Preceded by Zachary D. Massey Role American Politician Name Sam Sells Succeeded by B. Carroll Reece | Political party Republican Party Republican Party Citizenship United States Education King University Resigned March 3, 1921 | |
Born August 2, 1871
Bristol, Tennessee ( 1871-08-02 ) Spouse(s) Frances Rice Hayward Sells Children Samuel Hayward Sells Charlotte Wyman Sells
Lucy McGuire Sells
Frank Hayward Sells Alma mater King College, Bristol, Tennessee Died November 2, 1935, Johnson City, Tennessee, United States | ||
Battles and wars Spanish–American War | ||
Sam Riley Sells (August 2, 1871 – November 2, 1935) was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 1st congressional district of Tennessee.
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Biography
Sells was born on August 2, 1871 in Bristol, Tennessee 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, and commenced practice in Blountville, Tennessee. He served as a private in Company F, Third Regiment, Tennessee Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish–American War. 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, Sells engaged in the lumber business. He served as a member of the Tennessee Senate from 1909 to 1911.
Sells was elected as a Republican 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, he was the chairman of the United States House Committee on Pensions. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention 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 at Oak Hill Cemetery.