William Runkle Sellers

Other Events:

• Religion: Methodist
• Name: 1816; William Runkle Zellers
• Census: 1830, Turtlecreek Township, Warren County, Ohio, United States; as William R. Sellers
• Newspaper: 3 Apr 1830; Look Here
• Newspaper: 2 Dec 1836; John M. Houston vs. W. R. Sellers and others
• Census: 1840, Clear Creek Township, Warren County, Ohio, United States; as William R. Sellers
• Census: 1850, Clear Creek Township, Warren County, Ohio, United States; as William Sellers, farmer, head of household
• Beneficiary: 12 May 1852; in the will of his father, Jacob Sellers
• Census: 1860, Clear Creek Township, Warren County, Ohio, United States; as William Sellers, farmer, head of household
• Will: 5 Jul 1869, Warren County, Ohio, United States
• Census: 1870, Clear Creek Township, Warren County, Ohio, United States; as William R. Sellers, farmer, head of household
• Probate: 3 Oct 1870, Warren County, Ohio, United States
• Newspaper: 2 Feb 1872; The Weekly Western Star. Lebanon, Ohio, 8 February 1872, p2

Notes:

It was during the canal boat age, when William R. Sellers was at his prime, that an omnibus stagecoach line operated between Lebanon and Cincinnati, often terminating in the former city at The Golden Lamb, the oldest inn in Ohio. A man who drove this coach was named William Sellers. An advertisement written and signed by William Sellers is reproduced on the back cover of the menu of The Golden Lamb's restaurant. The author (David Randolph Sellers) believes that this man was merely a contemporary, at most a distant relation, of the William R. Sellers. William R. Sellers was a farmer in Clear Creek Township, and census records suggest that he remained there until his death on September 28, 1870. His wife died on July 3, 1873. The couple were buried in Kirby Cemetery, a few miles north of Lebanon. [Source: Compiled and written by David Randolph Sellers, "A History and Genealogy of the Sellers Family", Cincinnati, Ohio: Robbins Advertising, Inc., 1966]

Newspaper:

LOOK HERE,
The undersigned Trustees, wish to contract for the building of a new Meeting House for the Methodist Episcopal Church, in the town of Lebanon. The contractor to furnish all materials, and finish the house complete, according to a plan which may be seen at the store of John Reeves & Co. at which place persons desirous of undertaking the work, are requested to deposite their proposals in writing on or before the twentieth day of the present month.
George Foglesong, Samuel Nixon, John Reeves, Tobias Bretney, Obediah Hackney, James Clarke, Henry B. Miller, William R. Sellers, William McLean.

Newspaper:


The State of Ohio, Warren County Court of Common Pleas--June Term, A. D., 1836
John M. Houston surviving executor of George Harnsberger, deceased,
vs.
Wm. Sellers, Eliza Ann Harnsberger, Jacob Harnsberger, Elizabeth Kite and ____ Kite her husband, Anne Baugher and _____ Baugher her husband, Barbara Harrison and Reuben Harrison her husband, Sarah Conrod and _____ Conrod her husband, Margaret Mack, and _____ Mack her husband, Susan Miller and _____ Miller her husband, George H. Harrison and Jas. Clark, James B. Hays, Tobias Brotney, Joseph Sauser, Asberry Frazier, William R. Sellers and Samuel Nixon trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Lebanon and Samuel Nixon and Amos Barr stewards of said church.
The complainant has filed his bill of complaint in the Court of Common Pleas for said county, setting forth in substance amongst other things, that he is surviving executor of George Harnsberger, dec. and has partially settled said estate--that the defendant Eliza Jane Harnsberger is the widow of said decedant--that in his life time a partnership exised between the deceased and the defendant Sellers--that there are unsettled claims in favor of the estate against the said widow, said defendant Sellers and others; that the said Eliza Jane Harnsberger ever since the decease of her said husband has occupied the whole of his real estate and received a large amount of rents therefor; that he is fearful that one half of said rents may be claimed by the brothers sisters of said deceased and the trustees and stewards of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Lebanon as they by the will are entitled to one half of said estate on the decease of said widow after payment of debts and a legacy of $500 to the defendant George H. Harrison; that he cannot settle the estate of said decendent until the above claims are settled and paid.
—The complainant therefore prays amont other things, substantially, that the defendant Sellers answer and make a full exhibit of his transactions in the settlement of the affairs of the firm of Harnsberger and Sellers; that said widow may state the amount she is indebted to said estate, whether she has not occupied the real estate as above stated and the amount of rents received therefrom; that the court would by decree direct the further destinations of said real estate after paying all the debts--that the account of the complainant with the estate of said deceased may also be settled--that the said William Sellers and Mary Jane Harnsberger shall come to a settlement with complainant. He also prays general relief.
J. K. Wilds, Clk.
Ross & Corwin, Esq'rs. sols. for complainant.

