George Escol Sellers (November 26, 1808 – January 1, 1899) was an American businessman, mechanical engineer, and inventor. He owned and managed different businesses and patented several inventions. He established a company with his brother Charles where he patented his early invention of a machine that produced lead pipes from hot fluid lead continuously. While working for the

Panama Railway The Panama Canal Railway ( es, Ferrocarril de Panamá) is a railway line linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in Central America. The route stretches across the Isthmus of Panama from Colón, Panama, Colón (Atlantic) to Balboa, P ...

in the 1850s, he received various patents for improvements he made on railroad locomotives, including a railroad engine which could climb steep hills. He was interested in the field of archaeology. He wrote many articles, collected artifacts, and became a skilled arrowhead maker. Some of his arrowheads were displayed at the

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

. He was interested in art, and he indulged in arts and spent time with artists throughout his life. A character name in the first edition of

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

and

Charles Dudley Warner Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

's '' The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today'' (1873), "Colonel Eschol Sellers", was similar to Sellers' and had to be changed when he objected to its further use. However, the connection repeated again when the new name, "Colonel Mulberry Sellers", unintentionally referenced the neighborhood where he was born.

Early life

George Escol Sellers was born on November 26, 1808, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

to Coleman Sellers and Sophonisba Angusciola Peale. His birthplace was near the

Philadelphia Mint The Philadelphia Mint in Philadelphia was created from the need to establish a national identity and the needs of commerce in the United States. This led the Founding Fathers of the United States to make an establishment of a continental national ...

in the neighborhood of Mulberry Court. He had one elder brother Charles (b. 1806), two younger brothers, Harvey (b. 1813) and

Coleman Sellers II Coleman Sellers II (January 28, 1827 – December 28, 1907) was a prominent American engineer, chief engineer of William Sellers & Co., professor of mechanics at the Franklin Institute, professor of engineering practice at Stevens Institute of Tec ...

(b. 1827), and two younger sisters, Elizabeth (b. 1810) and Anna (b. 1824). His father and many ancestors had been engineers. His maternal grandfather was

Charles Willson Peale Charles Willson Peale (April 15, 1741 – February 22, 1827) was an American Painting, painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolu ...

, and his paternal grandfather Nathan Sellers was known for artwork of wire paper molds. While at school, he worked at Peale's Philadelphia Museum — he would later serve as a member of the museum's board of directors. Sellers was educated at public schools and studied for five years with tutor Anthony Bolmar at the West Chester Academy in

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Located within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,461 at the 2010 census. West Chester is the mailing address for most of its neighb ...

. In 1832, he went to England to study machines used for production of paper.

Career and inventions

Sellers returned to the United States in 1833 and started working at his father and grandfather's firm, Nathan & David Sellers; Charles was employed there as well. The company made machinery for producing wire and paper and was the first in the country to use forged frames to build locomotives. They also worked for the

United States Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; tha ...

. When Nathan Sellers died in 1830, the business was reorganized and Coleman Sellers and his two sons then ran the business. As a consequence of the

Depression of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major depression, which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages went down, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment went up, and pessimism abound ...

, the company became insolvent and closed. His work at the firm inspired many of his engineering writings. After Sellers closed his business in the east he moved with his brother Charles to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Ohio, and they established a factory for making lead pipe. Sellers invented machinery that utilized hot fluid lead for continuous production of lead pipe — he received a patent for his design, number US1908A on December 17, 1840. Their business was eventually sold and merged into a company which was a major producer of lead pipe in the country. Sellers partnered with Josiah Lawrence, a Cincinnati businessman, and organized a wire manufacturing company called Globe Rolling Mills. He incorporated machinery that he designed in their production process and it proved to be more efficient in producing lead pipe and wire. Patent US7498 A

