Samuel Riley Sells (August 2, 1871 – November 2, 1935) was an American politician and a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

for the 1st congressional district of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

Biography

Sells was born on August 2, 1871 in

Bristol, Tennessee Bristol is a city in the State of Tennessee. Located in Sullivan County, its population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The ...

in Sullivan County son of George Washington and Mary Margaret McCrary. He attended the rural schools and King College in Bristol, Tennessee from 1895 to 1890. He studied law, was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...

, and commenced practice in

Blountville, Tennessee Blountville is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,074 at the 2010 census. It is the only Tennessee county seat not to be an incorporated city or town. ...

. He served as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

in Company F, Third Regiment, Tennessee Volunteer Infantry during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cl ...

. He married Frances Rice Hayward on April 25, 1904, and they had four children, Samuel Hayward, Charlotte Wyman, Lucy McGuire, and Frank Hayward.

Career

After moving to

Johnson City, Tennessee Johnson City is a city in Washington, Carter, and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, mostly in Washington County. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 71,046, making it the eighth largest city in Tennessee. J ...

, Sells engaged in the lumber business. He served as a member of the

Tennessee Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue reg ...

from 1909 to 1911. Sells was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

to the Sixty-second and to the four succeeding Congresses. He served from March 4, 1911 to March 3, 1921, and was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1920. During the

Sixty-sixth Congress The 66th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, comprising the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1919, to Ma ...

, he was the chairman of the United States House Committee on Pensions. He was a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

in 1912, 1916 and 1932. Resuming the lumber business in Johnson City, Tennessee, Sells also engaged in the manufacturing of shale brick and in numerous other enterprises.

Death

Sells died in Johnson City, Tennessee on November 2, 1935 (age 64 years, 92 days). He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

at Oak Hill Cemetery in Johnson City.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sells, Sam Riley 1871 births 1935 deaths Republican Party Tennessee state senators Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee People from Bristol, Tennessee People from Johnson City, Tennessee