A most enjoyable 55th Sell Reunion of the descendants of Henry Sellen and his son Abraham Sell was held in the Christ Church picnic grove near Littlestown, PA on Sunday, August 20, 2000. Ten Sells who attended the first reunion 55 years ago were in attendance. Descendants of two of the sons of Jacob Sell, Sr. who migrated to Stark Co., Ohio nearly 200 years ago attended. They now live in Wisconsin, Ohio and Maryland. A descendant of Jacob Sell, the Littlestown gunsmith, represented his line for the first time. Another descendant of Jacob Sell, the Gettysburg merchant, was surprised to find that there were still Sells in the area.
On Sunday morning Ken and Dick Sell led 28 Sell relatives on a tour of "Selldom". Now in its 10th year, the tour first visited the farm that Henry Sellen purchased in 1735. The only Sell artifact remaining is a 300+ year old white oak tree on the Little Conewago Creek. Then we visited the Abraham Sell homestead, part of which was in the Sell family for over 200 years. We stopped at Sells Station and also saw the farms of Jacob Sell, Sr. and Jacob Sell, Jr. The final stop on the tour was at Christ Church where Sells have attended for 240 years. We visited the grave markers of Abraham Sell, Jacob Sell, Sr. and Jacob Sell, Jr. There are 7 generations of Sells buried in the Christ Church cemetery - all with tombstones.
A picnic lunch was held at noon with lots of informal visiting. At 2 pm there was a short program and business meeting. Various members shared photos and other Sell memorabilia. There was a brochure featuring the work of Carolyn Cell Choppin and her newsletters, CD and website. The address of the Celle Family website was mentioned and the fact that we are now on the Internet.
The highlight of the show and tell time was Dick Sell's showing of his 1790's replica of a Jacob Sell rifle that he had crafted recently. There was much interest in the gun. Some of Jacob Sell's signed rifles have sold for as much as $30,000.
There was a white elephant sale to raise money for the reunion treasury. Memorabilia from the 50th Sell reunion were on sale - medallions, 50 year reunion history and bookmarks, as well as Sell T-shirts and copies of Ken Sell's history of the Sell family. There were games for children and bingo.
Ken Sell made arrangements for a small group to visit Jacob the gunsmith's house in Littlestown after the reunion. David and Joan Miller graciously opened their house, which has been beautifully restored, to Ken, Dick and the two descendants of the gunsmith family. Dick brought his rifle.
Photos were taken inside and outside of the house. The Millers allowed us to visit the house from the kitchen to the attic. We saw the small, old, outside workshop in the backyard where Jacob made his rifles. The Millers purchased a copy of Ken's history of the Sell family for their coffee table. It was a most enjoyable visit on a delightful day.
The 56th Sell reunion will be held at the same site on Sunday, August 19, 2001. Contact Ken Sell for details about the next reunion.
Ken Sell ksell@northstate.net
