SELLERS

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This fami ly history, taken from an account written

by the late Horace l./el l, S.l lers, has been prepared

to commemorate the Tricentennial Anniversary of

Samuel Sel lersr departure from' in 0ctober, 1681,

to settl e i n the new Provi nce of Pennsyl vani a. The gathering of Sel lers rd"r.:"ndants on 0ctober 4, 1981, at Radnor, Pennsylvania celebrates this event.

N i chol as' Sel lers

Peter H. and Lucy Be t I Se I I ers

t^li I I i am Wo and Nancy Sel I ers A SELLERS FAMILY HISTORY

The Sellers family was established in Pennsylvania by Samuel Sel Iers (1655-1732), who sai led from England in 1681, and arriving at the Province in 1682, settled near Darby, then part of Chester County.

Samuel Sel lers came from , in Duffield Parish, , where h i s forefathers coul d be traced to a remote period. (See Appendix) The name fi rst appears in records there as de Sal lowe or de Salor, by which name was designated also the manor property held by the fami ly in the twelfth century, near the present vi I lage of Sawley, in Derbyshi re.

The Sel lers ancestors in England were as a rule prosperous free- holders of substantial tracts in both and counties, df,d were connected by marriage to prominent local fami I ies. 0ne ancestor, Robert de Sal lowe, was married to Mary de Grey, daughter of Richard de Grey of Codnor, Derby, of an old Anglo-Norman baronial fami ly. His son, also Robert de Sal lowe, by marriage with Elena, daughter of Thomas Bel lais of Holm, , ocguired the Manor of Aldsworth in that county. Their grandson, William de Sallowe, also lord of this Manor, was High Sheri ff of Nottingham and Member of Parl iament in the reign of Henry lV. Through him the I ine continues to Robert Sel lers (1580-1518), and landowner in Belper, Derby, who was married to Mary, daughter of Ralph Francis, of All Saints, Derby, a cadet branch of the ancient fami ly of Francis of Fo rema rk, De rby .

Thomas Sellers, son of Robert and Mary Sellers, was the first member of the fami ly to become a Quaker, converted in about 1670. He was married to Elizabeth Lombe, aunt o.f Sir Thomas Lombe, the fi rst bui lder of si lk mi I ls in Derby. They had issue:

John, born August 20, 1648; died 1664

El i zabeth, born Janua ry 13,1649; married 1672 John Annab I e

Mary , bo rn Sep tembe r 7 , 1651- marri ed 1676 Samuel \,/alker

George, born February 13, 1652

Samue I , born Feb ruary 3, 1655

SJrah, born June 20, t663; unmarried. George and Samuel Sel lers, the only surviving sons, sailed from London on 0ctober 24,1581 in the "John and Sarah," paying six pounds for thei r passage. Because of bad weather and high seas ' they did not arrive in the New World until March 1 1, 1682; the cross i ng norma I I y wou I d take about three months. The two brothers seem to have had some means, as they had the money to pay for their lands, and they had brought with them a substantial quantity of personal possessions,, including such items as pieces of furni- ture, a warming panr pewter mugs and dishes, and even a wagof,, that were to be handed dqwn in the family. Samuel is known to have had an ivory-headed cane, on which he carved his initials durinS the long voyage across the Atlantic.

As soon as they landed, the two brothers went out to Chester County, and settled north of Darby, in the area later to be named Upper Darby. In that first winter in the New \,/orld, they occupied a cave, oF dug-out, in the side of a hill that overlooked a meadow above Naylorts Run. At this site the brothers jointly bui lt the dwelling known as "Sellers Hall,rrwhich still stands today. The genera I pl an of the house was in the f orm of an rrL with semi - 'rr detached outbui ldings, and facing to the south, it overlooked a broad meadow and Naylorrs Run to the future site of "Millbank,r' the home of Samuel rs great-grandson Nathan Sel lers.

