Johan Michael Sellers

GEDCOM Note

1775 (Waylands) Felix Gilberts list of tithables Augusta Co (now Rockingham) lists MICHAEL ,ADAM, PETER, HENRY, JOHN SILLERSPatent Bk 1-Page 63= 106 ACRES ON WEST SIDE OF Smith's Creek By Daniel SMITHS land NOV 1781- Rev War claim for selling Beef to Rev War. 1785 - Bk 1 page 319= 60 acres on east side of Dry Fork on Smith Creek (recorded in Hampshire Co., VA/WV)1788 Rockingham Co Tithables = Michael and male Jacob over 168-18-1812 Rockingham Co., VA Michael SELLERS estate, Exec = Andrew SELLERS Bond- Zebulon Harrison, Peter Zetty, Peter Henton1818 - wife Christina deceased before Researched by MARY MARIE KOONTZ ARRINGTON Zellers/Sellers, Massanutten, 1986 FRANK M. SELLERS,1984 descendants of Heinrich SellersEnlisted Woodstock, Shenandoah Co.,Va in 8th Va"pension statement of fact.But JOHAN MICHaeL b Germany, married "HIEDLURG Township, Lancaster Co Pennsylvania near BERKS CO line [now Lebanon Co.,] PA. and marrying DILLMAN there in then going to ENLIST in Va for a land bounty of 100-200 acres, plussometimes a slave, while others of the Hiedleburg German's went to CentreCo., Pa's Brushy Valley, [Penn state University area]. Then, maybe 50 families ofthose ex Heidleburg Germans unite in sw BROWN CO,OH; se Clermont, and nwCLERMONT, and adj NEW GERMANY at Christian Waldschmidt's mills. [father minister at Hiedlkeburg,-Reading Pa. -wife a BOLENDER, as were the Shinkle's wifes.. ] Bolender's Shinkle's lived 1st at the Augusta, Bracken Co Ky s BROWN CO Oh ferry, just as Leonard SELLERS KY,and Michael Sellers [OH] lived near the next, Josephus waters ferry up-river. James Kirkpatrick, whose grandfather is Andrew Hill, m 1839 atop the hill from Waters ol ferry Mahala SELERS. 40 years later, James dies, and Mahala, and brother move 10-15 miles to a BOLENDER-SHINKLE-[hiedleburg Paborn] neighborhood. And Mahala marries her ELMER to Izora Kellum [named for Izadora Shinkle?]. who had both BOLENDER and Shinkle blood. Meanwhile, the Joel Bolender line intermarries with a desc of Alexander HILL. Feb 28, 2003 from Mike Amber: To add a bit more to the Michael Sellars listed on the 1810 Rockingham Co., Virginia, Census .... Michael Sellers also appears on the 1787 Rockingham Co. "Personal Property Tax Lists". He shows as owning 4 horses and 15 head of cattle. A SECOND Michael Sellers is also listed. It shows that the first Michael Sellers listed is responsible for paying the tax for the 2nd one. This means that the 2nd Michael Sellers is evidently the son and is Michael Sellers, Jr. On this tax list, the county commissioner was required to note the day he visited each taxpayer and the "Militia District" in which each taxpayer lived. These two Michael Sellers' were visited by the tax commissioner on March 12, 1787 and were located in Militia Company 9. Additionally, in John W. Wayland's "Virginia Valley Records", under 'Militia Vouchers' in 1788, the following listing appears: under "Captain Richard Ragan's Company, No.13, Michael Sellers, 1 tithable, son Jacob, 4 horses". The 4 horses listed as part of Capt. Richard Ragan's Company for the Militia Vouchers in 1788 matches what was counted by the county tax commissioner for the 1787 Tax List for Rockingham Co.. The Michael Sellers on the Tax List and the Michael Sellers listed in Wayland's is the same person. So, this Michael Sellers was most definitely in Rockingham Co. Virginia as early as 1787, he had a namesake in Michael Sellers, Jr., and another son, Jacob. I still haven't a clue as to which family he fits into. The Michael Sellers in Rockingham Co. is most definitely German. I think maybe one of the keys to figuring how who he was and how he fits is to uncover who this "Captain Richard Ragan" was, did he serve in the War, and, if so, did his Company serve in the War and WHERE? Michael Sellers THE ZELLER-SELLERS & ALLIED FAMILIESMICHaeL SELLERS Sex: M Death: Abt 1812 in