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1892 DAVID SELLERS 1835 SUMMIT CO, OHIO
Father = George Sellers
Mother = Eleanor

Brother = George Sellers (1911 in Querida, Colorado)

Children = (per Civil War File Iowa) 

SELLERS, DAVID

    DAVID SELLERS was born on November 20, 1835, in what is now Summit
    County, Ohio. He was the son of GEORGE SELLERS and ELEANOR
    (WALLICK) SELLERS. All records and references to Davids place of birth say he
    was born in Summit County, Ohio, but in fact, Summit County was not actually
    created until 1840, from parts of Portage, Medina and Stark Counties. Therefore,
    the area he was born in at the time was actually Stark Co., Ohio. Davids childhood
    years were spent on a farm in Coventry Township, Summit Co. Ohio. In 1854, at the
    age of about 19, David moved with his parents to Alton Township, Buchanan
    County,Iowa. (Alton Twp. was later renamed Fairbank Township). The 1856
    Buchanan Co., Iowa State Census states that David was serving in the Militia during
    this time.

    On February 1, 1862, in Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa, David married
    ELSIE ROBI(N)SON. Elsie was the daughter of JOHN ROBI(N)SON AND
    MARTHA (GRAHAM) ROBI(N)SON. Elsie was born on May 6, 1840 in
    Pennsylvania, and her parents were both born in New York.

    During the Civil War, David Sellers volunteered to serve in the Army of the United
    States for the period of 100 days. He was mustered into service on June 4, 1864
    and assigned to the 47th Regiment of Iowa Volunteer Infantry, Company D. Davids
    Volunteer Enlistment document states that at the time of his enlistment, he was 27
    years old, had blue eyes, brown hair, a light complexion, and was 5 feet, 8 inches
    tall.

    Davids regiment was assigned to garrison duty at Helena, Arkansas. The climate in
    Helena was unhealthful and the regiment suffered greatly from sickness. It was
    fortunate for the Forty-seventh Iowa that its term of service was short, and that it
    was not kept longer in that malarious region. Nearly seven per cent of the regiments
    soldiers were fatally stricken, while an equal or larger number returned to their homes
    with health greatly impaired. It is not known whether or not David suffered any
    lasting ill effects, resulting from his service in Arkansas.

    After serving his 100 days, David was mustered out of service in Davenport, Iowa
    on September 28, 1864. On October 25, 1864, a little less than one month after
    David’s return from duty, Elsie gave birth to their first child, ELMER LINCOLN
    SELLERS.

    After his military service David and his family resided in Davenport, Iowa briefly
    before moving to Reinbeck, Grundy Co., Iowa. Here David made his living farming.
    While living in this part of Iowa, David and Elsie had five more children: GEORGE
    EDWARD, born 1867; MARTHA ELEANOR, born 1869; ELIZA [LOUISA]
    JANE, born 1871; CLARENCE ARTHUR, born 1873; and ALICE IDA, born
    1876. David moved his family to Ness City, Ness Co., Kansas in 1878. It is thought
    that David and his family lived in a sod house, at least in the early years of their
    residence there.

    WALTER WARREN SELLERS was born in Ness City, Kansas on December 25,
    1878. He was the first of David and Elsies children to be born in Kansas, having
    been born just months after the familys arrival there. On August 24, 1881, another
    son, CARL KENNEDY SELLERS, was born to David and Elsie in Ness City,
    Kansas.

    In 1885 a State Census of Ness County, Kansas was taken, which included a
    separate Schedule of General Statistics relating to Farms, Productions of Agriculture,
    etc. According to this special census, David Sellers owned 160 acres of land, (none
    of which was fenced). The cash value of the farm was listed as $300.00, and the
    cash value of his farming implements and machinery was $10.00. The census also
    shows that in the fall of 1884, David had sown 10 acres of winter wheat and 6 acres
    of rye, and in the spring of 1885, he had sown 5 acres of corn, ½ acre of Irish
    potatoes, and 10 acres of sorghum. The farm also included an orchard of 30 peach
    trees. The census also showed that the family owned 3 horses, 3 milch cows and 1
    dog, and that Davids family had made 50 pounds of butter during the past year.

    The winter of 1886 was a difficult one for anyone living in Kansas and especially
    western Kansas. In January of that year there occurred a series of blizzards, the
    worst in Kansas history. The whole state suffered severely as drifting snow blocked
    rail transportation and fuel shortages became acute. Throughout most of January, a
    wind of gale strength howled across the High Plains, intermittently loaded with fine
    snow, creating a chill factor of one hundred below zero. The air temperature never
    rose above zero and was sometimes twenty or more below. Hot dry weather the
    next year caused crops to wither and die. Land prices plummeted, businesses and
    banks went out of business, many could not recover. Thousands of people left
    Kansas in the late 1880s and early 1890s.

    David was one of the farmers who left Kansas in 1890. Later, one of his grandsons,
    Frank Sellers, remembered having heard David talk about leaving Kansas to the
    grasshoppers.

    In April of 1890 David moved his family to Portland, Oregon. They were residing in
    the Mt. Tabor District of Multnomah County when the 1890 Oregon US Special
    Schedule for Surviving Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Widows Etc. was
    enumerated. David was listed as having served in the 47th Iowa Volunteers,
    Company D, for 100 days.

    In addition to having experience in farming, David also had carpentry skills. The
    1891 Portland, Oregon, Directory includes a listing for him. It names David Sellers,
    Occupation: Carpenter, Location: East Portland, south side of Base Line Rd., 1 w.
    of Prettyman Ave. Two of his sons, George and Clarence Sellers, are also mentioned
    as being laborers and residing with D. Sellers.

    In July of 1892, at the age of about 57, David moved his family one last time, settling
    permanently in the Liberty District of Dallas, (Polk County) Oregon. Here David
    continued farming and tending a vegetable garden.

    Elsie (Robi(n)son) Sellers died on May 22, 1918 in Dallas, Oregon. She and David
    had been married for 56 years at the time of her death.

    On May 30, 1928, at age 93, David Sellers was severely injured in a car accident,
    which caused his death several days later.

    David and Elsie are both buried at the Dallas, Oregon, IOOF Cemetery, where they
    share the same gravestone.

    Source:
    Biography written by Great Great Grand Daughter, Lynn Mack 2002; Sources
    include: Census Records; Marriage Certificate; Civil War Pension File Records;
    William G. Cutler's History of the State of Kansas, by A. T. Andreas, 1883; Kansas:
    A Guide to the Sunflower State, Federal Writers' Project, September 1939; Death
    Certificates; Obituaries; Known Family History, etc.

    Submitted By: Lynn Mack 39447
    Email Address:mackfamily@earthlink.net