Will:


Last Will and Testament of William Runkle Sellers
—Know all whom it may concern that I William R. Sellers of the County and State of Ohio being advanced in life, and feble in body but still possessing a sound mind make this as my last will and testament.
—1st After paying funeral expenses & all other just debts I bequeath to my wife Elizabeth Sellers fourteen chairs, two tables, all the bed & bedding, all the carpets, all the cupboardware, two stoves, one bureau, one sofa, two mirrors & one buggy & harness of my chattle property to be over and above what the law will allow her, the above named articles to be selected by her. In addition to the above I will that she have a lawful share of the remaining chattle property and one years support.
—2nd I will that my Daughter Amanda J. Russell have twenty two acres of land, off of the South side of the farm that I now live on, the line to run parallel with the south line of said farm, through the whole length. The above land is to be for her sole use and benefit during her natural life, free from any control of her husband J. M. Russell, and at her death it is to be for the sole use and benefit of her heirs. Also the small frame house and lot where they now reside, subject to the same restrictions except that if she elects to sell it at any time she shall be free to do so. Also notes and receipts for money furnished her husband by way of advancement at various times, as per notes and receipts herewith filed, amounting to seven hundred and four dollars and forty-six cents ($704.46). In consideration of all the foregoing I charge them three thousand dollars ($3,000) Provided also that if my wife should die before I do, she is to share equal with the other heirs in what I have willed to my wife.
—3rd I will that the remainder of my real and personal property be sold on such terms as my Executors may think best, and equally divided between Ferdinand Sellers, Robert Sellers, Wm. W. Sellers, Mary A. McDonald, late Mary A. Sellers, Nancy M. Bernit, late Nancy M. Sellers, subject to the following restrictions. Viz: My wife is to have five hundred dollars out of the first money that may be realsed from the sale of the real and personal property, and two items and dollars of the last payment on the farm, when sold is to remain on interest for her sole use and benefit, and if she shall find that the forgoing provisions is not sufficient to give her a liberal support she shall have the privilege of using any part of the last provision of two thousand? and dollars.
—In the above distribution of my estate Ferdinand Sellers is to be charged without interest, with fourteen hundred and twenty six dollars ($1,426.00) already advanced, as will more fully appear by reference to receipts & notes herewith filed. Robert Sellers is to be charged with two hundred & sixty two dollars, without interest as per receipts filed __. Wm. Wesley Sellers is to be charged with two hundred and twenty dollars, and Mary McDonald with one hundred dollars – all without interest as in case of the others.
—If in the final settlement of my estate, there shall be a surplus over three thousand dollars to each of the last named for heirs, including what has already been advanced to each of them as herein charge in that event my Daughter Amanda J. Russel is to share equal with the other heirs in the distribution of said surplus.
—For the faithful execution of the foregoing, as my last will and testament, I hereby appoint Ferdinand Sellers and Robert Sellers as my executors and removing all former wills or instruments of writing. I hereby affix my hand and seal this 5th day of July 1869.
Wm. Sellers (Seal)
Signed and Sealed in
Presence of A. Sellers
H. W. Donley

Newspaper:

Probate Notice
The following names persons, to-wit:
Robert and Ferdinand Sellers ex'rs of William R. Sellers, deceased. 1st account

William married Elizabeth Aughe on 15 Aug 1816 in Warren County, Ohio, United States. Elizabeth (daughter of Harmon Harrison Aughe and Mary Munger) was born on 12 Mar 1797 in Virginia, United States; died on 3 Jul 1873 in Lebanon, Warren County, Ohio, United States; was buried in Jul 1873 in Warren County, Ohio, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Ferdinand Sellers was born on 3 May 1824 in Lebanon, Warren County, Ohio, United States; died on 8 Feb 1911 in Springfield, Clark County, Ohio, United States; was buried on 10 Feb 1911 in Corwin, Warren County, Ohio, United States.
2. Robert K. Sellers was born on 29 Jul 1827 in Ohio, United States; died on 7 Jun 1877 in Warren County, Ohio, United States; was buried in Jun 1877 in Warren County, Ohio, United States.
3. William Wesley Sellers was born in 1829 in Ohio, United States; died in 1900.
4. Amanda Jane Sellers was born on 4 Oct 1832 in Clear Creek Township, Warren County, Ohio, United States; died on 17 Jun 1930 in Frankfort, Fanklin County, Kentucky, United States; was buried in Jun 1930 in Frankfort, Clinton County, Indiana, United States.
5. Mary Ann Sellers was born on 8 Apr 1833 in Ohio, United States; died on 12 Feb 1903 in Ohio, United States; was buried in Feb 1903 in Springfield, Clark County, Ohio, United States.
6. Nancy Melvina Sellers was born on 17 Jul 1842 in Warren County, Ohio, United States; died on 29 Jan 1919 in Xenia, Greene County, Ohio, United States; was buried on 31 Jan 1919 in Corwin, Warren County, Ohio, United States.

