Sibling Saturday~The Children of Phillip and Mary Sellers

Philip Sellers (1774- abt 1834) and his wife Mary (1774-bef 1850) are my 4^th Great Grandparents. They were married prior to 1790 in Cheraw District, South Carolina.

Those of you who follow this blog know the challenges of research in this County where Gen Sherman and his men burned the courthouse and every civil document they could find. Thus many of the children of Phillip and Mary are still unknown today.

Early census (1790-1810) shows that they had seven sons and five daughters with only four of these seven sons being identified while none of the daughters being identified.

One land deed in Anson County (M:214) provides the only known source of his wife’s Mary given name.

The following seven boys have been identified as children of Philip Sellers and his wife, Mary and even here there is controversy.

i. William "Old Frozen Bill" Sellers, born 1790, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina.
ii. Roland Sellers, born 1794, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina.
iii. Elijah Sellers, born 1800, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina.;
iv. Philip Sellers Jr., born abt 1806, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina.
v. Abram Sellers was born about 1820 or 1830 in Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina.
vi. Pvt. Hardy Sellers, born 13 Dec 1823, Chesterfield County, South Carolina.
vii. John W. Sellers, born abt 1825, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina.

The late Tony Smith and my dear departed friend Marie Gulledge Wiggins bantered back and forth on whether John W. Sellers was a child of Phillip and Mary.

Tony thought that John Matthew Sellers was the son of Phillip and Mary and Marie thought that John W. Sellers was their son.

Marie offered up these reason for why she thought John W. Sellers was the proper son.
1. John M(atthew) Sellers (called Matthew) was stabbed to death in 1849. He was married to Jerusha Smith and they had children born before 1840.
2. In the 1850 Census, John W. is married to Mary LNU and lived near the Sellers in and around Hopewell church.
3. In 1860, John W. is in Anson County.
4. Many have tried and no one has been able to place him with any other Sellers family.
5. John Matthew was born in 1810, much too early to be one of the 3 young lads in Philip and Mary’s household in 1830.

1830 United States Federal Census about Philip Sillers
Name: Philip Sellers]
1 Males - Under 5; John W.
2 Males - 5 thru 9; Hardy, Abram
2 Males - 10 thru 14;
1 Male - 40 thru 49: Phillip SELLERS, [1781-1790];
1 Female - Under 5;
1 Female - 5 thru 9;
1 Female - 30 thru 39; Mary SELLERS [1791-1800]
Source Citation: 1830 US Census; Census Place: , Chesterfield, South Carolina; Page: 262; NARA Series: M19; Roll Number: 172; Family History Film: 0022506.

I’m in agreement with Marie and feel certain that John W. is in fact a child of Phillip and Mary. Only a DNA test or more data will proved this case beyond any reasonable doubt. Meanwhile the search continues.






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1. 1790 U. S. Census, Cheraw District, South Carolina, population schedule, St Thomas, Cheraws District, South Carolina, Page: 373; Line 936, Household of Phillip SELLERS; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : viewed 11 January 2012); citing National Archives Microfilm M637_11.
2. 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.
3. Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database and digital images, (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 10 January 2011); Memorial page for Phillip Sellers; (1774–1835); Find a Grave memorial # 57564492, Citing Sellers Family Cemetery; Chesterfield, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, USA.
4. North Carolina, Deed Book: Deed Book M, page 214, Phillip Sellers to James Ratliff, M:214; Register of Deeds, Wadesboro, Anson County, North Carolina.
5. Ibid.