Sandford Sellers (1854-1938) was the Principal,

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

and

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Wentworth Military Academy Wentworth Military Academy and College was a private two-year military college and high school in Lexington, Missouri. Wentworth was one of six total military junior colleges in the United States. The institution was founded in 1880 and closed in ...

from 1880 to 1935. Sandford Sellers was born on July 24, 1854, near

Lawrenceburg, Kentucky Lawrenceburg is a home rule-class city in Anderson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 10,505 at the 2010 census. It is the seat of its county. Lawrenceburg is part of the Frankfort, Kentucky, micropolitan statistical area. His ...

in Anderson County. He was the son of Dr. John Newton Sellers and Marcia Jane (McBrayer) Sellers, who moved the family to Texas shortly after his birth. He was raised on a ranch near

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

. As a young boy, he worked in cotton and sugar cane fields, and as a teenager, worked the ranch as a cowboy. In 1872, he returned to Kentucky and took coursework at Danville Collegiate Institute at

Danville, Kentucky Danville is a home rule-class city in Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 Census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes ...

, before enrolling at Central University in

Richmond, Kentucky Richmond is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Madison County, Kentucky, United States. It is named after Richmond, Virginia, and is home to Eastern Kentucky University. In 2019, the population was 36,157. Richmond is the fourth-la ...

. He received the degree of

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1877 and the degree of

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1879. Between 1877 and 1880, he taught and served as principal of the academy at

McAfee, Kentucky McAfee is an unincorporated community located in Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. Its post office is closed. It was also called Chaplin. See also *National Register of Historic Places listings in Mercer County, Kentucky This is a lis ...

, taught at the military school at

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the ...

, and then served as a

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of English at

Austin College Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas.Sherman, Texas Sherman is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas. The city's population in 2020 was 43,645. It is one of the two principal cities in the Sherman–Denison metropolitan statistical area, and it is part of the Texoma region o ...

. In 1880, he was convinced by his Central University classmate Benjamin L. Hobson to go to

Lexington, Missouri Lexington is a city in and the county seat of Lafayette County, Missouri. The population was 4,726 at the 2010 census. Located in western Missouri, Lexington lies approximately east of Kansas City and is part of the Greater Kansas City Metropol ...

to help start Wentworth Male Academy. When Hobson left to pursue a career in the ministry at the end of the 1880–81 school year, Sellers took sole charge of the academy. For the next 58 years, Sellers served as Principal, Superintendent and President of the school, which changed its name to Wentworth Military Academy in 1890. In 1893, Wentworth was made a post of the

Missouri National Guard The Missouri National Guard (MONG), commonly known as the Missouri Guard, is a component of the Army National Guard and Missouri State Department of the National Guard. It is composed of Army and Air National Guard units. The Department office is ...

. The National Guard conferred the rank of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

upon Sellers in 1893 and that of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in 1899. He oversaw the construction of numerous buildings on campus, as well as the addition of the Junior College in 1923. For a number of years Colonel Sellers served as a director and vice-president of the Lexington Savings Bank. Politically, he was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, but he never sought public office. He joined the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

in 1875, and in 1898 he was elected ruling elder of this denomination for Lexington. He was made a

Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...

in 1897, belonging both to the chapter and the commandery. He died on March 4, 1938, a few weeks after suffering a fall in the school gymnasium. Wentworth later was headed by four of his descendants: son Sandford Sellers, Jr. (1923-1933), son

James M. Sellers Colonel James McBrayer Sellers (June 20, 1895 – September 3, 1990) was a highly decorated Marine in World War I, and served as commandant, superintendent and president of Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri, from 1920 to 1990. Biog ...

(1933-1960), grandson James M. Sellers, Jr. (1973-1990) and great-grandson

William W. Sellers William Wentworth Sellers (born July 26, 1968) was the fourteenth President of Wentworth Military Academy and College in Lexington, Missouri, serving from 2008 to 2013. He was the fourth generation of his family to head the school, following his ...

(2008-2013).

References

* Young's History of Lafayette County, Missouri. 1910. * The Story of Wentworth, by Raymond W. Settle, 1950, Spencer Printing Co., Kansas City. * History of Wentworth Military Academy, by James M. Sellers, Jr., 1984. * Wentworth Trumpeter, 1893–2007. * Wentworth Military Academy, 125th Anniversary. Lil Touch Publishing. 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sellers, Sandford 1854 births 1938 deaths People from Anderson County, Kentucky People from Galveston County, Texas Centre College alumni People from Lexington, Missouri Presidents of Wentworth Military Academy and College