Other Events:

• Obituary: Newspaper unknown
• Name: Jacob Zeller
• Census: 1830, Turtlecreek Township, Warren County, Ohio, United States; as Jacob Sellers
• Census: 1840, Turtlecreek Township, Warren County, Ohio, United States; as Jacob Sellers
• Census: 1850, Turtlecreek Township, Warren County, Ohio, United States; as Jacob Sellars, farmer, in the household of Abrahan Miller
• Will: 12 May 1852, Warren County, Ohio, United States
• Probate: 24 Feb 1853, Warren County, Ohio, United States

Notes:

In 1798 when Jacob Sellers came to Ohio, he settled in what was Hamilton County, (now Warren County,). Warren County, was not formed until 1803.

Jacob was one of the pioneer settlers of Warren County, Ohio, arriving there before either the county or the state was formed. He and his cousin John pioneered the route followed by other Sellers' emmigrating to Ohio, over the Allegheny mountains by wagon to Brownsville, Pennsylvania, and then by raft down the Monongahela and Ohio rivers to the vicinity of Cincinnati. This trip of some six hundred miles, more twice the direct distance, took a month or more, depending on the weather, luck, Indians, and other factors. In 1798 he purchased 300 acres from John Symmes in the northern part of what was to become Warren county

Notes- 1. Symmes Tract Transactions. p. 36. 2. Warren County, Ohio Will book 12, p. 594. [Reference: Frank M. Sellers, "Sellers - A Preliminary Study of the Descendants of Heinrich Sellers", (Denver, Colorado: Lion Press, 1984), pg. 8.]

Excerpt from old letter.....
My recollection of grandfather Jacob Sellers is that he was a man of rather less than medium height, well made and active; rather quiet in his movements. He made regular visits to his children living near him, about once a month, and always came on horseback. He rode a good animal; well kept, and gentle and a good traveler, and always well groomed. He was always neatly and clearly dressed and smoothly shaven. Hair white, with a pleasant, cheerful countenance, and a great friend among us children. We were always in high glee when grandfather came. He spoke very broken English, and asked the blessing at table in German. I remember the queer sounds of his words yet. He was a zealous active member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Lebanon at the time of his death, and had been for many years before.

His first wife's name was Runkel, as you see by Adam's sketch; and his second marriage was to a Munger, an aunt, I think, of George Munger of Clear Creek township, who died some years ago.

Grandfather came to Turtle Creek township north of Lebanon, in 1798. He remained on the same farm until the time of his death, which was in 1853 or 1854, if my memory is not at fault. He was not a great man, nor exceedingly wise. He never became wealthy, nor tried to do so, was possessed of some 160 acres of land and some money and property; but he was a good man, honest and loyal, and a good Christian, of a type not to be mistaken. [Source: Letter dated 'Waynesville, O. June 9th, 1890', includes this description of Jacob Sellers written by his grandson, Peter Sellers (1834). The sketch he refers to is with Peter Sellers notes]

Excerpt from old letter.....
In 1798 or 1799 the Jacob Sellers family moved from Virginia to Warren County, Ohio. It was in Turtle Creek township north of Lebanon, Ohio that Jacob Sellers settled, remaining on the same farm until his death in 1853. At the time he purchased land Jacob Sellers was the head of one of the original families of that then remote region of and can be considered one of the true pioneers of Warren County, Ohio. These excerpts are taken from an article entitled, "Lebanon, City of Culture and Education," which appeared in the July 15, 1936 addition of "The Cincinnati Enquirer: Into this wild, unsettled region a few determined pioneers visioned a city dedicated American ideals, culture, and education. The scalping of Indians and the howling of wolves had scarcely ceased when the few settlers of the outpost laid the foundation of the first school. The building stood on the north bank of Turtle Creek, not far from the present boundary of Lebanon. From this small group there came some famous characters, among them the familiar names of Thomas Corwin, Judge Kesling, Hon. Moses B. Corwin, A. H. Dunlevy, William Taylor, Matthias Corwin, Daniel Voorhis, and Jacob Sellers.

He was buried in the Old Methodist Graveyard, Lebanon. His wife's grave is located in the Presbyterian Cemetery.

Birth:
(now Augusta County, Virginia)

Obituary:

DIED.
On the 10th inst., at his residence near Lebanon, Mr. Jacob Sellers, in the 87th year of his age. The subject of this notice removed from Rrockingham County, Va., to the Turtlecreek Valley, Warren County, Ohio, about the year 1798, and was thenceforward until the time of his dath one of the valuable accesions which this vicinity gained by the emigration of that early period in the history of this community. Industrious, honest and frugal, he was enabled to possess himself of the confidence and esteem of his fellow-citizens, and a competency of this world's wealth. The writer of this notice is not wware of the precise period when he embraced religion, He was a number of years a member of the German Reformed Church, but eleven or twelve years since united with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in this place, by letter, in which he lived an example of punctuality, humility and meekness, honored and beloved by all who knew him.
"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."

