52 Ancestors: #12, William Sellers

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story To Small has started a challenge of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

From her blog, “The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor. Not only should this get me blogging more, but also to take a deeper look at some of the people in my family tree.”

The focus of my blog today is William “Old Frozen Bill” Sellers, my 3rd Great Grandfather.

The car stopped on the highway just below Bannockburn where a man sat on the plazza of a farm house set well back from the road. 

"Can you tell me where Mr. Andrew Sellers lives?"

"Yes, ma’am," and the man rose and came down the steps, meeting the visor about half way the long walk.
"I’m looking for Mr. Andrew Sellers, an old Confederate veteran."
"Yes, Ma’am, that’s me."
"You? You’re not Mr. Sellers?" incredulously.
"Yes ma’am, --won’t you come in?"
And this old fellow, eighty-eight years young, walked briskly up the steps, went in the house and brought out a heavy, upholstered chair for his visitor to sit in while he talked reminiscently of old days.
Mr. Sellers was born in Chesterfield county in 1844, son of Bill Sellers and Elizabeth Parsons. His grandfather was known as "Old Frozen Bill" Sellers, whose wife was Gilly Edens [Eddins]. He says his parents, with several of his father’s brothers and sisters, seven families in all, took a great notion to go west in the forties, and very shortly after he was born they made the trip and settled out there. But a few years later his father died, and when an uncle from South Carolina came out to visit them in 1854, his mother and her children returned with him to Chesterfield.¹
 
This is the only document I have found that refers to my 3rd Great Grandfather, William Sellers, as “Old Frozen Bill Sellers. 
 
My 3rd Great Grandfather William Sellers was the son of Phillip Sellers and his wife Mary LNU. William was the 3rd born of eight known children, all boys. he was born between 1791-1800 and according to an Equity Court Record died in July 1844. 
 
#17 Ratliff, Susannah T. & Nancy vs. Gilly Sellers Exe. of Wm. Sellers Sr. - Bill for injunction & c 1846
William Sellers, Senior died July 1844, testate. Widow, Gilly Sellers; William Sellers, Senior and Gilly Eddings married before 1830, present was his brother, Hardy Sellers and her sister, Temperance Eddings who later married Moses Knight.²

As indicated above William Sellers married Gilly Eddins. They had 3 known children, 2 sons and a daughter. They may be other unknown children. The above Equity Court Record indicates that William Sellers died testate(with a Will) in July 1844; but no Will has been found.That’s most likely due to loss of pre-civil war records. 


Gilly died shortly after the death of her husband, sometime between July 1844 and November 1850. The exact date of her death is unknown but she cannot be found in the 1850 census.³  


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[1] Chesterfield Advertiser, April 07, 1932, page 3, col. 3-5: Andrew Washington Sellers, By Nellie Bristow, Florence Morning News.
[2] James C. Pigg, Cheraw/Chesterfield District Wills, 1750-1865: Abstracts from the Court of Common Pleas 1823-1869 (Tega Cay, South Carolina: Self-published, 1995), page 130.
[3] 1850 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Chesterfield, Chesterfield County, South Carolina; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 2000); citing National Archives Microfilm M432 Roll 851.