Melrose,Rockingham Co., VirginiaIn 1781 Johan Michael Zeller was deeded land near what is now Melrose Station in Rockingham Co., Virginia, by then-Governor, Thomas Jefferson. Michael built on the land and hosted Methodist circuit riders to hold services there. On a portion of what was once his land the original Fellowship United Methodist Church was built and the original cemetery laid. Michael and his wife, who has so far has escaped identification, are undoubtedly buried in the old, original cemetery. Upon his death, about 1812, the entire homestead went to his son, Andrew Sellers, who also served as the Executor of Michael's estate. Upon this land Andrew raised his own family, built his own home, and remained there until his death on October 21, 1859. Like his father, Michael, he was buried in the original Fellowship U.M. Cemetery. Andrew left the property to his own son, Silem, and it was he that built an addition to the fine home that Andrew originally constructed. Over time, however, the home began to give way to the erosion of the years and became "dilapidated", to put it nicely. The land and home, however, were purchased and a restoration of both began in 1994. An article detailing a bit of its history as well as the restoration was printed in the June 4, 1994, edition of the Daily News-Record newspaper (Harrisonburg, Virginia). A copy of the article is cited as follows:Daily News-Record (Harrisonburg, VA) June 4, 1994 Renovation Uncovers Log House - By CHRIS EDWARDS News-Record Staff Writer: Andrew Sellers had no chainsaw to cut the heavy, pine heartwood logs for his home near Linville. He had no tractor to haul either those logs or the blue limestone rocks that became the foundation and chimneys.In the early 19th century there was not even anything we would call a road to Sellers' place, says William H. Groseclose, who is restoring the long-neglected frontier home. Sellers probably brought what supplies he could with a wagon and mule. He mixed mud with horsehair to think the green logs (which are of a size that could not be found today). Sellers had no slaves, though the nails he used may have been made at Monticello by the slaves of Thomas Jefferson. It was Jefferson who in 1781, as governor, deeded the house's site to Sellers' father, Johan Michael Zellers (the spelling of whose German name was eventually Anglicized to Sellers). Sellers probably obtained both the lumber and the rocks from the field right around the cabin site, Kelly Wampler, Groseclose's contractor for the restoration, said as a crew was at work this week sawing and plastering. I-81 is visible now over a wooded hillside from the home, near Melrose Station on U.S. 11. But in Sellers' time the farm was an isolated site, where Methodist circuit riders held services before building the nearby Fellowship United Methodist Church.In 1859 Andrew's son, Silem, built an addition on the house for a total cost of $136.01. (Laying the foundation cost him $1.25.) Last year when Groseclose bought the house -- vacant for three years -- he found the addition "in bad, bad shape."That's been torn down. And the log house itself appeared so dilapidated that some people recommended the wreckers' ball for it as well. But Groseclose and Wampler thought otherwise. They began its restoration, and construction of a new addition, this February. The old home, in what a historic homes survey calls a "rustic " style, features an opening for a 3-foot, 3-inch-wide "funeral door"; one to fit it is on order. Its two chimneys are stone below and brick higher up. Brick replaced limestone as weather wore the stone away, Wampler said. Both fireplaces had massive, now highly valued "Hessian" mantlepieces, which will go back into place when the work is done. White clapboard siding placed by a previous owner has been removed, exposing the logs. They will be chinked with wire lathe, white Portland and