In 1586, George Sellers was killed falling from his horse and Samuel inherited his property. George was planning to be married, and was engaged in building a house of his owp, not far from Sel ers Hall, on a site.known as Walnut Hill, where the unfinished wal s could be seen to the end of the nineteenth century. The adm nistration of George Sel lerst estate is recorded in the first Reg ster of Wi I ls docket book of the Province. lt is revealed that he held fifty acres of land in Darby township, a house, cattle and certain personal property, al I of which passed to his brother Samuel, the land forming part of the 100 acres which was after- I wards secured by patent. The inventory of George Sel lers estate seems to confirm the tradition that he was by trade a cooper' and his ownership of a cow agrees with the oft-told story of the discovery of his body. An early version of this is found in an old letter readinq:

tr0n Walnut Hi I I where the spl it Chestnut tree stands a 's hol low place where George dug a cel lar for a house he in- tended to build above the Maple spring. He went one day on horseback for a bundle of shingles and did not return. He was missing for several days and at last was found in the following extraordinary manner. He owned a favorite cow that Dastured with his brotherrs cows in what since was grandfather's (tfre f irst John Sellers) far f ield near to Steel's spring house" 0ne af ternoon the said cow took it into her head that she would not return as usual with the other cows but kept runn i ng back towards the spri ng bawl ing continually. At last it was thought best to follow her and see what was the matter; she led them i nto a thicket where they d i scovered the rema i ns of George Se I I ers, who had fal len from his horse with the shingles on top of him. I'Wfrilc down it appears that he held on to the bridle of the horse whic.h ran round and round him, the bushes and grass being trod down in a circle""

The body was bu r i ed where found, abou t. 25 feet from the bridle path or trail that led f rom Cobbs Creek ford to Sel lers Hall, and as late at 1840 part of the rail fence placed to mark and enclose the grave was still remaininq.

There was a seguel to this tale. According to Sarah Hoopes, daugh- ter of Martha Bunt ing and James Andrews, both Sel lers descendants in the last century: I'The strangest part of Lhe story .remains to be told, The fami I y at home were much d i sturbed at n ight by a st range rattling among the pewter plates and dishes on the kitchen dresser. Samuel , who seems to have been a fearless, up- right man, frequently went downstairs to ascertain the cause of the disturbance. For some time he could find nothing amiss, but one night on opening the kitchen door, he saw his (brother) George standing in the doorway in the bright moon- lisht.

rrSamuel having heard that a ghost on being addressed in the name of the Deity would be enabled to reply to questions put to it, said: rrGeorge, in the name of the Lord what does thee want?rr George repl ied that he had come back to inform him where his money could be found. lt was buried, he said, under the door si I I of the cooper shop, and another portion under a tree i n the woods which he particularly described, and he informed his brother at the same time, that having thus accompl ished his object, he would trouble him no more.

"Thepromise proved true. When search was made under the door sill, the money was found. That described as under a tree wa s , howeve r, not recovered , bu t some ne i ghbo rs who have been i nformed of the v i s ion were suspected of havi ng obta i ned i t. r'!/hilst Samuel was digging, he happened to look uF, and saw George peeping around the tree and said,tAh, George, I see thee ! ! whereupon the Ghost van i shed and was never seen aqa i n "rt Another story of the supernatural attributed to Samuel Sellers was told by descendant George Pennock in 1878: I'The following is the substance of a tradition that I heard stated by my father and wh i ch he had probabl y heard stated by my grandfather, John Sellers, having reference to my ancestor on my motherrs side, Samuel Sel lers, who came to America and settled in upper Darby in the latter part of the year 1581. about four mi les west of the river Schuylkill, opposite Philadelphia. which was founded bv 'dilliam Penn the followinq vear,

"samuel sel lers was a weaver by occupat ion. 0n one occa- sion he was wal king in Merion in the dusk of the morning" There appeared to be a man of some distance lookino at the land as if lvith the view to making a purchase" Samuel Sellers cal led to him:

tThat is good land, buy it.l

'The figure disappeared. sometime afterward samuel Sel lers was walking in the same place as before at a similar time of the morning and observed a man looking at the land and to whom he said:

I I have seen thee before"l

'rThe other repl ied:

| | have dreamed of thee before. t,r

At the time to which Samuel Sel lers referred, an ancestor of Lewis Jones, late of Merion, having under consideration to emigrate to America, had a dream which made such an impression upon him, in which he had seen this ground in America and a person had made to h im the rema rk quoted above.