He sold his interest in the company by 1850 and undertook manufacturing of railroad locomotives for the

in 1851 having invented a locomotive for inclined planes. Sellers took out many patents on improvements he made on railroad locomotives while working there. He invented a railroad engine capable of climbing steep mountains and heavily inclined planes — it was defined as an engine boiler with gearing for working heavy grades and was patented as US7498A on July 9, 1850. He was engaged in the manufacturing and sales of railroad equipment for several years in the 1850s. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Sellers moved to southern

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

near the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

and became interested in their mining operations. He invented a process for making paper-stock from vegetable fiber which was patented as US41101A on January 5, 1864. He spent the remainder of his career pursuing mechanical engineering and design. In 1888, he took up residence at

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

, upon retirement and lived on Mission Ridge. Sellers died at his home in Chattanooga at the age of 90 on January 1, 1899.

Personal life

Sellers married Rachel Brooks Parrish on March 6, 1833. They had five children and adopted an orphaned daughter of his cousin. Parrish died on September 14, 1860, in Illinois and was survived by only one son out of their five children. He had a deep interest in

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

. He wrote several articles on the relics of the

mound builders A number of pre-Columbian cultures are collectively termed "Mound Builders". The term does not refer to a specific people or archaeological culture, but refers to the characteristic mound earthworks erected for an extended period of more than 5 ...

of Illinois — one published by

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

was on the aborigines' method of making earthenware salt pans. He also wrote detailed articles on how the local American Indians made

arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, as well as to fulfill some special purposes such as sign ...

s and stone age tools. He personally became so skilled at making arrowheads that some specimens of his craft were on display at the

, Washington, D.C. See https://www.jstor.org/stable/44504992 For reliability He also had a substantial collection of

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

and implements of the prehistoric tribes of the Ohio valley. His grandfather Charles Wilson Peale and his uncles

Rembrandt Peale Rembrandt Peale (February 22, 1778 – October 3, 1860) was an American artist and museum keeper. A prolific portrait painter, he was especially acclaimed for his likenesses of presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Peale's style w ...

and

Raphaelle Peale Raphaelle Peale (sometimes spelled Raphael Peale) (February 17, 1774 – March 4, 1825) is considered the first professional American painter of still-life. Biography Peale was born in Annapolis, Maryland, the fifth child, though eldest survivin ...

were notable artists of the time. In Sellers's opinion, Raphaelle was the most talented of Charles's artist children. Sellers also had recognized artistic talent;

Thomas Sully Thomas Sully (June 19, 1783November 5, 1872) was a portrait painter in the United States. Born in Great Britain, he lived most of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He painted in the style of Thomas Lawrence. His subjects included nationa ...

had urged him at an early age to become a

portraitist A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this re ...

and offered to teach him, but he was more interested in pursuing a vocational career. Nonetheless, he indulged his taste for arts and the society of artists throughout his life. He patented different art inventions from time to time and coordinated "one of the earliest social organizations of artists in Philadelphia", according to Cope (1904).

''The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today''

The first edition of

and

's 1873 novel '' The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today'' had a fictional character — a satirical exploitative capitalist without redeeming social values — called "Colonel Eschol Sellers". The name "Eschol Sellers" was suggested by Warner, and the use of "Eschol" was a carefully considered decision, with apocryphal descriptions of its antecedents. Warner stated that he had interacted with an "Eschol Sellers" 20 years prior to writing this book, and decided to use the name because of its rarity. He further added that "his name has probably carried him off before this; and if it hasn't, he will never see the book anyhow." Twain mentioned in his 1892 novel ''

The American Claimant ''The American Claimant'' is an 1892 novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain. Twain wrote the novel with the help of phonographic dictation, the first author (according to Twain himself) to do so.

Publications

Improvements in Locomotive Engines, and RailwaysEarly Engineering Reminiscences (1815-40) of George Escol Sellers

References

Citations

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sellers, George Escol 1808 births 1899 deaths Engineers from Pennsylvania 19th-century American inventors American people of English descent American manufacturing businesspeople American railroad pioneers Businesspeople from Philadelphia People from Chattanooga, Tennessee 19th-century American businesspeople