Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Tombstone Tuesday~Pvt. W. R. Sellers



Pvt. W. R.  Sellers
Birth: unknown
Death: Mar. 23, 1865
Company A, 4th SC Cavalry
Burial: Woodlawn National Cemetery

Private William Riley Sellers, was born about 1842,1 2 the first born child of William Eddins Sellers and Elisabeth Parsons. Over the next twelve years he would be joined by 3 brothers and 2 sisters. His baby brother, Alonzo, would pass away at age 6 in April 1860.3 

William Riley enlisted into the Confederate Army on 26 December 1861.4 On  23 March 1865 William Riley succumbed to pneumonia while imprisoned at  Elmira, NY.5 He is buried in CSA Grave #2438 Woodlawn National Cemetery, Elmira, Chemung County, New York. 

Private William Riley Sellers is my Great Grand Uncle.

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[1] Birth year is based on age reported in 1850 Census.
[2] 1850 U. S. Census, Madison County, Tennessee, population schedule, District 10, Madison County, Tennessee, Page 305B; Line 1, Dwelling 244, Family 244, Household of Wm. E. SELLERS; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 2010); citing National Archives Microfilm M432 Roll 889.
[3]  1860 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, mortality schedule, Chesterfield District, South Carolina, Household of Elizabeth Sellers, Alonzo W. Sellers; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 3 June 200); citing National Archives Microfilm MRT573_2304.
[4] Ancestry, "Civil War Service Records" database, Military Service Records (http://www.fold3.com/ : accessed 10 October 2013), entry for William Riley Sellers, Private; Company "A", 4th SC Calvary; Confederate.
[5] Randolph W. Kirkland Jr., Broken Fortunes: South Carolina Soldiers, Sailors and Citizens Who Died in the Service of Their Country and State in the War for Southern Independence, 1861-1865 (Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina, 1997), page 312.
[6] Find A Grave Memorial# 66214868

2 comments:

  1. Charlie, too bad William never made it home again. But at least you do know where he was laid to rest.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, it's good to know where they lie; many are still unaccounted for and the location of their body is not known.

    ReplyDelete