Sullivan County TN Archives Biographies.....Sells, Sam R. 1857 - 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com October 25, 2005, 4:42 am

Author: Will T. Hale

   HON. SAM R. SELLS. Serving his second term as a member of congress from the

first district of Tennessee, Mr. Sells has been one of the leading figures in

the political life of East Tennessee in recent years.



   Sam R. Sells was born in Sullivan county, Tennessee, on the 2d of August,

1871, and is of mingled English, German and Irish descent. His ancestors and

forefathers have lived in America for many generations and did their share in

the early development of East Tennessee. Hon. Mr. Sells was one of three

children born to George W. and Mary (McCrary) Sells. George W. Sells was born in

Sullivan county, April 9, 1826, a son of Samuel and Sarah (Bushong) Sells.

Samuel Sells was born in Washington county, southwestern Virginia, in 1795, the

son of John Sells. Samuel Sells, the grandfather, was a farmer, millwright and

carpenter, and crossed the mountains and settled in Tennessee in the last

century, and died in Sullivan county about 1861. Sarah (Bushong) Sells, the

grandmother, was born about 1802 in Tennessee, a daughter of David Bushong, one

of the pioneers in this vicinity. Her death occurred about 1847. Both Samuel and

Sarah were Presbyterians in religion, and the former was an elder in his church.

After the death of Sarah Sells, Samuel married Cynthia Willoughby.



   George W. Sells, the father, the fourth of nine children, was educated at

Paperville, became a prosperous farmer, a vocation he followed all his active

career, and was a man of more than ordinary influence in his home community.

Early in his career he was elected to the office of constable and served seven

years. After the war he became deputy sheriff of Sullivan county, and a year

later was elected sheriff and served two years. On leaving his duties in that

office, he returned to the farm and continued its management until 1886, when he

was again elected sheriff and moved to Bristol. In 1867 George W. Sells married

Mary McCrary, a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Treadway) McCrary. She was

born in 1847. Their children were Lucy E.; Sam R. and George C. Sells. George W.

Sells and wife were active members of the Presbyterian faith.



   It was on a farm, with all its wholesome environments and energizing

exercise, that Sam R. Sells grew up and had the vigorous training for life which

a farmer boy enjoys. From the common schools he entered King College of Bristol,

and completed his law studies at the Cumberland University of Lebanon, but did

not enter into practice. Following his graduation at Cumberland University he

became a private in Company L, Third Tennessee Volunteer Infantry, served during

the Spanish-American war, and on his return entered the lumber business at

Johnson City, which he still continues.



   Mr. Sells has been a stanch Republican, which was also the politics of his

father before him. For a number of years he has been active in local politics,

and in 1909 came into larger prominence through his election to membership in

the state senate. His service in the senate will long be remembered, since

during that time he drew up and secured the passage of the state-wide

prohibition law for Tennessee; also assisted in drafting and securing the

passage of the state election law protecting for the first time in the history

of Tennessee the Republican party at the ballot box, and giving it absolute bona

fide protection in the selection of officers to hold elections. His activity in

state politics brought him prominently before the people, and he was elected a

member of congress in November, 1910, and was re-elected in the fall of 1912.

With two years' experience in the national legislature, he entered upon his

second term well equipped for the weighty business which occupies the present

session of congress, and has made his influence felt in the direction of

effective legislation for the national welfare, and has taken good care of the

matters entrusted to him by his local constituency. He secured the location of

the Appalachian Park in East Tennessee, for which the forestry department of the

federal government has already purchased more than 100,000 acres, with a

probability that when the work is completed a half million acres in the First

Tennessee District will have been purchased.



   On April 25, 1903, Mr. Sells married Miss Fanny Hayward, a daughter of

Charles T. Hayward, of Michigan. They are the parents of four children of the

following names: Sam, Charlotte, Lucy and Francis.



Additional Comments:
From:



A history of Tennessee and Tennesseans : the leaders and representative men in

commerce, industry and modern activities

by Will T. Hale

Chicago:  Lewis Pub. Co.,  1913





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