This dream had had considerable influence in inducing him to come to this country. He bought the ground and settled there. The tradi tion was handed down in both the Sellers and the Jones families.

As stated, the original plantat ion occupied by the brothers contained 100 acres, and after holding this land at a quilt rent of a penny an acre, Samuel Sellers in 1690 purchased it of the proprietor for f ive pounds current money of the province, payable part in silver and part in wheat. A year Iater'he acguired of Ann Bunting 75+ acres, former- ly the plantation of her father, Charles Lee, and compri sing that part of the Sel lers Hal I farm bordering on both sides of the West Chester road and on Cobbs, then cal led Mi I I Creek" Besides clearing and cultivating this land, our ancestor fol lowed the trade of weaving, and took some active part in the affairs of the township as juryman, fence viewer, constable and supervisor.

Two years after his arrival in the province he married Anna, daughter of Henry and Eleanor Gibbons, their intention of marriage being the first entry in the minutes of Darby Monthly Meeting in 1584" At this time the meeting house at Darby had not been bui lt and the marriage ceremony was performed most probably at the house of John Blunston where the Friends' Meetings were frequently held, and being a magistrate, his presence was perhaps necessary in any event according to the practice at that time.

The marraige took place on August 13, 1684, and Anna rode to her new home on a pil I ion behind her husband. rtSel lers Hall" had not bee n quite completed at the time of the marriage, but apparently suff iciently so that the bridedid not spend her wedding night in the cave.

The Gibbons fami ly were from Parwich, Derbyshire, and Henry Gibbons name appears among those, who in 1659, were seized by the local author i t ies at a Quaker Meet ing at Eyam, i n that county, and, after suffering. great violence and abuse, were incarcerated for a month in the jai I at Derby. Henry and Eleanor Gibbons, bringing thei r daughter Anna, came to Pennsylvania with l^/illiam Penn in the "Welcome,r' arriving in 0ctober 1682. Thei r certificate of removal from the Meeting of Ashford, Derby, dated the 27th day of the fifth month of 1682 states:

"This is to satisfie ffriends in America or elsewhere that Henry Gibi ns .ye bearer hereof hath s i nce ye t ime he hath Come Amongst Friends, walked very orderly and ffai thful ly Amongst us and been of a Sober Life 6 Good Conversation. And a Good Savor ln his Country where he hath hitherto Lived e in Good Unity with ffriends in ye blessed everlasting truth and his Daughter Anna also ln which we now part with them being well Satisfied ln thei r goeings, though ye Loss of thei r Bodlyly prescence is something a neare thing to us, but we hope E desi re ye Lord may preserve them in there Jorney & keep them faithfull to ye Lord to ye end of there dayes E make them a Comfort to al I good ffriends where ye Goe, and Also all ye Goe w i th them to ye honou r of God foreve r. Amen.rl

A fine I inen towel made by Anna Gibbons Sel lers, decorated with her initials in tiny stitches, and those of five subsequent Anne Sellers, is sti I I preserved in the f ami ly.

Both Samuel and Anna Sel lers were active and respected members of the Society of Friends, and she was one of the overseers of the Meeting. In Dr. George Smi th's History of Delaware County (1852) , Samuel was described as "upright and just in his dealings; as a Friend, he was attentive to his rel igious duties, and submissive to the discipl ine of the Society, even yielding his judgement to that of the meeting in pr vate affairs, being 'willing to give wo!,1 in the- matter of the marr age of a daughter, to whi ch he had i nterposed object ions.... n his latter years the Society indulged him with holding meeting at his house during the inclement season of the year." ln 1714 Samuel Sel lers, then in his sixtieth year, conveyed his enti re plantation to his only son, Samuel, Jr., retaining for himself and his wife a I ife interest in one-half. He I ived on to the ripe old age of seventy-seven, his death occurring on November 22,1732. Anna survived him unti I January 19, 1742, and both were buried in the Fr i ends ' g rounds at the Da rby Meet i ng.

