52 Ancestors: #24, Mary Cook 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 posting today is the First Wife of Hardy Sellers - MARY COOK. 
 
Hardy Sellers is my 5th Great Grandfather; thus, his wife is my my 5^th Great Grandmother. For years we knew that Hardy was twice married and that his second wife was Levinia Gulledge, daughter of Rev. Joel Gulledge and Zilpha Huntley. Hardy and Levinia had two children:
 
{#25} Evans, John Exer. vs. H. H. Sellers & others - Bill for partition & c 1851
See Will of Hardy Sellers. Hardy Sellers died testate on or about 17th January 1835, leaving widow, Levinia Sellers and children: Hardy Huntley Sellers and Zylpha Ann Sellers and the children & grandchildren from a former marriage, John Sellers; Abraham Sellers; Philip Sellers; Richard Sellers; Mary who intermarried with Thomas Gaddy; Elijah Gulledge, James Gulledge, & Pheobe Gulledge the children of Pheobe, a deceased daughter of Hardy Sellers who predeceased her father; and, Iverson L. Briley, the son of Jane, a deceased daughter of Hardy Sellers who predeceased her father. ¹
 
The name of Hardy’s first wife went undocumented for years until James C. Pigg published his book entitled “Some Descendants of Hardy Sellers of Chesterfield County, South Carolina” in 2001.² Prior to the revealing of Hardy first wife a large group of Sellers researchers were compiling data on the various Sellers Lines that can be found here: http://www.sellers-sellars-sollars-zellars.net/ ³
 
Among those involved were Marie Gulledge Wiggins, myself, Jim Pigg, Belinda Guerette and many others. If you browse the above website you will see the names of various contributors to this effort. 
 
Hardy Sellers first wife was revealed to be Mary Cook, daughter of Abram Cook and Feebe Mastin. This information was found in a Book entitled “The Book of Cooks" Some Descendants of Daniel & Ruth Moultrie Cook who married in South Carolina about 1785, by Virginia James Cook and Leacy Elizabeth Newell, Camden, Wilcox County, Alabama, 1978, Page 7. The information was provided to Jim by a “COOK” researcher in the state of Georgia. Her name is being withheld for privacy concerned but we chatted about the book just a couple days ago and she is sending me some additional pages from the Book. ⁴
 
MARY COOK, 1^st Wife of HARDY SELLERS
 
Mary Cook is my 5^th Great Grandmother. Very little is currently known about Mary Cook. She is said to be the daughter of Abram Cook and Feebe Mastin. I believe this to be partially right but a Quaker Meeting minute’s shows that Abraham Cook married Phebe MILLS not Feebe Mastin on 25 September 1756.
 


Abraham’s son, Daniel who married Ruth Moultrie had a son named Abraham Mastin Cook. It possible someone in the past assumed that this middle name “Mastin” was the surname of Daniel’s Mother and thus the reason Abraham was named Abraham Mastin Cook.
On the other hand we could be looking at two different Abraham Cook’s with wives named Phebe or Feebe. 
 
What is known about Mary Cook is based on data contained within ”The Book of Cook”.⁵ She married Hardy Sellers in Chesterfield County, South Carolina about 1771. This date is calculated based on their first born son John Sellers birth date of 19 June 1772. 
 
Hardy and Mary had 7 known children listed in the above equity record – 4 sons and 3 daughters. Census records indicate the possibilities of 2 additional daughters not named above. Hardy married Levinia Gulledge about 1827. Hardy and Mary are listed in the 1790-1820 censuses for Chesterfield County, SC. Mary’s date of birth is unknown. However, based on these 4 censuses Mary’s birth date calculates to be between 1756 and 1765. She died between 1820 and 1827. ^{6 7 8 9}






 
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[1] 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 118.
[2] Pigg James C., Some Descendants of Hardy Sellers of Chesterfield County, South Carolina (Tega Cay, SC 29708: James C. Pigg, 2001), page 1.
[3] http://www.sellers-sellars-sollars-zellars.net/
[4] Virginia James Cox & Leacy Elizabeth Newell, The Book of Cooks: Some descendants' of Daniel & Ruth Moultrie Cook who married in South Carolina about 1785 (Camden, Wilcox County, Alabama: n.p., 1978), page 7.
[5] Ibid.
[6] 1790 U. S. Census, Cheraw District, South Carolina, population schedule, St Thomas, Cheraws District, South Carolina, Page: 373; Line 939, Household of Hardy SELLERS; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : viewed 11 January 2012); citing National Archives Microfilm M637_11.
[7] 1800 U S Census, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina, population schedule, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Page: 106; Line 16, Household of Hardy SELLERS; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 11 January 2012); citing NARA microfilm publication M32, Roll 47.
[8] 1810 U S Census, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina, population schedule, Chesterfield, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Page: 578; Line 23, Household of Hardy SELLERS; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 11 January 2012); citing National Archives Microfilm M252_60.
[9] 1820 Census of the United States, Chesterfield, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Page: 128; Line 5th from bottom of page, Household of Hardy SELLERS; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 11 January 2011); citing National Archives Microfilm M 33_119.