From a distant cousin I received this information:

Nathaniel Sellers and his family arrived in Kentucky from Pennsylvania during the spring of 1780. Nathaniel soon discovered that acquiring land was not going to be as easy as he was told in Pennsylvania. The recent arrivals in Kentucky did not benefit from the acts passed by the Virginia Assembly regarding land. The prices were high and wealthy land speculators were buying up large tracts of land. Another difficulty that came up was the fact that the land office closed before anyone could lay claim to any land. 

On May 15, 1780, the people at Harrodsburg as well as several new settlers of Kentucky sent a petition to the Continental Congress. The people of Kentucky "Labour under many Grievences on account of not being formed into a separate state." The settlers also suffered from Indian attack., "our wives and Childrin are daly Cruily murdered." The people were also angry over taxes, "which in our present situation we conceive to be opressive and unjust being taxed. With money and grain whilst enrold and in actual pay residing in garrisons." To many of these settlers, "these are grievances too heavy to be born." 640 people signed the petition including Nathaniel, Nathan and John Sellers. 

Our direct line continues through Nathaniel's son, Nathan Sellers.  Nathan was born about 1753 in either Chester or Cumberland County, PA.  We don't know much about his early life but he married Sarah Finley in Pennsylvania.  Their first child, Mary, was born in Pennsylvania about 1776, according to her obituary.    Nathan and Sarah had nine daughters and one son.

Click here for their Family Group Record. 

(Note: In Historical Facts of Preble Co. and DAR by Grace Carroll Runyon, Eaton, OH 1945, p. 119:) Nathan Sellers was born in November 1762 in Chester County, PA. He served as a private in Capt. William Kirk's Company in Chester Co., PA. His record is not complete. He married Sarah Finley in Pennsylvania and they had a family. They came to Bourbon County, KY where they lived for a number of years, then to Preble Co., OH in 1805, locating in Washington Township. At the Nathan Sellers home about a mile south of Eaton, the Christian Church was organized in 1807. He died in either 1826 or 7/23/1824 and is buried in Mound Hill Cemetery.) Hard to believe he was born in 1762 and served as a private in the American Revolutionary War. Besides his gravestone states that he was 71 years when he died on July 23, 1824.

According to documents, he distinguished himself in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. It appears the military organization was changed as he was in the Upper Darby Company of Militia under Commander Col. Caleb Davis, Capt. James Williamson and Lt. William Kirk. (This is the ancestor under which I joined the DAR under, however)

They apparently lived in Westmoreland Co., PA for awhile as their first child, Mary, was born there in May 1776. Nathan moved with his family to Bourbon Co., KY prior to 1782. While there he became a Police Magistrate and finally, Sheriff. He was strongly against slavery and finally resigned the position because of the inhumanity of the laws governing slaves. Several of his ancestors served Daniel Boone in the war with the Indians and were victims to the tomahawk and scalping knife. All of their children with the exception of Mary (and possibly Nellie whose birthplace is unknown) were born in Bourbon Co., KY.

About the year 1801, the nucleus of the present Mt. Carmel Church was formed. During the revival of Rev. Barton Stone at Cane Ridge, in 1801, five members of the old Stoner Mouth Presbyterian Church attended, for which offense they were denounced from the pulpit by their pastor, Rev. Samuel Reynolds. These five were John Shawhan, William Bodkin, a Mr. Vennerman, John Brown and Nathan Sellers.

The family moved to Ohio around 1810 as Nathan was suretor for Peggy's marriage bond in Bourbon County in September 1809 and it is doubtful that they would have moved during the winter of 1809. Nathan purchased the SW 1/4 of Section 10 in Washington Township on 9/21/1810 (apparently purchased in Cincinnati, OH.) He then purchased the adjoining 1/4 section (SE 1/4 of Section 9) on 12/30/1811. Both of these purchases were from the U.S. Govt. These transactions were officially recorded on 11 Dec 1821 in Eaton, OH. This land is about 2 1/2 miles south of Eaton, OH. 

In an article about Elder James C. Neal, he said his family emigrated to Preble County in the fall of 1811 with his mother's parents (Nathan and Sarah Sellers).

Joseph, William and Nathan Sellers were among the early pioneers who settled in Preble Co. A William Sellers did own land in the same township (Section 14.)

The McCoy and Neal families accompanied him on the migration. The journey was made by wagon and was long and tedious. During the first two months after they arrived, they lived in an open faced pole shanty. Nathan finally built an Indian proof block house with bullet proof walls pierced by port holes at convenient distances apart. According to an article in the 13 June 1956 edition of the Eaton Register Herald, the first Christian Church in Preble Co. was organized in his home in 1807. The date is wrong as the land was not purchased until 1810 so it was more likely 1811 when this event took place.

Nathan passed away on 28 July 1824. If he was born in 1753 he would have been about 71, which is the age on his headstone. He left his real property to his only son, Nathaniel F. For some reason the DAR lists his death as 1826, however his will was probated in August 1824. His wife Sarah passed away on 16 September 1834.


According to the Sellers Letters, Volume 5, Nathan's father was Nathaniel, brother of Samuel Sellers, who is more documented. Nathaniel possibly had two wives. His children were Nathan, Joseph, William David, James and John. Joseph married Rachel Summer and Jane Ward. William married Sarah Crawford. James married Mary Crawford (Sarah's sister) and John married Elizabeth Finley (Sarah's sister.)