GASUMTER-L Archives

Archiver > GASUMTER > 2004-01 > 1073166216


From: Richard White <>
Subject: [GASUMTER] Jacon Benjamin Sellers, was Ebenezer Baptist Church Minutes 144-150
Date: Sat, 03 Jan 2004 16:43:44 -0500
References: <006501c3d1a3$983c29e0$5e014094@leeuouqona40bi>
In-Reply-To: <006501c3d1a3$983c29e0$5e014094@leeuouqona40bi>


VERY, VERY, INTERESTING!!!

In the November 13, 1847 entry, Jac__ Sellers, was Jacob Benjamin
Sellars, my 2-great grandfather. Georgian Sellers was Georgia Ann
Joiner Sellars, my 2-great grandmother. I do not know who Louisa
Sellers or Park Sellers were, but they were obviously family members. I
also have no idea if "coulerd Sister Rebeca" was in some way affiliated
with the Sellers family or if her dismissal letter coming at the same
time was a coincidence, but given that Negroes were by and large not
allowed to just freely wander about even if they were free and not
slaves, and that in general the purpose of a dismissal letter was to
present it to join a congregation of believers in another location, it
looks like there may have been some connection. I'm reading a lot into
mighty little, but I seriously doubt that the Sellers family owned any
slaves. I know very little about Jacob Benjamin Sellers. Through my
father I heard that he was killed in the Civil War, but that may have
been just a convenient story to dismiss his memory. Unfortunately Jacob
Sellers was a common name both in GA and in NC where this Sellers family
originated, and I have not been able to identify a specific record of
Confederate military service for Jacob Benjamin Sellers. From another
part of the family I learned of oral history that he abandoned his
family and "ran off" with a school teacher, but I have no idea where
this happened. Jacob Benjamin Sellers' son, my great grandfather
Richard M. Sellers', Confederate disability discharge from Company B,
11th Georgia Infantry Regiment, states that he was born in Hiawassee,
Towns County (Towns County did not exist when R.M. Sellers was born, but
did when the discharge was written). Jacob Benjamin Sellers married
Georgia Ann Joiner in Pulaski County, on 11 September 1838. The only
other place that I have found the family in records, is in Dooley County
on the 1850 census at which time Jacob Benjamin Sellers was described as
a "laborer"... which is to say he did not own any land, in which case he
would have been described as a "farmer". Most of the children of Jacob
Benjamin Sellers and Georgia Ann Joiner except my great grandfather,
Richard M. Sellers, who was in Lee County during the Civil War and later
ended up in Thomas County, seem to have ended up in and around DeKalb
County, where several of them married into the Veal family. After
Georgia seceded from the Union free colored person were required to have
a white person on record at the courthouse as "guardian", being
responsible, in effect, for their good behavior. There were apparently
only a handful or so of free persons of color in DeKalb County at that
time, and two of the Veal brothers, William W. Veal and Benjamin F. Veal
signed up as guardians for one of them each... William W. Veal served as
guardian for Doc Dorsey, and Benjamin F. Veal served as guardian for
Dick Edwards. William W. Veal's son Virgil Asa Veal married Jacob
Benjamin and Georgia Ann Joiner Sellers' daughter, Martha A. Sellers.
William W. Veal's son Millard Filmore Veal married Jacob Benjamin and
Georgia Ann Joiner Sellers's daughter Elizabeth Bethany Sellers.

Again, I am making much out of little, but Georgia Ann Joiner is
recorded as having been born at Camilla, in Indian Lands, on 15 January
1819. Certainly white squatters moved into such areas without legal
sanctification... but... her mother's name is recorded both as Charity
Sherrod, and also as "Salenee"... which has a certain "Indian" ring to
it to my ear. Unfortunately there is some confusion, though, as to
whether her father was named Curtis Joiner or Bennett Joiner. The same
source that gave me her mother's name as "Salenee" also gave her
father's name as Curtis. This seems to be an oral-based source. The
records show pretty conclusively that Bennett Joiner was Charity's
husband. Bennett named Charity and a number of children including
Georgia Ann in a will recorded in Sumter County in 1857, but not
probated; and "Charty" Joiner appears on the 1860 Sumter County census
as head of household with $2,000 in property. There were apparently
several Joiners named Bennett, however, and it may well be that this one
was formally called Bennett and informally called Curtis. Who knows?
This Bennett Joiner and Charity Sherrod Joiner did have a son named
Bennett C. Joiner, which might have been a repetition of the full name
Bennett Curtis Joiner... or not. It is my understanding that there was
a Curtis Joiner who was an uncle to this Bennett Joiner, their fathers
being the brothers John (father of Curtis) and Jesse (father of this
Bennett). I suppose that it is even possible that Charity married both
Curtis & Bennett and that Bennett "adopted" Curtis's children, though I
have no evidence of that having happened at all. All I know for sure is
that there is some confusion and conflict in sources.