0f the six children of Samuel and Anna Sellers, the youngest,George and Elizabeth, died in childhood, leaving but one son, Samuel, Jr., and three daughters, Sarah, Mary, and Anna, who intermarried with the Ashmead, Marsha I I , Vernon and Pri tchard fami I ies.

Samuel Sellers, Jr., the son, was 2l+ years of age when the Sellers Hall property was transferred to him and, I ike his father, was by trade a weaver and credited with certain useful inventions connected wi th the craft. Reputedly the fi rst Ameri can wi re weaver, Samuel Sellers jealously guarded his difficult art. For many years, it is said, he plied his trade in secrecy, using the top floor of his home for a workshop. Like his father, the younger Samuel was an outstanding citizen, and served Darby Township as supervisor in 1725, and again in 173A. He was a constab le in ''748, af ter the f irst division of Darby and Upper Darby, and was supervisor of Upper Darby Township in 1752. He also se rved as oversee r of the poor.

He married in the year 1712, Sarah, daughter of John and Eleanor (OotUy) Smith, ministers of the Society of Friends, who came to the colony from Leicestershire, England. 0f thei r chi ldren, Samuel Sel lers, '3rd, the e I dest, removed to \^/est Bradford on the Brandy- wine, at the time of his marriage to Jane Wood in 1737, and founded the Chester County branch of Lhe family. Joseph, the second son, married in 1751, Hannah Paschall, and also settled away from the homestead, while John, the youngest, remained with his parents. I Hannah, the eldest daughter, married in 1736 Richard Lloyd, of Merion, by whom she had three sons, and after his death she married Lewis Davis, of Haverf ord, i n 1757. E I izabeth, the second dauglrter, married in 1738 John Hunt, of Kingsess; Mary, the third daughter, married in 174\ David, a son of Nathan Gibson, of Kingsess.

Following the example of his father and grandfather, Samuel Sel Iers in 1752 conveyed the Sel lers Hal I property to his youngest son John, retaining a moiety for his own use during his lifetime. His death occurred in 1773 when, according to the'rPennsylvania Gazette,rt he lef t "6\ children, grandchi ldren and great-grandchildren."

This brings us to a period when the history of Sellers Hall grows in interest, because of the wider activities of the later generations, and the more complete records we possess. lt was during John Sel lers' ownership that new industries were established and many improvements made to the house and farm. ln 1757 he purchased the right to bui ld and maintain a dam on Cobbs Creek near the entrance of lndian Run and it was here that he bui lt his grist mi I l. The saw mi I I followed, and no little engineering skill was displayed in developing the power to operate it. There being no site at the grist mill for a mill pond of sufficient capacity between the banks of Cobbs Creek, a head race was constructed to fol low the contours of the ground by a winding course leadi ng across the present l^/est Chester Road to a low p iece of land between it and Sellers Hal l. Here i t formed a ci rcular bas is of considerable depth, and thence the race recrossed the road I ine, uti I i zing thus the enti re head or difference between the level of the stream above the grist mill dam and at the site of the saw mill below.

At the saw mi I I John Sel lers and his two eldest sons set up the power driven rippers and draw bench for wi re working, and also a press for making I inseed oi l. Besides these improvements, he enlarged the farm by purchase of 89i acres of the original Marshal I land, extending the I property to the Marshall Road on the south and making his entire holdings about 250 acres. t ln 1749 John Sel lers married Ann Gibson, a daughter of Nathan and Ann (Hunt) G bson of Kingsess, and of their ten children, six reached maturity. E izabetlr, the eldest, married in 1768 Nathan Garrett, Jr., and died in 774. Samuel and..!ames died in 1776, the four surviving sons be i ng Nathan, David, John and George. I t was a simple and homely I i fe that our forefathers led at Sellers Hall in its early days. Prior to John Sellersrtime the farm in season was doubtless the chief occupation of the house- hold, varied by such spinning and weaving as may have been carried on at al I times, although i t is not unl ikely that the hum of reel and cl ick of shuttle served mainly to enl iven the winter months, when the work in the shop gave employment to the farm hands who were reta i ned throughout the year. Then i t was they prepared the sieve hoops and frames after the wire work had been introduced by John Sel lers, these occupations becoming sti ll further diversified when the saw mi I I and other industries were established,