Will:


Last Will and Testament of Jacob Sellers
—I Jacob Sellers of Warren County, Ohio do make & publish this my last will & testament.
—Item 1st, It is my will, that after my death the farm in which I live be sold by my Executors to the best advantage, either at public or private sale, and upon such terms of credit as my said Executors shall think advisable, and the proceeds of the sale thereof be equality divided among my following children and heirs to wit: George Sellers, the children of Nancy Gallaher, Lucinda Miller, Rebecca Long, Mary Miller, Sarah Sheets and Jacob M. Sellers. That is to son George Sellers and his heirs to receive one equal seventh part of the proceeds of the sale of said farm; the children of Nancy Gallaher and their heirs to receive one equal share equal seventh part of the proceeds of the sale of said farm; Lucinda Miller to receive one equal seventh part of the proceeds of the sale of said farm; Rebecca Long and her heirs to receive one equal seventh part of the sale of said farm; Mary Miller to receive one equal seventh part of the proceeds of the sale of said farm; Sarah Sheets to receive one equal seventh part of the proceeds of the sale of said farm and Jacob M. Sellers to receive the one equal seventh part of the proceeds of the sale of said farm. The portion of the heirs of Nancy Gallaher to remain in the hands of my Executors to be paid out to them as they respectively become of age.
—Item 2nd, it is my will that out of my personal estate all my just debts and funeral expenses be fully paid, and the residue be divided among my children as follows to wit: My son Jacob M. Sellers to receive One Hundred Dollars for extra services by him performed after he becomes of age; Abraham Miller to receive One Hundred Dollars for services received; and after the said Two Hundred Dollars and my just debts and funeral expenses are paid, my son John Sellers to receive one ninth part of my said personal estate; my son George Sellers to receive on ninth part of my personal estate; the children of Nancy Gallaher to receive on ninth part of the same upon the same terms and in the same way that they are to receive their portion of my real estate; my daughter Lucinda Miller to receive one ninth part of the same; my son Wm. Sellers to receive one ninth part of the same; my daughter Rebecca Long to receive one ninth part of the same; my daughter Mary Miller to receive one ninth part of the same; my daughter Sarah Sheets to receive one ninth part of the same; and my son Jacob M. Sellers to receive one ninth part of the same.
—Item Third, I hereby release and discharge my sons John & William Sellers all claims for advancements by me to them made with in money or the purchase of land for them or either of the said advancements being considered equal in a full share of my real estate, and will make them equal with the rest of my children and heirs.
—Item 4th, I do hereby nominate and appoint my sons William Sellers and Jacob M. Sellers, Executors of this my last will and testament, hereby authorizing and appointing them to compromise, adjust, release and discharge in such manner as they may deem proper the debts & claims due me.
—I hereby revoke all former wills by me made.
In Testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand & seal this 12th day of May 1852.
Jacob Sellers [Seal]
—Signed, sealed and acknowledged by the said Jacob Sellers as his last Will & Testament in our presence & signed by us In his presence.
Leonard Peckenpaugh
Benj. Blackburn

Jacob married Christina Runkle on 11 Oct 1788 in Rockingham County, Virginia, United States. Christina (daughter of Peter Runkle and Margaret Steiner Koch) was born on 2 Mar 1772 in Augusta County, Virginia, British Colonial America; died on 31 Aug 1807 in Ohio, United States; was buried in Sep 1807 in Warren County, Ohio, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Name: Nancy Christene Runkle
• Nationality: of German origin

Notes:

Buried:
(Moved from Presbyterian Cemetery)

Other Events:

• Name: John Sellers

Notes:

Johannes Zellers (aka. John Sellers) born in Weinheim, Germany, in the Duchy of Baden, in the Holy Roman Empire came to America with his father Heinrich and mother, Anna Maria, on the Ship Queen Elizabeth and landed in Philadelphia 16 September 1738. He died between January 1804 and March 1804 in Rockingham County, Virginia.

In 1758, John was a private in the Augusta County, militia and helped defend the frontier during the French and Indian War (1754-63) In 1761 he purchased 130 acres from his father, married the daughter of the neighboring farmer and started his own farm. Less than a year later, he inherited 135 acres from the estate of his father-in-law and on July 7, 1763 patented another 195 acres, bringing his total to 460 acres. On 16 Oct. 1765 Johannes (John) Sellers was naturalized in Augusta County, Va. and qualified as a Justice. He was an active participant in all phases of community affairs. On March 16, 1772 he sold the land he got from his father to his son Henry. In 1773 he purchased 64 acres from Calem Price to replace it. During the Revolutionary War (1775-83) he furnished tools and provisions to the American forces. Like most others who furnished supplies to the fledgling government, he found that the pay was slow in coming, with the final payment more than five years after the delivery of goods.

In anticipation of his death, John, Sr. engaged in several land transactions with his son, John, Jr. On October 7, 1803, he sold his son the 330 acres from his original patent for £765. On November 15, 1803, he purchased the land back for £860 and on December 12, 1803 he sold his 130 acres for £260. The net effect of this was to reduce the size of the farm and accumulate some cash.