lime, mixed with yellow sand for an off-white color, said Wampler. "I'm going to be searching for bullet holes and arrowheads," he said.Groseclose said he aims for the delicate, old-home fix-up balance of "restore it but make it livable." The home will combine rustic touches with things Andrew Sellers never dreamed of. The wide front porch, where a swing will hang, has new, natural cedar log columns, complete with short stumps to hang flowerpots. Groseclose plans to hang an antique, cross-cut saw from a wall, and hang a kettle in a massive, new fireplace in the addition. He may cook bean soup there on a winter afternoon. But skylights above will be opened by motorized hinges, and shut by automatic rain sensors. As many as 17 deer in a day have been counted in the fields visible from the house, where a bulldozer this week was digging a new pond. (No, hunting will not be allowed there.) Groseclose navigated through weeds to show the Sellers' hand- dug, 28-foot well, still neatly lined with bluestones, and filled with 18 feet of water. "I'll build a little deal with a rope and bucket," he said.Groseclose, who chairs the regional board of First Union Bank and sits on the board of WLR Foods, says he's not sure what he will ultimately do with the house. His family does not expect to move into it. He and Wampler estimate the cost of restoring it -- a five- month project -- will be about a third higher than building an equivalent size (1750 square-foot) home from scratch. But they both speak of preserving history as an end in itself. Groseclose -- in trying to explain that -- recalled a sense of awe he felt on a recent visit to the 12th century, East India building in the Netherlands. "We think of this as being old," he marveled. TAX-LIST and LAND RECORDS: Michael Sellers is listed on the Tax Lists and Land Records in Rockingham Co. as follows:- 1775: Felix Gilbert's List of Tithables for then-Augusta Co., Virginia: MICHL SELLERS, 1 tithable- 1788: Captain Richard Ragan's Company, No. 13 MICHL SELLERS, 1 tithable, son Jacob, 4 horses- June 19, 1789: District 10 MICHL SELLERS - 1 white male over 16 in household, 4 Horses- Landowners in the Year 1789 (Wayland's "Virginia Valley Records") Michael Sellers - 106 acres- May 21, 1791: Richard Ragan's CompanyMICHL SELLERS - 4 horsesJacob Sellers - No marksJames Sellers - No marks- March 14, 1792: Richard Ragan's CompanyMICHL SELLERS - 4 horsesJacob Sellers - No marksJames Sellers - No marks-August 6, 1793: Josiah Harrison's Company (District 8)James Sellers - 1 horseMICHL SELLERS - 3 horsesJacob Sellers - No marks On the 1791, 1792, and 1793 Rockingham Co. Tax Lists Michael, Jacob, and James are listed in line and together. The "No marks" beside the names of Jacob Sellers and James Sellers in 1791 and 1792 indicates that both were old enough to be listed (at least 16 years of age) but either did not have taxable property or Michael was the one responsible for their taxes. It can be assumed that Michael was their father. It is also interesting to note that Michael Sellers was listed with 4 horses in 1789, 1791, and 1792 while in 1793 he was listed with 3 horses with the 4th apparently being owned by James.I also have reference that a "Michael Sellers" sold land to a "James Sellers" in 1808 in Rockingham Co., Virginia. This was about 4 years prior to Michael's death circa 1812 in Rockingham Co.. His death may have been one of the triggering reasons that James headed around that time for Harrison Co., Indiana. Father: Peter SELLERS b: 1733 in Mottgers,Hesse, Germany Spouse UnknownChildren: Sarah SELLERS b: 1765 in Rockingham Co., VirginiaChristina SELLERS b: Abt 1768 in Rockingham Co., VirginiaMichael SELLERS b: 1770 in Rockingham Co., VirginiaJacob SELLERS b: Abt 1772 in Rockingham Co., Virginia Andrew SELLERS b: 30 NOV 1775 in Rockingham Co. , VirginiaJames SELLERS b: 1776 in Rockingham Co., VirginiaMary SELLERS