The “Aunts & Uncles” series of biographical sketches are Artificial Intelligence (AI) compiled narratives of selected individuals from my Genealogical database. The selected AI will used the RootsMagic Individual Summary from my Genealogical Software, Roots Magic. All genealogical data is my research material acquired over the past 46 years of research. Today's Biography of Hardy Sellers {1823-1863) was compiled with the assistance of Claude Sonnett 4 and is entitled:
"Hardy Sellers: Faith, Family, and the Cost of War"
Early Life and Family Origins
Hardy Sellers was born on December 13, 1823, in Chesterfield County, South Carolina, into a family deeply rooted in the region. His parents were Philip Sellers Sr. (1774-1835) and Mary Gulledge (1774-1848), both of whom had witnessed the early years of the American Republic. Sadly, Hardy's father passed away when he was just eleven years old, leaving his mother Mary to raise the family. Hardy grew up alongside his brother Roland Sellers (1794-1848), who was nearly thirty years his senior.
The Sellers family had established themselves as respected members of the Chesterfield community, and young Hardy would carry on this legacy throughout his life.
A Generous Act of Faith
At just seventeen years old, Hardy demonstrated remarkable maturity and devotion when he made a significant contribution to his community. On October 30, 1841, he donated two acres of land to the Hopewell Baptist Church of Chesterfield—land where the church's meeting house already stood. This generous deed, executed "for the love I have to God, and the interest I take in his cause on earth and to the Baptist denomination in particular," showed Hardy's deep commitment to his faith even as a young man.
The deed was witnessed and recorded properly, though it would later need to be re-recorded in 1888 after the original courthouse records were destroyed during Sherman's march through South Carolina in 1865.
Marriage and Family Life
Around 1845, when Hardy was about twenty-two years old, he married Mary E. Hancock, who was born on December 6, 1822. Together, they built a loving family and were blessed with at least seven daughters:
Lauraetta Jane Sellers (1846-1900) - their firstborn
Sarah Frances "Fannie" Sellers (1849-1914)
Mary Ann Sellers (1849-1922)
Harriett Sellers (born about 1850)
Susannah Wood "Sue" Sellers (1855-1939)
Martha Eliza Sellers (1857-1918)
Celia Rebecca Sellers (born about 1858)
The family moved around a bit during these years. By 1850, when Hardy was twenty-seven, they were living in Gulledge, Anson County, North Carolina, where Hardy worked as an overseer. The census that year captured the young family with Hardy, his wife Mary, and their two eldest daughters, Lauraetta (age 4) and Sarah (age 1), along with a woman named Zilpha Phillips.
By 1860, the family had returned to Chesterfield County, South Carolina, where the census recorded Hardy, now thirty-six, living with Mary and their growing household of daughters ranging from infant Celia to fourteen-year-old Loretta.
The Civil War Years
When the Civil War erupted in 1861, Hardy was nearly thirty-eight years old with a large family depending on him. Despite these responsibilities, he answered the call to serve the Confederacy. On April 12, 1862, he enlisted as a Private in Captain Kelly's Company, also known as the Chesterfield Artillery, part of the South Carolina Light Artillery.
Hardy served faithfully in this artillery unit, which was involved in the defense of Petersburg, Virginia—a critical railroad hub and supply center for the Confederate capital of Richmond. The siege and battles around Petersburg would prove to be among the longest and most grueling campaigns of the entire war.
A Tragic End
Tragically, Hardy Sellers never returned home to his wife and seven daughters. On August 15, 1863, at the age of thirty-nine, he died in Petersburg, Virginia. According to hospital records, he succumbed to "Febris Congestive"—a congestive fever that caused seizures and sudden attacks. He was being treated at the South Carolina Hospital in Petersburg when he passed away.
Hardy was laid to rest in Blandford Church Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia, far from his South Carolina home. Today, a memorial marker stands in his honor at Hopewell Baptist Church Cemetery in Chesterfield, the same church he had so generously supported as a young man. The memorial notes his service with the South Carolina Light Artillery, Captain Kelly's Company, CSA.
Legacy
Hardy Sellers lived just under forty years, but he left behind a meaningful legacy. His early gift of land to Hopewell Baptist Church served the community for generations. His service to the Confederacy, like that of so many young men from both sides, ended in tragedy, leaving behind a widow and seven daughters to carry on without him.
Mary survived her husband by thirty-seven years, passing away on May 15, 1900, at the age of seventy-seven. She was buried at Hopewell Baptist Church Cemetery, finally at rest near the land her husband had donated so many years before. Their daughters went on to marry and have families of their own, ensuring that Hardy and Mary's lineage continued through the generations.
Hardy Sellers is my 3rd Great Grand Uncle.
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1. Marriages and Death Notices obituary, Raleigh Register, Newport News-Hampton, Virginia, United States, 26 March 1844, Marriage: Mary Ann Adams & John Pratt.
2. 1850 Census, Anson County, North Carolina, population schedule, Sandy Point, Anson County, North Carolina, Page: 188A(stamped); Line 2, Dwelling 427, Family 427, Household of and John PRATT; online database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 5 June 2014); citing National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, Roll 619.
3. Emma Goodwin, Type Talk I of Lilesville Township: Anson County, North Carolina (Charlotte, North Carolina: Herb Eaton Historical Publication, 1990), page 16.
4. Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions Jan-1846, "John Pratt, Alex'r S. McAlpin and others vs William Pratt, Hiram Pratt, Daniel Short and wife," Legal Notice, Fayetteville Weekly Observer, Fayetteville, N.C., 10 February 1846, Page 2, Column 7.
5. "Death of John Pratt," Death Notice, The North Carolina Argus, Wadesborough, North Carolina, 15 December 1859, Died on 2nd Inst (Dec).
6. Anson County, North Carolina, Probate Files & Loose papers, John PRATT; digital images, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org: online July 2024); Pratt, John (1860).
7. 1880 U. S. Census, Anson County, North Carolina, population schedule, Morven, Anson County, North Caroline, enumeration district (ED) 2, Page:#342B (Stamped); Line:#43, Dwelling:#88; Family:#95, Household of James PRATT; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : online June 2024); citing National Archives Microfilm T9, Roll 0951.
8. 1880 CENSUS: Morven, Anson County, North Caroline;Enumeration District:#2; NARA Publication:#T9_0951; Page:#342B (Stamped); Line:#43; Dwelling:#88; Family:#95; James PRATT; Son, age 21, born in NC; Mary A. PRATT, Mother, age 55, born in NC and Eliza J. PRATT, Sister, age 22, born in NC; Gorge PRATT; Brother, age 16, born in NC and Jonas PRATT; Brother, age 10, born in NC.
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6742/records/19268999
9. 1880 CENSUS: Morven, Anson County, North Carolina; Roll: 951; Family History Film 1254951; Enumeration District: 2; Image: 0483; Page 345D; Line 29, Dwelling 137, Family 151; John DEESE, Male, age 41, born in NC; Harriett A. DEESE, Wife, age 26, born in NC; Derette DEESE, Daughter, age 5, born in NC; Mary E. DEESE, Daughter, age 4, born in NC; Nizza L. DEESE, Daughter, age 2, born in NC; Minne E. DEESE, Daughter, age 2, born in NC and Mary DEESE, Mother, age 72, born in NC.
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