He continued to sign his name in German in business transactions after many of his German neighbors had started using English. He was named by the Court to appraise estates and report to the court. He is listed as a Rockingham County, landowner in 1789 with 394 acres in Militia District 12.

John Sellers' will, written shortly before his death in 1804, contained several interesting provisions. He had a family of at least 4 sons and 5 daughters who are named in his will. He left the remainder of the farm to John, Jr. and Daniel with the provision that they pay each of the girls a yearly fee, cut Jacob off with the note that he had received his part of the estate when he left for Ohio, then called New Pennsylvania, in 1797. He evidently became involved in a disagreement with his son Henry that he never resolved and felt it was necessary for him to ask Henry to leave Rockingham before receiving his inheritance. He left Henry £40 to be delivered "as soon as he leaves the country." At the same time he says Henry's share was equal to his brothers and sisters. The dispute with Henry arose over Henry's immediate sale of the land he got from John in 1772.

It was noted that members of Johannes family spoke and wrote German. Many of them spelled their name Sellars before converting to Sellers.

WILL.....
Book A pg. 12 (Note: typed as written in will book, blank lines are unreadable)

In the name of god Amen. I John Sellers of Rockingham County, being week in body, but in perfect mind and memory and calling unto mind the mortality of my body and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die do make and ordain this my last will and testament that is to say principally and first of all ____ recommend my soul unto the _____ to be buried in a decent Christian manner a _____ my executors nothing doubting but at the general resurrecti__ receive the same again by the mighty power of God. And as to- such worldly estate where with it has pleased God to bless me in life, I give devise and dispose of the same in the following manner and form. First I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife Elizabeth my horse her saddle and bridle, two cows, two beds with furniture a big iron kettle a duch oven an iron pot, her spinning wheel and big wheel the reel all the peuter in the house all the flax thread and cloth which shall be found a--- decease; also the choice of two sheep all thares and t__ Further is it my will that my said wife shall keep her possession of my dwelling house and both gardens during ___ natural life. Further it is my will that my wife shall receive her maintainance by my two sons JOHN and DANIEL ___ as is pointed out in an obligation signed by said JOHN ___ DANIEL letters and bearing date the 16th of January 18__ unto my son HENRY I give and bequeath the sum of Forty dollars ds to be paid unto him by my son JOHN as soon as my sd ___ HENRY shall leave this part of the country he having already received by my hand such a sum as well with the above ___ other Forty pounds make him equal with his other brothers and sisters in his share of my land I shall die in possessing of My son JACOB he having received at the time of his moving to New Pensylvania a like sum to be equal to his share of land and for which he has given his receipt, he shall be entitled to his share of my movable estate __ ___ JOHN and DANIEL and their heirs I _____ is to have the lower containing one hundred and thirty and my son Daniel the upper part containing one hundred and thirty four acres: the division in the said land is run by Mr. Thomas Mauzy. Further I give and bequeath unto my daughters Catherine, Elizabeth, Molly, Margaret and Christena and their heirs, to each of them the sum of One Hundred pounds lawful money of Virginia to be paid unto them or heirs by my sons John and Daniel. As the sum my sons John and Daniel have to pay equally divided will amount to Two hundred and fifty pounds each it is my will that each of them shall pay yearly the sum of twenty five pounds, which two payments one of their sisters or heirs shall receive, but the time of paying such a sum shall not commence, not till a full year after my decease, and continue till all their sisters have received their legacies. It is also my will that my daughters shall receive the first payment of fifty pounds in such an order as will be decided by lots; and after; and after each of them shall have received their first payments then the last payment shall begin in the same order as before. Item my sons John and Daniel though they shall enjoy the possession of my lands, it is my will that none of them shall have power to sell off their sharenot till after my wifes decease and in case of sale the other brother of these two shall have the first offer, at such a price as another person might buy it. All the remaining-movables after my wifes decease shall be sold by my executors and to be divided equally ___ all my children the wearing of my wif__ Lastly I do hereby constitute and apoin_ my _____ executor of this my last will and testament hereby revoke all other or former wills by me heretofore made.

In witness whereof I have set hereunto my hand and seal the 17th day of January A.D. One thousand eight hundred and four.
John Sellers (S__)

Signed, sealed, published and delivered as and for the last will and testament of the above named John Sellers in the presents of us
Philip Long
Michael Rhinehard
Jacob Yancey

Rockingham March Court 1804
The last will and testament of John Sellers Senr. was settled in Court and Proved by the oaths of Philip Long Michael Rhinehard and John Yancey three witnesses thereto and ordered to be recorded and on the of John Sellers the executor therein ___med who made oath therein and with security entered into ___ acknowledged bond Conditioned as the law directs a Certificate is granted him for obtaining a Probate in due form.