\,/hile the sons of the household were trained to habits of indus- try, there was due regard to i ntel lectual development, and parental care and example bore frui t in those qual ities of mind and character which distinguished them. Fortunate as they were in their father John Sellers, it is only necessary to turn to old letters and verses in which their motherrs praises are sung to real ize with what tenderness she was regarded. George Sel lers, the youngest son, shortly after his father's death in 1804, wrote of her:

rrNot one a I one, but a I I manki nd she I oves , And all within the little sphere she acts Have felt her kindness and revere her worth, And numerous poor her goodness has rel ieved Will bless her daily to their latest hour Tho'widowed now, old, feeble and deprest, Her heart retains its active love for all, And I bel ieve no woman here on earth Better performed the duties of a wife, A tender mother and an active Friend."

John Sel lers was active in publ ic I ife as a member of the Provincial Assembly and of numerous commissions for highway, canal and other improvements to which his engineering ski I I eminently qual i fied him. He was one of the original members of the American Phi losophical Society, and on its rolls is dessribed as byprofession tyrveyor. " DurinS the events preceding the Revolutionary War, he was apppointed on a committee with Anthony ly'ayne, Hugh Lloyd and others of Chester County, to meet and correspond with simi lar commi ttees of other counties and join in measures for the publ ic good. In the same year, lJJ\, he was a Deputy from Chester County to the so-called "Boston Port Bil I" convention held et Ph i I ade lph ia.

He was appointed by Congress to sign the paper currency issued during the war, and it was for this and other patriotic activ- ities that he was disowned by the Society of Friends. of the township' Nathan sellers, his son, with other young men for taking up arms' and it is not hadrrqu alreadyq|'eev' been--;^t:-":;"^-- disciplined f^,,^d himself unlikelythatJohnSellersfoundoccasiontoexpreSS^..."i. f ind him accused forcibly on the subject, for at this period we manner at the!L^ time +i- of having conducted himself in "a contentious made acknowledgement for of a monthly meeting.'r subsequently, he soon brought ,,casting ref lectionS on Friendrr" but the overseers signed bi I ls of further testimony against him because he had for sawing timber for credit issued to carry on the war, and the Monthly to the mi I i tary purposes. He appealed hi s case from the Yearly Meeting when, in 1779' Quarterly Meeting and finalJy to last to appear in he al lowed i t to"go by defauit, fai I ing at !h". of many public-spirited matter. His position was not unlike that upon to choose between men who at that critical period were cal led discipline of the duty to their country and allegiance to the incident is perhaps religious society to whicr' th"y belonged. The one of his sons indicative of Joirn sellers' character, for and steadfast in described him as being outspoken in his opinons point of obstinacy, adding support of them almost at times to the his son John bore a close that in temp.i*"nt as wel I as in feature, resemb I an ce to h i m. v/ar the act ivi t ies at From the beginning of the Revolut ionary time' Frequent orders sel lers Hal I reflect the exigencies of the shop books and many for priming wi res and brushei in the "ppear the neighboring powder days were devoted to making salipetre for and samuel were mills. Like their father, the brothers Nathan credit and we have a partial among those appointed to tigi bills of that passed through record of the many qui res oi paper money the i r hands. army for service Besides the horses seized by the continental rai!s of the Hall,r' it appears' di-d not escape the "sellers and doubtless bore its Hessians after the battle of Brandywine, to the countrysi de ful I share of the anxieties and alarms common a' The year 1776 had during the Bri ti sh occupation of Phi ladelphi through the death of two already brought sorrow to the household later Samuel then in sons, fi rst James, aged eleven, and a month ' actively engaged in ear'ly manhood, and as we have already seen' with his brother his father,s affairs and closely associated Nathan. passed a resolution recal I ing when the continental congress in 1776 prepare the paper moulds for Nathan sel Iers from mi I itary duty to were the messengers the Treasury Board, samuel and his father Sellers was-then appointed to convey the order to him' Nathan battalion' encamped serving as Ensign in Col. Jonathan Paschall's Long lsland' 0n his at Newark, N.J., following the battle of mould making by hi s return to Sel lers Hal I he was assi sted in th; being the foundation brother unti I the latter's death, this work the remainder of his of the business which Nathan continued during younger brothers active I i fe. Unti I the close of the war' the military service' but in David, John and George were not called to rol I of the Upper Darby the latte,. p"ri of t780, in the muster company of mi I it ia, under Captain t/i I I iam Ki rk, the name of John Sellers, Jr., appears together with his brother-in-law, Nathan Garrett, Jr., and John Dunlap, farm hand and man-of-all work at Sellers Hall. Later, in the return for 1786 of the 3rd Chester County Battal ion, 3rd Company, under Captain John Vernon, we find the name of George Sel lers, who was then of an age to bear arms, and at least attended muster and f ield day, although the occasion for act i ve se rv i ce had then passed.