Beyond that, I have heard that people with Indian ancestry, particularly
Creek Indian ancestry, in those days found it expedient to be sure that
they had impeccable records as being Christian believers. I'm not
denigrating their faith by saying that, but there were laws saying that
Indians found in Georgia could be deprived of their possessions and
shipped to Indian Territory. Rewards were offered for such persons to
be turned in. Distancing ones self as far as possible from such
traumatic consequences was clearly a wise thing to do.

So, well, I have suspicions that Georgia Ann Joiner might have had Creek
ancestry... but proof? Naw. It's pretty much in the nature of such
suspicions that there is no proof. If she had been written down
anywhere as an Indian, she would have been deported to Arkansas
Territory (later called Indian Territory and now known as Oklahoma)!

RW

Harris Hill wrote:

>begin #144-150
>
>Saturday Sept the 11th 1847
>
>The Baptist Church of Christ at Ebeneser met in conference
>
>1st opened the door of the church for the reception of members and recieved
>by letter Brother Joseph Albritt
>
>2nd went in to the ordination of Brother Brown as deacon Brother Sims
>questioned the church Brother Tate the Brothers faith Brother Hart made the
>prayer
>
>read and adopted the letter to Afsociation, sent $1.00 for minutes $4.60 for
>Texas mifsion
>
>Granted letters of dismifsion to Seaborn Jackson and wife
>
>I. Hart mod A. H. Justice Clk
>
>
>
>Saturday Oct the 9th 1847
>
>The Baptist Church of Christ at Ebeneser met in con
>
>1st opened the door of the church for the reception of members
>
>2nd called for reference
>
>3rd elected Brother Hart pastor for next year and appointed Brethren Battle
>and _?_ to wait on him and inform him of his call
>
>Wm A. Tate mod A. H. Justice
>
>
>Saturday November the 13th 1847
>
>The baptis church of Christ at Ebeneser met in conference
>
>1st open the door of the church for the reception of members
>
>2nd called for references
>
>3rd caweld on Brother Isac Hart for an anser when he promised to serve us
>the next year as our pastor
>
>granted letirs to brothers Jac_ Seller, Park Sellers, Georgian Sellers,
>Louisa Sellers and a coulerd Sister Rebeca
>
>our Clerk having resigned on motion brother N. A. Purifoy was elected
>
>Isaac Hart Mod N. A. Purifoy Clk
>
>
>Saturday December the 11th 1847
>
>The Baptist Church of Christ at Ebineser met in conference
>
>1st open the door for the reception of members
>
>2nd cawled for references by request granted leters to Brethren A. H.
>Justice and wife, H. H. Sims and wife, J. Douglas and wife, J. W. Brown and
>wife also Isfam a culered brother the property of A. H. Justice
>
>on motion appointed N. A. Purifoy tresurer
>
>John W. Brown mod N. A. Purifoy CLK
>
>
>Saturday January 8th 1848
>
>The Baptist church of Christ at Ebinser met in conference
>
>1st open the door for reception of members when Brother John W. Jackson
>come forward and acknowledge his falt and was restored again
>
>Called for refferences, non
>
>by request granted leters to Sister Katharine Jackson, brother N. P. Carns
>and wife
>
>Henry Cam__ mod N. A. Purifoy Clk
>
>
>Saturday February the 12th 1848
>
>The Baptist Church of Christ at Ebineser met in conference Brother C. L.
>Battle moerater
>
>1 open the door of the church for the reception of members
>
>2 called for references, non
>
>no miselanous businefs N. A. Purifoy CLK
>
>end #144-150
>
>
>
>==== GASUMTER Mailing List ====
>Georgia GNIS http://george.peabody.yale.edu/gnis/GA.html
>Web page with info for this list - http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/usa/GA/sumter.html
>
>==============================
>Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration
>Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more.
>http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237
>
>
>
>
>


This thread: