Elijah Sells is my third great-grandfather he was born on June 14, 1816, in Indiana. His parents were Abraham Sells and Elizabeth Mayes. He had six siblings, Benjamin 1800, Nancy 1805, John 1808, Susan 1814, Reuben 1822, and Elizabeth Ann Sells 1824.
His family moved over the years from Indiana to Illinois and then to Iowa. It was in Iowa Elijah Sells settled and laid down his roots. On his journey, he meant another Indiana girl named Phebe Walker, and on April 2, 1840, they were married in Burlington, DesMoines, Iowa. Elijah was twenty-three and Phebe was twenty years old. Elijah and Phebe started their family by having a daughter Sarah Elizabeth born in 1841, followed by Marion Abraham Elijah (my 2nd great grandfather) in 1842, Susannah in December 1843, and Gideon Phillip Sells in June 1845.
It is not known the date of Phebe Walker Sells death except it was in about 1845 after her last son Gideon was born. I don’t know what she died of but she was only twenty-five years. I have not found a burial site for her either but I feel sure it was in Iowa and around Burlington, possibly on the homeplace of Elijah and Phebe. A daughter, Sarah Elizabeth Sells Woolridge died at age sixteen and is buried at Chambersburg Cemetery in Chambersburg, Clark, Missouri.
Elijah married a second time to Frances Cox (1816-1901) on March 16, 1848 in DesMoines Iowa Territory. To union there were four children born, Rachel 1849, Lucinda Jane 1854, Thomas Jefferson 1857 and George Washington Sells 1860. The family went back and forth from Iowa to Missouri several times. They had relatives that lived close to the Iowa/Missouri border.
Elijah and Frances lived in Chambersburg for many years. Elijah died on October 22, 1896 at the age of eighty years old and Frances died on March 20, 1901 at the age of eighty-five. They are both buried in the Chambersburg Cemetery.
Children of Elijah and Phebe Walker death dates; Sarah Elizabeth Sells Woolridge December 4, 1857, Marion Abraham Elijah December 22, 1924, Susannah Sells Wright January 6, 1923, and Gideon Phillip Sells March 1927.
Children of Elijah and Frances Cox death dates; Rachel Sells -Dearman-Botkin January 28, 1915, Lucinda Jane Sells Heath April 1, 1935, Thomas Jefferson Sells February 1, 1882 and George Washington Sells November 2, 1883.
I would like to hear from any relatives of these families to learn more about them and their times in Iowa and Missouri or the Chambersburg area.
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