Teste: S.W. Williams

Source:
[1] Mary Marie Koontz Arrington, "Cradled by the Masanutten: The Zellers-Sellers Family", Baltimore: Gateway Press, 1986
[2] Frank M. Sellers, "Sellers a Preliminary Study of the Descendants of Heinrich Sellers", Denver, Colorado: Lion Press, 1984

Johannes married Elizabeth Perkey in 1761 in Augusta County, Virginia, British Colonial America. Elizabeth (daughter of Henry Perkey and Margaret Runkle) and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Baptism: 8 Apr 1746, Wackernheim, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany; now Wackernheim, Mainz-Bingen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
• Immigration: 7 Sep 1748, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, British Colonial Ameirca; Aboard the ship "Hampshire"
• Census: 1810, Harrisonburg, Rockingham County, Virginia, United States; 1810 Federal Census
• Census: 1820, Rockingham County, Virginia, United States; 1820 Federal Census
• Will: Aug 1821, Rockingham County, Virginia, United States
• Probate: 7 Aug 1821, Rockingham County, Virginia, United States

Notes:

Peter Runkle served as Constable of Augusta County in 1767 and served in Frazer's Company from Virginia during the Revolution.

Peter received his share of the estate in his father's lifetime so that he would take care of his mother, Anna Maria (Hammer) Runkle, who was nearly helpless for two and a half years before her death in 1813. Therefore, Peter is not named in his father's will. Margaret Runkle b: 04 APR 1776.

Birth:
now Wackernheim, Mainz-Bingen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

Immigration:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS84-X3QT-M?cat=1031370

Census:
as Peter Runkle

Census:
as Peter Runkle

Will:

I Peter Runcle of the county of Rockingham and State of Virginia do hereby make my last will and Testament in manner and form following First I desire my that all the perishable and moveable part of my estate be immediately sold, after my decease and out of the monies arrising therefrom, all my Just debts and funeral expences to be paid. 2ndly. After the payment of my debts and funeral expences by my Executers which will be named hereafter I give to my wife Margaret Runkle during her natural life the one third part of my real and personal estate (the negroes only excepted) to be taken by her at the Appraisment with two rooms in the house I now life and one Negroe woman her choice of my Stock and at her death I give and the aforesaid moveable and perishable property that may be left to be sold and equally divided among my children 3rdly. The negroes that are left after my wife has taken her choise-is to be appraised and as equally divided among my children as the case will admit the shear or shears that mey fall to my Daughters Mary Price and Christina Sellars after they have received one each of equal value with the rest of my children I give to my then children by their first husbands and after such division of the negroes is made it is my will and desire that each one retain such negro or negroes as may fall to each ones share and not sell them to Strangers but that they be retained amongst the family except the increase thereof which they are at Liberty to do as they please with 4thly. the land that was willed to my son Jacob Runkle by his Grand Father Jacob Runkle which will more plainly show for it self by having reference thereto is not to be considered as any part of my estate or as any part of his my son Jacobs sh---------------------------------ally divided-------------------------cepted and at the death of my wife M---------------her my will and desire that the plantation where ------------------ two or more three disinterested discreet men to be chosen by ---------------- the payments I wish to be made thereof and after the estimate ---------------- of payment fixed and agreed on by the men so chosen (which -------------- wish to be made easy It is my Will and desire that my son Jac-- -------- said plantation to have and to hold the same in fee simple forever ------------- said plantation to have and to hold the same in fee simple forever ---------- or is not able -- to -- comply with the terms agreed on then and in tha- ------- will and desire that any other of the within named Children or them -------- shall have a right to take the land in like manner he or they payi-- ----- ---- aforesaid arbitrators.
6th. An lastly all the rest of my estate both real and personal of what natu--- soever it may be not herein before particularly dispose of I desire may ------ divided among my several children before name which I give to the---------- heirs executors or assigns forever. And I do hereby constitute and appoint Jacob Runkle and Daniel Sellars executors of this my last will and Testa--- hereby revoking all other of former wills or testaments by me heretofore mad-
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal ----- lmy seal this day of in the year of our lord 1821
Peter (his mark) Runkle
Signed sealed published and declared as and for the last will and Testament of the above named Peter Runkle in the presence of us.
Philip Moyers
Michael Snyder
T. R. McGahey

Peter married Margaret Steiner Koch about 1772 in Elkton, Rockingham County, Virginia, British Colonial America. Margaret (daughter of George Koch and Maria Sara Reiner) was born on 14 Dec 1753 in Delkton, Virginia, British Colonial America; died in 1834 in Virginia, United States; was buried in 1834 in Elkton, Rockingham County, Virginia, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Name: Heinrich Seller
• Name: Henry Sellers

Notes:

NOTE: Rockingham County was established in 1778 from Augusta County. The county is named for the Marquis of Rockingham, British statesman

A Frankish tribe settled at the end of the Weschnitz Valley and its chieftain Wino gave Weinheim its name. The village Weinheim is first mentioned in the Chronicles in 755. It became a fief of the mighty Abbey of Lorsch and its Peterskirche was protected by the Castle Windeck. Power changed hands and in 1232 the Abbey's holdings were transferred to the Archbishop of Mainz. Count Palatine founded a new town one mile south of the old in the year 1250. The old and the new were joined in 1456 after many conflicts. Only 1/2 of the population survived the Thirty Years' War but it was spared when France devastated almost every town in the Palatinate between 1689-1693. When Napoleon rearranged Europe in the 18th century it became part of the Grand Duchy of Baden.

