Edward Breathitte Sellers is the first known college graduate of color of Wheaton College and likely the first African American graduate in the state of Illinois. Bachelor's degree or higher is a commonly used term by the US Census Bureau and other United States government agencies on the federal as well as state and local level Wheaton College is a private Evangelical Protestant, Coeducational Liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois, a Suburb African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union.
Edward Breathitte Sellers was said to have been born on the Andalusia Plantation in Mississippi. Born and reared in slavery, somehow prior to his matriculating at Wheaton College, he moved to Illinois and listed Shawneetown, Illinois as his home. Shawneetown is a city in Gallatin County, Illinois, United States.
Initially in 1860, he began studies in the Preparatory program as a junior student and progressed to senior standing the following year. In the 1862 Wheaton College Catalog, he is shown to have entered the Collegiate program and is listed as a Freshman. A freshman, fresher, fish, or frosh is a first-year student in an educational institution
That same year he joined the Beltionian Literary Society [1]. Founded in 1856, the crimson-clad Belts championed the cause of "striving for the greater and better. " It was in the literary society that Sellers was able to hone his oral and written communication skills as he debated his fellow students on topics ranging from economics to ethics, such as the lawfulness of slavery. Sellers held leadership positions within the society and gained a reputation as “one of the leading disputants” on campus.
During his junior year at Wheaton College, Sellers joined several of his classmates and heeded the call of the Union Army for "hundred-days men. The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. " Sellers, along with his friends, enlisted May 18, 1864 in the 132nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Events 1152 - Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine. Year 1864 ( MDCCCLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year This regiment was organized at Camp Fry, Chicago, Illinois, and mustered in for 100 days service from June 1, 1864. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Events 193 - Roman Emperor Didius Julianus is Assassinated 987 - Hugh Capet is elected Year 1864 ( MDCCCLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year and encamped and trained near Paducah, Kentucky – not far from his Shawneetown home. Paducah is the largest city in Kentucky 's Jackson Purchase Region and the County seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States Sellers didn't seem to have seen any skirmishes. He was mustered out October 17, 1864. Events 539 BC - King Cyrus The Great of Persia marches into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost Year 1864 ( MDCCCLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year [2].
After his summer soldiering, Sellers returned to school and graduated in 1866, the sole graduate that year. With the help of Wheaton's president, Jonathan Blanchard, Sellers moved to Boston and enrolled at Andover Theological Seminary. Andover Theological Seminary, now part of Andover Newton Theological School, is the oldest Graduate school of Theology in the United States. He is listed in the junior class in the 1872 Congregational Quarterly[3]. He earned his bachelor of divinity in 1874 and was ordained that November at the Congregational Church in Selma, Alabama. Selma is a city in and the County seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. Afterwards, he was appointed by the American Missionary Association to a pastorate in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
After two years in this pastorate, Sellers' life takes a twist and begins to become unclear. In 1876, he moved back to Boston for a year. From 1877-1883 he lived in Taunton and Worcester, Massachusetts and was known to have died of "insanity" at 41 years of age on June 4, 1883 in Worcester. Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Worcester (ˈwʊstɚ is a City in the state of Massachusetts in the United States of America. Events 781 BC - The first historic Solar eclipse is recorded in China. Year 1883 ( MDCCCLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
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