Lucretia Sellers, Vernon Parish Louisiana 
Submitted by Jane P. McManus 
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Lucretia Sellers
Lucretia (?) (Ca. 1795/6 NC / between 1881-1884 LA), married ca. 1826, 
probably in Georgia as their first child was born there, to John Sellers 
(ca. 1795/6 NC / ca. 1861-1864 Rapides, LA). The burial for John and 
Lucretia is not known, but it is believed that they are buried in an 
unmarked grave outside the fence of the Laurel Hill Cemetery.
Lucretia and John Sellers lived in Georgia from 1826 to 1844. They were 
living in Lowndes County, GA, in 1830, and had two daughters under the 
age of five. By 1840 they were found in Thomas County, GA and their family 
now included three daughters under the age of 15 and two sons under the 
age of 10. In 1844, John and Lucretia Sellers took their small family and 
began their journey west. For two years they lived in Florida, and then 
they continued on to Mississippi and settled in Attala County where they 
stayed for 13 years. In 1850, when the census was taken, John and Lucretia 
were shown as being born in North Carolina and all the children were shown 
as being born on Georgia. In 1859, the Sellers family arrived in Rapides 
Parish and established their homestead. This area later become Vernon Parish 
in 1871. 
On 31 Jan 1859, John and Lucretia Sellers purchased approximately 80 acres
of property (Attala), MS, from their daughter Amanda, and son-in-law, James
Treadway. This same property was later sold in that same year to Jim Crow
for $200. It was in this deed that Lucretia Sellers stated she "signed the
deed of her own voluntary act without fear, threat, or complusion on the
part of her husband."
After the sale of the property in Mississippi, John and Lucretia headed
west again. They arrived in Rapides Parish, LA, in Feb of 1860, and John
immediately began to clear his land and build a home. In September of 1860,
he and his son-in-law, William Smith, travelled to Natchitoches, LA, where
they filed for a Federal Land Patent. Federal Land Patient #17247 dated 
12 Sep 1860 indicates John Sellers received 79 81/100 acres for which he
paid 12 1/2 cents an acre.
By the time of the census was taken in 1860, John and Lucretia Sellers had 
two children living at home. This census record was the last evidence that 
can be found for John Sellers and his daughter Mary Ann. When the Union
Army vacated the town of Alexandria during the Civil War in 1864, the town
was virtually destroyed by fire. As there were no records found in Rapides 
Parish or for surrounding parishes for John Sellers after 1864, it is 
probable that he died during this time.
In 1869, Lucretia Sellers is listed a Charter Member of Laurel Hill Church,
she may well have been the oldest member when Laurel Hill Church was
constituted, as she was 74/75 years old.
By 1870 the census report indicated that Lucretia Sellers was living with
her widowed daughter, Catharine Smith. Another of Lucretia's widowed 
daughters, Lucinda Bradley, was shown as a member of the household. The
Civil War ravaged the South, and it ravaged this family claiming four of
their male family members. Nevertheless, these three women with six
children between them, five under the age of ten and the oldest male only
five years of age, did survive and they did prosper.
Lucretia Sellers was still living in 1880 at the age of 85 and appeared
on the Rapides Parish census. No further records were located in Rapides
or the surrounding parishes for Lucretia, so it is highly probable that
she died between 1880 and 1890 because of her advanced age. 
The issue: Catharine Jane (22 Oct 1826 GA), married William Smith; Lucinda 
(1828 GA/1909 LA), married James Bradley; Bryant Mentry (1830 GA-?), married 
Ann Bradley ca. 1858 MS; Polly (1835 GA); Amanda (31 Mar 1837 GA), married 
James Wilson Treadway; and John M. Sellers (ca. 1839 GA/8 Jun 1895 Blount, AL), 
married Mary M. (?).
References: 
1830 United States Population Census Records, Lowdnes County, Georgia
1840 United States Population Census Records, Thomas County, Georgia
1860 United States Population Census Records, Rapides Parish, Louisiana
1870 United States Population Census Records, Rapides Parish, Louisiana
1880 United States Population Census Records, Rapides Parish, Louisiana
McManus, Jane P., L'est We Forget, Volume I-III (Revised), Parker 
Enterprises, Ball, LA, 1995 (Welcome Cemetery & Good Hope Cemetery) 
McManus, Jane P., A Backward Glance, (Pineville, LA: Parker 
Enterprises, 1986) 
McManus, Jane P., Pioneers West of Appalachia, Revised, (Seattle, WA: 
Parker Enterprises, 1984) 
McManus, Jane P., Laurel Hill Missionary Baptist Church Vernon Parish 
Louisiana 1869-1920, It's People and Its History, (Englewood, Co: Parker 
Enterprises, 1988)