Bill Lorenz's deepest confirmed direct ancestor (maternal 5th great-grandfather) and a confirmed Revolutionary War Patriot. Born 1738 in Duplin County, North Carolina to William Benjamin Sellers Sr (a Virginia colonist) and Marie Hardy. Married Patience Parker in February 1758 in Chatham County, NC. Served in the American Revolution as a Lieutenant in Captain Isaiah Hogan's Chatham militia, having been appointed Justice of Chatham County on December 23, 1776. Captured and paroled by the British at the Raid of Chatham Courthouse in November 1781. Verified by the National Society Sons of the American Revolution as Patriot #P-329982. Father of Isaac Sellers (1769). Died 1804 in Pittsboro, Chatham County, NC at age 65 or 66. The Sellars / Sellers surname is English (Lancashire / Yorkshire variant), originally meaning a maker of saddles or harness.
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James Thomas Sellers
Stories
James Thomas Sellers, 1738, Duplin County
1738-1804
Bill's deepest confirmed direct ancestor is James Thomas Sellers, born 1738 in Duplin County, North Carolina, two decades earlier than the family's typed history claimed. He married Patience Parker in February 1758 in Chatham County, when both were young adults. He lived through the entire colonial era, was 38 years old when the Declaration of Independence was signed, watched the American Revolution from inside Carolina, and saw the new Republic settle into place before he died in Pittsboro in 1804 at age 66. From him to Bill is seven generations, all on American soil.
Source: Parallel agent research session 2026-06-06
James Thomas Sellers, Patriot
1776-1781
On December 23, 1776, James Thomas Sellers was appointed Justice of Chatham County, North Carolina, by the new state's revolutionary government. He served in Captain Isaiah Hogan's Chatham militia through the war, and in November 1781 the British captured him at the Raid of Chatham Courthouse. He was paroled. The National Society Sons of the American Revolution recognizes him as Patriot #P-329982, with rank of Lieutenant. He is the verified Revolutionary War ancestor of Bill Lorenz's line; the colonial American story of this family is not abstract, it is documented service in the founding of the country.
Source: Parallel agent research session 2026-06-06