After the c'lose of the war John Sellers, Sr., was elected a member of the fi rst"Assembly of Pennsylvania, but decl ined to serve, being of the party then opposed to vesting the legislative power in one body. He also decl ined to serve when appointed an Associate Justice of the County Court, but from 1780 until 1789 he was actively engaged on various commissions for public improve- ments. He represented Delaware County in the convention which adopted the f irst State Constitution, and in 1790 he was elected to the Senate. His death occurred in 1804, his widow surviving him but a little ov-er a year.

Turning now to the four sons of this household, we f ind that after recei ving such school ing as was avai lable, Nathan, the eldest, was apprenticed to Henry Hale Graham, Esq., a lawyer at Chester, and at that time Prothonotary of the countyl Samuel, the next younger son, appears to have received his training on the farm and in the wire shop; David was apprenticed to David Bacon, a trunk and hat maker in Phi ladelphia; John, Jr., found employment under Thomas Stee I , at the "1,/ays i de" tannery on the I^/est Ches te r Road, whi le George, the youngest son, was engaged on the farm to which he subsequently devoted hi s I i fe.

After leaving Mr. Graham's law office, Nathan Sel lers served for a time as Recorder or Clerk for the Supreme Executive Counci I of the Province and found frequent employment also with various attorneys at Phi ladelphia. Between these engagements the wi re work and other home duties claimed his attention. and he seems to have had a natural taste for such pursui ts. He helped hew the timbers and erect the saw mill on Cobbs Creek which, according to h i s da i ry, was comp leted and put i n operat ion on June 4, 1173, and by 1775 he had become actively interested on his own account in the wi re work, then largely carried on at the saw mi I l, where he began the manufacture of paper moulds in 1776. In 1780 he leased from his father the adjoining grist mi I I on Cobbs Creek, employinS the mi I ler Steel to operate it, and after he removed to Phi ladelphia the Steels continued the business unti I about 1814.

The brothers, Nathan, David and John, married sisters, Elizabeth, Rachel and Mary, daughters of Joseph Coleman, of Phi ladelphia. ll athan's courtship was clandestine, for, as he f inally explained in a letter to Elizabethrs father in 1779: r'l am declared not to be in unity with Friends for associating and taking up arms. Under these circumstances I know not whether thee can grant me the I iberty of thy house on the occasion, y€t I sincerely wish i t could be done wi thout uneas i ness to thysel f or i ncurring the censure of thy Friencis." Snortly following this appeal they were married before a magistrate, and without objection on the part of the ove rsee rs of the mee t incl .

David Sellers and his bride were not so fortunate. They were disciplined b.y the meeting af ter their marriage in New Jersey by a magistrate. The event was a surprise to their family, although doubtless anticipated, for in a letter to his wife, Nathan Sel lers writes about this time: "David, the rogue, why did he not tel I us he was married when he came for thee, indeed I bel ieve he must have been married the time before when uD." David Sellers was then following his trade in philadelphia, and a few years later ente'red info partnership with his brother under the f irm name of "Nathan g David Sellers.,'

