Selwyn Eugene Bickford was born around 1833 in Medway, Massachusetts, to James and Milly Bickford. His father was a manufacturer. Bickford grew up and attended school in Lowell, Massachusetts, and he married Harriet A. Kittredge on December 1, 1857. They lived in Lowell, and Bickford worked as a clerk. By 1860, he owned $1,500 of personal property.
On August 26, 1862, he received a commission as a 1st lieutenant in Company G of the 6th Massachusetts Militia Infantry. He mustered out on June 3, 1863.
He settled in Southfield, Virginia, after the war. He and Harriet got divorced sometime in the 1860s, and he married Caroline Van Allen on March 6, 1870. They had at least two children: Selwyn, born around 1871; and James, born around 1875. Bickford worked as a dry goods merchant, and by 1870, he owned $2,000 of real estate and $5,000 of personal property. They moved to Hampton, Virginia, in the 1870s, and he served as a county clerk. He supported the Republican Party. He died in Hampton on December 17, 1887.