The Thirty Years' War, lasting from 1618 to 1648, involved most of the countries of western Europe, and was fought mainly in Germany. At first the struggle was primarily based on the religious antagonism engendered among Germans by the events of the Protestant Reformation. Religious tensions were seriously aggravated in Germany during the reign (1576-1612) of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. Protestant churches in many parts of Germany were destroyed, restrictions were placed on the rights of Protestants to worship freely, and the emperor's officials made the Treaty of Augsburg the basis for a general resurgence of Roman Catholic power. The religious hatreds that flared into the Thirty Years' War had smoldered for more than half a century before 1618. The war, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. Uncertainty, fear, disruption, and brutality marked everyday life and remained a memory in German consciousness for centuries.

Heinrich Zeller (aka Henry Sellers) was born in or very near Weinheim, Germany in the Duchy of Baden in the Holy Roman Empire and here he married Anna Maria (last name unknown). Around the year 1700 the number of barges moving down the Rhine river began to increase in number. They were loaded with families bound for Rotterdam where they hoped to find passage to a new world called America.

Heinrich Zeller, at the age of thirty four, boarded a barge with his young wife and small children in the early summer of 1738. Friends and relatives had been leaving the area of Weinheim for some years. The preparation for leaving had gone on all winter. Most of it had consisted of what they could take with them, which was very little. They probably packed what clothing and food they could in an old trunk or wooden chest. They perhaps had a few utensils and some seeds and bulbs. Seeds and bulbs were two items the women tried to bring. A bulb was a tie back home.

He was probably very excited when the day finally came to catch the barge. The barge was damp and well worn from previous trips up and down the Rhine. Word had been coming to the area about "Penn's Land" and if he was going to go he must go soon since he was now 34 and in the eighteenth century life was short.

He was better prepared in some ways for his trip than some of his fellow immigrants in that he had some education. He firmly inscribed his name HEINRICH ZELLER on the ship's register when he landed in Philadelphia. He probably carried some coin. He was evidently Lutheran or Reform since we find his family with these faiths in America.

All winter the river had been ice bound but now the warm winds of spring had washed the winter snow away and the Rhine River was running high. As the barge drifted down the river the passengers took one last look at their homeland as the old Windeck Castle on the hill faded from sight. Thought to be on the barge with him were his daughter Anna Barbara, age 5; Johannes, age 3; and his wife, Anna Maria who was probably some years younger than he. Anna Maria may have been expecting since it is thought a son, Peter, was born circa 1738 or 1739. At Rotterdam he secured passage on the ship Queen Elizabeth, Alexander Hope, Commander. They stopped at Deal, England to refuel and take on their last provisions for the trip. The air was filled with excitement. Little did they know what lay ahead for them on the high seas before they saw land again. The crowded conditions, sickness, and the stench on the small sailing vessels were yet to be realized along with the fearful waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Food and water was often scarce at sea and disease was often rampant. There were many burials of crew and passengers made in the stormy waters leaving broken families and orphaned children when the ship finally landed in America. They were fleeing into the unknown but it was less frightening than the conditions under which they were living. They were seeking freedom from interference with their religious and family life. They landed at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania September 16, 1738. They were probably very glad to be on firm ground again, even though they knew nothing about their new country or what lay ahead.

Sometime after arriving in Pennsylvania Heinrich learned of land in the Valley of Virginia through friends and promoters. Several friends and neighbors moved to Virginia, some also from Germany. It is not known the exact route he followed to Virginia and there has been much speculation. He had to cross Maryland and there were only three crossings of the Potomac that were widely used by those coming from the north in the early days. Coming as early as Heinrich did, it is likely they traveled by pack horses since the trails were not cleared well enough to get over them with wagons. In any case we find him in 1750 at the foot of the Peaked Mountain, west of Elkton. Augusta County, Virginia land books show he acquired his first land in 1750.

The Heinrich Zeller family was active in the Peaked Mountain Church. The old church record refers to it as the "Pinquit Moundyn" in "Agosti" County, toward the South "Chanithor" River. The area was in Augusta County, Virginia on the Shenandoah River that became Rockingham County, Virginia in 1778. The name was from the southern peak of the Massanutten Mountain and around which the Zellers family settled. The first church was near a Mr. Hermann's mill. The second church was dedicated October 23, 1768. The building was used by both the Lutheran and Reform congregations. On October 31, 1769, forty five persons signed an agreement that it was to be a Union Church. It was near Stony Creek. A third church was dedicated on May 27, 1804 and the building was still shared jointly between the Lutheran and the Reform.

