|
|
m. Bef 1786 - Sophia Sellers1786 - 1875
Facts and Events
Notes
Sophia Sellers is believed to be a daughter of early Virginia settler Adam Sellers (1742-1821) of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Augusta and Rockingham Counties, Virginia and Warren County, Ohio, and an un-known female slave. Her race is listed as "Mulatto" in tne 1850, 1860 & 1870 U.S. Census Population Schedule and her descendants have had DNA Testing that appears to prove the relationship to the Sellers family.
Sophia's father Adam Sellers must have had a distaste for slavery, perhaps partly leading to this distaste as he had apparently fathered Sophia with one of his female slaves. In an interesting story told by Adam's grandson, William Sellers, when Adam was preparing his move from Virginia to Ohio, he took steps to free his slaves once he arrived in Ohio:
- In either 1815 or 1816 Adam [Sellers] wrote to William Sellers, his grandson living in Springboro, Warren County, Ohio, for William to come to Virginia to help guide Adam "to the wilderness of Ohio". In preparation for the move, beginning in or around 1815 Adam began selling off most, but not all, of his property located in Rockingham County, Virginia. By late 1816 he had sold well over 1,000 acres and had given freedom to at least 3 of his male Free Slaves. Ohio was a "Free State" and Darke County, Ohio, was a haven for former slaves. William did come to Virginia and, with at least two four-horse drawn wagons, they began the trek for Ohio in early 1817. Upon leaving Rockingham County, Virginia, they first went to Darke County, Ohio, where Adam released the remainder of his slaves and setup provisions for them for the rest of his days. A brief sketch of the trek was detailed in an 1887 letter by another of Adam's grandsons, also named Adam Sellers, in which he wrote:
- "About 70 years ago, 1817, my grandfather, then living on the Shenandoe River, Rockingham County, VA. (where all of that branch of the family then lived) being a widower about 72 years of age, and having a desire to free his slaves, wrote to my brother, William Sellers, to come to Virginia and super-intend the disposal of his property, and pilot them to this wilderness, as it was then considered by them. The trip was made in two four-horse wagons in about thirty days, camping out every night. They stopped one week at our house, one mile north of Lebanon."
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees: (Note: not considered a reliable primary source).
- United States. 1850 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432).
1850 U.S. Census Population Schedule
Name: Sophia Clemmons
[Sophia Clemens]
Age: 64
Birth Year: abt 1786
Birthplace: Virginia
Home in 1850: German, Darke, Ohio
Race: Mulatto (Black)
Gender: Female
Family Number: 73
Household Members: Name Age
James Clemmons 69
Sophia Clemmons 64
Dorothy Green 58
Lewis Wade 54
- United States. 1860 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M653).
1860 U.S. Census Population Schedule
Name: Sophiah Clemens
Age in 1860: 75
Birth Year: abt 1785
Birthplace: Virginia
Home in 1860: German, Darke, Ohio
Race: Mulatto (Black)
Gender: Female
Post Office: Tampico
Household Members: Name Age
James Clemens 80
Sophiah Clemens 75
Wm Shaper 15
Dorothy Green 70
Wm B J Clemens 40
Lucy J Clemens 31
Ozro Clemens 9
Orvilla Clemens 7
Solomon Clemens 4
Herietta Clemens 5
Daniel Shaper 13
- United States. 1870 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publications M593 and T132).
1870 U.S. Census Population Schedule
Name: Sophia Clemens
Age in 1870: 85
Birth Year: abt 1785
Birthplace: Virginia
Home in 1870: German, Darke, Ohio
Race: Mulatto (Black)
Gender: Female
Post Office: Union City
Household Members: Name Age
James Clemens 90
Sophia Clemens 85
Dorathy Green 82
|
|
