Biographical Sketch of Allen William Sells

Up to a few years ago every American boy had one very definite association with the name Sells. This name represented to him, as at least a passing mood, all the glory and wonder of the world through the great circus and menagerie operated under the name Sells Brothers. The Sells Brothers organization was one of the greatest achievements of its kind the world had known. This name had had a long and intimate association with the City of Topeka because one of the original Sells Brothers, out of the world wide acquaintance with towns and localities, chose this city … Read more

Biography of William Allen Sells

William Allen Sells, son of Allen Sells, was probably the most noted bare-back rider of his time. He began practicing the art when a child, and subsequently performed in every city and remote hamlet of the United States and also before the royalty of Europe. After his return from his European tour he organized and conducted a show of his own for some years. He died in New York City in 1907. In 1890 William Allen Sells married Miss Effigene Marris of Columbus, Ohio. Their only son and child is Allen William Sells, who as a boy and young man … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Arquis L. Sells

Arquis L. Sells a farmer near Westminster, was born in Wyandot County, Ohio, September 6, 1845. His parents, John and Mary (McKissen) Sells, were natives respectively of Ohio and Virginia, and had five children, three of whom are still living. John Sells was a well-known attorney in Wyandot County for a number of years, and died November 19, 1886. Marquis worked on the railroad as a trackman, and subsequently attended school at New Hagerstown and Harlem Springs. Then he taught school for some ten years in Ohio and Missouri, and in May, 1871, he came to California with two brothers … Read more