The Zeller/Sellers name is German, or perhaps German-Swiss. The Zellers spelling continued well into the early part of the 19th century. The records of early America were kept in English. The English did not know German and the Germans did not know English and therein arose the dilemma concerning the spelling of names of the German immigrants. The English had to make the entries so they spelled phonetically as it sounded for official records. Names became Anglicized as time went on so that it is difficult today to sometimes identify the origin. Some of the old deeds and other business transactions that are written in English were signed in German. There has been found many spellings of the name Zeller/Sellers. Some of the spellings found were Sehler, Selers, Celers, Celer, Sellar, Cellars, Zöller, Zöllner, Seller, and Söller.

The origin of the name seems to be open to question by authorities. One version is that it was derived from "of the cellar". There was a position of some note within the feudal hierarchy known as the office of the Cellarer. The person holding this position served as a steward. The steward managed and supervised accounts, servants, and other domestic concerns. One holding the position of Cellarer certainly had considerable responsibility in relation to the well being of the lord and his vassals. There were certainly stewards of the vast cellars under the castles of medieval Europe where the food supplies were stored and the great wine cellars existed. It is possible, that the name came from "of the cellar".
Source:
[1] Mary Marie Koontz Arrington, "Cradled by the Masanutten: The Zellers-Sellers Family", Baltimore: Gateway Press, 1986
[2] Frank M. Sellers, "Sellers - A Preliminary Study of the Descendants of Heinrich Sellers", Denver, Colorado: Lion Press, 1984
[3] "Thirty Years’ War." Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2001. © 1993-2000 Microsoft Corporation.

The Sellers (Cellers, Zellers) family in Warren County was among the earliest pioneers, having taken up landed holdings in January 1799, by purchase. The first hundred years of the Zellers family, (as it was then spelled) has been lost in the maze of time. It is a matter of family traditions that three brothers came from Germany about two hundred and fifty years ago. One of them settled in Pennsylvania, one in Maryland and one in Virginia. [Source: Lee L. Dodds, "Pioneers of Warren County and Their Descendants, (reprinted with permission of the Middletown Journal, Middletown, OH (Originally printed in 1941) Warren County Genealogical Society, Lebanon, OH 1998) The Sellers Family, published 16 March 1941]

Hans married Anna Maria Fechter on 23 Feb 1730 in Germany. Anna (daughter of Nicolaus Fechter and Judith Kehm) was born in 1701 in Möttgers, Hessen, Germany; died about 1776 in Augusta County, Virginia, British Colonial America. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Henry married Margaret Runkle about 1738. Margaret was born in 1720; died in 1782. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Immigration: 7 Sep 1748; on the ship Hampshire from Rotterdam

Notes:

Jacob was a slaveholder. Sometime before 1791, he sold his slave named Paul to his son Peter in Rockingham Co, VA. This was mentioned by the Ammon vs Runkle lawsuit. It added that Peter then sold Paul to Henry Cook.

Johann Jacob Runckel and Friedrich Hammer, from Wackernheim, were granted permission to emigrate on May 14, 1748. They had to pay 40 and 10 florins respectively for the permission. They landed at Philadelphia on the Ship Hampshire, September 7, 1748 (Strassburger-hinke, List 118 A-C). List A gives Runckel's age as 27, Hammer's as 35. [Reference: Friedrich Krebs, Palatine Emigrants to American from the Oppenheim Area, 1742-1749, (Journal Article p. 46-48 in no. 1 : ill. part of Pennsylvania Folklife v.22, 1972)]

1748 Hampshire
[List 118 A, B, C]
Captain: Thomas Cheesman
From: Rotterdam
By Way of: Falmouth
Arrival: Philadelphia, 7 Sep 1748

Jacob Runkle had established himself in Augusta Couinty, VA by 1757 and was receivving pay for services with the county militia during the French and Indiana War. In 1763 he patented 225 acres in Augusta County, a portion of which was given to Peter Runkle in 1772 to care for his aged mother. Lewis Runkle was granted land through Jacob Runkle's will. The will is among the lost records of Rockingham County, Va, but a law suit in Augusta titled "Ammon vs. Runkle" yields additional facts. Mary Ammon claimed that Peter Runkle had received more than he was entitled to. [Reference: June Runkle Grove, "The Runkle Family and Associated Families", ([S. I.] J. R. Grove, 1999), pg. 379]

Birth:
now Wackernheim, Mainz-Bingen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

Johann married Anna Maria Hammer on 1 Feb 1740 in Wackernheim, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. Anna (daughter of Nicholas Hammer and Anna Maria _____) was born on 20 Sep 1720 in Wackernheim, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany; died in Nov 1813 in Rockingham County, Virginia, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Name: Mary Hammer

Notes:

Birth:
now Wackernheim, Mainz-Bingen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

Notes:

Married:
now Wackernheim, Mainz-Bingen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

Other Events:

• Name: George Cook

George married Maria Sara Reiner. Maria was born on 21 May 1724 in Schwaigern, Baden-Württemberg, Germany; was christened on 21 May 1724 in Schwaigern, Baden-Württemberg, Germany; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]