John sellers, Jr., the next younger brother, after pursuing his trade at the "wayside" tannery, removed to phi ladelphia in the year 1784, when he establ i shed himsel f in the same business on Third street, and ten years later entered into partnership with Joseph Keen. In his marriage with Mary Coleman he fol lowed his brothers'example,although the overseers of the Meeting, evi- dently forewarned, had al ready "precautioned" her, and the ceremony being performed by a magi strate, they were accordi ngly disowned by thei r respective meetings. John Sel lers, Jr., under his father's will, inherited a portion of the Sellers Hall land lying north of the West Chester Road, and reti ring from business in 1808, l ived for some years at "waysi de" where he had learned his trade.

h/hile the older brothers were thus fol lowing their respective ventures in the city, George Sel lers the youngest son remained with his parents at Sel lers Hal l. Having devoted his I ife to the farm, and his brothers being provided for, it was natural that the homestead should eventually pass to him, thus fulfilling the desire he expressed in verses entitled'The Harvest Dayt' written in tSot:

"Long may I toi I mid these beloved fields, And emu I ate the v i rtues of my s i res, For toil respected independence yields, The state to which each clenerous mind asDires."

ln 1808 he married Ann Evans Ash and like his elder brothers surprised his family with the announcement af ter the wedding had taken place quietly at 0ld Swedes Church.

U'ntil this time the household affai rs at Sellers Hallwere under t he ca re o f Rache I L I oyd, who made it her home from 1779 until George Sellers' marriage, when she removed to hi s brother John's. rema i n i ng there as housekeepe r for 26 vears.

In the diary of Charles Willson Peale, the artist, is an inter- esting account of a visit he paid to Sellers Hail in 1814 where he was impressed by the spacious horse and cow stabl es and method of conveying v/ater to them. l.le described the shop and post making machi nery , over whi ch shop was another fi tted wi th work

10 bench, a stove and a variety of useful tool s where he sai d "the owner could amuse himself comfortably in rainy weather.tl Visiting also the farm of tlathan Sellers, he viewed the ground where he proposed to bui ld a house, "a handsome si te" he descr i bes i t, and thence to another farm where Nathan had a saw mill "on the site of a paper mill lately burned." He next visited John Sel lers' place, where he found simi lar improvements to those at Sel lers Hal I and comments on the new mi I I then being erected, "a spacious bui ldingr" he wri tes, "being four stories h I gh f,n the s i de next to the meadow and two on the I and s i de.rl

The house lot referred to ;" Nathan Sel lers' farm across the meadow from Sellers Hall was where he built "Mill Bank" in 1817, and at the saw mi I I near the old paper mi I I si te on Cobbs Creek was where Nathanrs son, Coleman Sel lers, in 1829 manufactured wool and cotton cards before his shops at Cardinqton were established. Nearby to this was "Eel Hall," occupied at intervals by Nathan and Davi d Sel lers before they moved the i r fami I i es from the city, and afterwards used in connection with the Cardinqton works. Subsequently, in the division of the property in Upper Darby held jointly by Nathan and David Sellers, the latter's son James acqui red the ilSprington" place, whi ch thenceforth was the homestead oL that fami ly.

John Sellers, Jr., while living at "Wayside," enlarged his farm by the purchase of land formerly owned by Peter Hood, and in 1824 removed to hi s new house s i nce known as "Hoodl and. l' I n 1825 Charles Cadwal lader, who had married Rachel, daughter of David Sel lers, bought the Brannon place on 14arsha ll Road, and in 1829 bui l t the home know as "0ak Hi l 1." At a later period David Sel lers' son Samuel and his cousin Nathan Sel lers, Jr., bui lt the adjoing places known as "Edgef ield" and "f/ild 0rchard" on 11arshall Road east of rrMi I I Bank,'r and thus was completed that chain of homes encircling "Sel'lers Hall" and forming within itself a little community of kinfolk.

