Seven Sons,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed January 20, 2026, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/384.