SELLERS .\' ,(^,srNTEh( ^1'\'/v r'r'<<t ^^s{L} tlAr'(^4. Y -.r ) ', .'r{t {,rr til \>..._ t-'- *-=r ;-:--=-- rogl r19sl FHe Qurren coLLEc:1..;,., ocT l{lvrnrono cclue €E Lr:.-' :} 1 2 rcat U r v-^-^ ^^ FOREWARD 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' England 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 Belper, in Duffield Parish, Derbyshire, 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 Derby and Nottingham 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, Nottinghamshire, 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.