The industrial development of the which followed the Civi I War was to scatter some members of the Sel lers fami ly across the country. At the same time, by the end of the nineteenth century, the westward encroachments of the city of Phi ladelphia into rura I uppe r Darby were to I ead . to the gradua I break i ng up of the close fami ly community that had existeJ there so long. For the most part, however, the Sel lers descendants have rema ined i n the Phi ladelphia area and in the adjoining counties, many of them fol lowing engineering, architectural, or industrial pursuits which manifest the mechanical bent of thei r forefathers.

tl Al-ru_!!_ell

EARLY ANCESTRY OF SELLERS FAMILY OF THE COUNTIES OF DERBY AND NOTTINGHAM

0SBERT DE SALL0R (or DE SRI-lOf ) lived at or near , Derby, circa 1180.

RICHARD DE S0LERS (or De Salers) held lands in the Wapentake of Bassetlaw, Notts., and also'in Derby, near Sandiacre, temp. Richard l.

wlLLlAM DE sALL0R, of Derby, identified as father of Robert, below, circa 1180.

1,. .|180. R0BERT DE SALL0R I i ved at or near Sandiacre, Derby, circa

5. R0BERT DE SALL0t^/Ewas a fandowner at Sandiacre, Derby in 1302.

6. R0BERT DE SALL0t^/Ewas a I andowner at Sand i acre, S tan ton, Se I s ton, , and elsewhere in Derby and Nottingham in 1325. He married MARY DE GREY, daughte r of R I CHARD DE GREY, of Codner, Derby. He died prior to 1335.

7. R0BERT DE sALL0wE was aged 23 or more in 1335. He owned lands in sandiacre and stanton-by-Dale, and through his wife, the Manor.of Al lesworth, Notts. He married ELENA DE BELLAIs, daughter of TH0MAS DE BELLATS (or BELLET./). His younger brother, WtLLtAl4 DE SALL0[/E, Archdeacon of Coventry went abroad on the crusades and was not heard of again

8. JoHN DE sALL0l,/E (on sALLER) owned lands at sandiacre, Stanton, and Breydeston, Derby. He died prior to 1352

9. L/lLLlAM DE sALL0t"/E, gf sandiacre, stanton, etc., was 23 or more in 1362 and died in 1410. He was sheriff of Nottingham temp. Ri chard | | and Henry tv. He married AyDAyNE wt LL0uGHBy , s i s te r of Hugh t^/illoughby of t/ollaton, Notts.

10. J0HN sALL0wE was the 4th son, and of age prior to 1417. He inherited lands at Selston, Notts.

11. wlLLlAM sALLOwE (o. sELAR) was I iving in 1510. He resided at Hockryton on lands formerly held by his grandfather.

12. TH0MAS sEL0l/ (or sEL0R) of serston, Notts., was born c. 1500 and died 1558. He married MARGERY. He was a worsted weaver and appears to have had consi derable property.

13. J0HN SELL0\"/ (Sf tORS, SELLERS) , born c. 1525 and d ied 1602/A3. He lived at Belper, Derby and at Longstone, Derby, and died and was buried at the latter place in the churchyard.

14. TH0MAS SELLERS was born c. 1S5O and died prior 1610 at Duffield, Derby. He was buried at Longstone wi th hi s father.

12 APPENDIX

15. R0BERT SETLERS was born in the parish of Crick c. 1580 and I ived at Belper in the parish of Duffield, Derby, where he died and was buried in 1618. He married 2d. c. 1607 MARY FRANCI S, daughter of RALPH FRANCIS of the pari sh of Al I Saints, Derby, She died in 1620.

16. THOMAS SELLERS was born c. 1607 and I ived at Belper, Derby. (Note: The name "Belper" cbme originally from "Beau Repaire," a hunting retreat of Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster, d. 1296.) Thomas Sel lers married ELIZABETH L0MBE, daughter of EDWARD LOMBE. He became a Quaker in 1670. His wife died i n 1671 and he d ied then or soon afterwards. They were buri ed at Duf f ield. They had six child-ren: John 1548-1664; El izabeth, b. 1649; Mary b. t651; George b. 1652, who came to Pennsylvania with his brother Samuel; Samuel, baptized February 3, 1655; and Sa rah b. 1663.

17. SAMUEL SELLERS (1655-1732)sailed forPennsylvania in 1681.

13 THEAUAKEI? COLLECTION HAVERFORDCOLLEGE 370 LANCASTERAVE. HAVE&FCRD,PA1904I .19q2

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