VIRGINIA SELLARDS 
VIRGINIA was born about 1760 in SHENANDOAH CO.,VA. VIRGINIA's father was HEZEKIAH SELLARDS and her mother is JANE BREVARD. Her paternal grandfather is PETER JOHN SELLARDS; her maternal grandparents were JOHN BREVARD and JANE MACWHORTER. She had five brothers and two sisters, named THOMAS, JACK, JOHN W, SAMUEL THOMAS, ANDREW, CATHERINE ELIZABETH and ANNADOSIA. She was the third oldest of the eight children. She died about 1831 in JOHNSON CO,KENTUCKY.General Notes
Nickname:<NICK> JENNY, JEAN
In reality, the capture of Jenny and the destruction of the Wiley family was in
error. Sometime before, in an engagement with a party of Cherokee Indians, a
member of the Harman family shot and killed two Indians. It was dark and rainy
on October 1, 1789, in Ab's Valley, Virginia, when a group of Indians returned
to seek vengeance. Instead of attacking the Harman cabin, they fell upon the
Wiley's instead.
Jenny was the daughter of Hezekiah Sellards, born around 1760 in Pennsylvania.
Thomas Wiley and Jenny were married in 1779, and lived in the frontier on
Walker's Creek in what is now Bland County, Virginia. Jenny, her brother, and
her four children were home, but her husband was away. In the surprise attack,
Jenny saw her brother and three of her children beaten, tomahawked, and scalped.
Jenny, pregnant with her sixth child, and the baby were taken captive.
The march toward the West with the Indians was a hard and continuous strain on
Jenny and she had to pack her son. When it was apparent that she was lagging
behind, her son was killed so that she might move faster. When she birthed her
baby boy, they killed this child as well. She was a prisoner for nine months.
This warrior band moved to an area around Little Mudlick Creek in what is now
Johnson County, Kentucky, and set up a permanent camp. As the weeks passed, the
Indians relaxed and forgot about watching Jenny so closely. One dark and rainy
night, Jenny found her chance to escape. Although she didn't know which
direction she wanted to go and armed only with the knowledge of the woods that
she had learned from the Indians, Jenny began her trip home dodging the Indians
that pursued her. She made it to a newly settled area (Harman's Station on
John's Creek), and with the help of Henry Skaggs, they crossed the Big Sandy
River to safety as the Indians almost caught up with them.
Finally, in the spring of 1790, she returned home with a hunting party. Jenny
was reunited with her husband and they began to rebuild their family by having
five more children. They moved to the Big Sandy Valley in 1800 and settled in
Johnson County. Thomas died in 1810, and she died in 1831 at the age of
seventy-one.
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Ancestor Pedigree Chart
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*There are earlier generations for the ancestor(s) indicated. See their page(s) for details (click name)
- b.~ 1661 in ULSTER,IRELAND
- b.~ 1706 in ULSTER,IRELAND
- b.~ 1663
- b.1732 in ULSTER,IRELAND d.> 1774 in VIRGINIA
- b.~ 1760 in SHENANDOAH CO.,VA d.~ 1831 in JOHNSON CO,KENTUCKY
- b.1665 in FRANCE d.1730 in ELKS RIVER,CECIL CO,MARYLAND
- b.~ 1716 in ELKS RIVER,CECIL CO,MARYLAND d.15 Sep 1790 in STATESVILLE,IREDELL CO,NC
- b.1642 in LONDONDERRY,SCOTLAND d.< 1708 in SOMERSET CO,MD
- b.Apr 1660 in ULSTER,IRELAND d.23 Dec 1714 in ELKS RIVER,CECIL CO,MARYLAND
- b.~ 1640 in SOMERSET CO,MD d.> 1708 in SOMERSET CO,MD
- b.10 Aug 1689 in SOMERSET CO,MD d.1734 in ELKS RIVER,CECIL CO,MARYLAND
- b.1634 in STIRLINGSHIRE,SCOTLAND d.17 Nov 1704 in DONEGAL,IRELAND
- b.1665 in ULSTER,IRELAND d.28 Mar 1692 in SOMERSET CO,MARYLAND
- b.~ 1628 in ULSTER,IRELAND
- b.~ 1734 in MARYLAND
- b.~ 1620 in EDINBURGH,SCOTLAND d.~ 1641
- b.< 1641 in EDINBURGH,SCOTLAND
- d.~ 1641 in IRELAND
- b.1687 in ARMAGH,IRELAND d.06 Mar 1748 in NEW CASTLE CO,DELAWARE
- b.24 Mar 1725/1726 in NEW CASTLE CO,DELAWARE d.25 Mar 1800 in IREDELL CO,NC
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VIRGINIA and THOMAS were married in a religious ceremony in 1779 in FLOYD CO,KENTUCKY. They had six sons and five daughters, named GEORGE, THOMAS, ROBERT BRUCE, HEZEKIAH, WILLIAM, ADAM BREVARD, RUTH, NAOMI, ELIZABETH, MARY JANE and SARAH ANN.
Family Notes
_STATMARRIED
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Children
GEORGE WILEY
GEORGE was born about 1779 in WALKER'S STATION,BLAND CO.,VA. He died on October 1st, 1789 in WALKER'S CREEK,VA.
RUTH WILEY
RUTH was born about 1781 in WALKER'S STATION,BLAND CO.,VA. She died on October 1st, 1789 in WALKER'S CREEK,VA.
NAOMI WILEY
NAOMI was born about 1782 in WALKER'S STATION,BLAND CO.,VA. She died on October 1st, 1789 in WALKER'S CREEK,VA.
ELIZABETH WILEY
ELIZABETH was born in 1782 in WALKER'S STATION,BLAND CO.,VA. She died at the age of 7 on October 1st, 1789 in WALKER'S CREEK,VA.
THOMAS WILEY
THOMAS was born about 1788 in WALKER'S STATION,BLAND CO.,VA. He died in October 1789 in WALKER'S CREEK,VA.
ROBERT BRUCE WILEY
ROBERT BRUCE was born in December 1789 in CHEROKEE FORK,BLAINE CO,KENTUCKY. He died at 3 months old in March 1790 in CHEROKEE FORK,BLAINE CO,KENTUCKY.
MARY JANE WILEY
MARY JANE was born in 1791 in WALKER'S STATION,BLAND CO.,VA. She died before 1885 in KENTUCKY. She was buried in BIG LAUREL CREEK,WAYNE CO,KENTUCKY.
SARAH ANN WILEY
SARAH ANN was born about 1797 in WALKER'S STATION,BLAND CO.,VA. She died on March 10th, 1871.
ADAM BREVARD WILEY
ADAM BREVARD was born in WALKER'S STATION,BLAND CO.,VA. He died about 1885 in JOHNSON CO,KENTUCKY.
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