Paulser Agnew Sellers was born on January 8, 1843, in Pennsylvania to Thomas and Sarah Sellers. His father was a farmer who owned $5,600 of real estate and $575 of personal property by 1860. He grew up and attended school in Patton, Pennsylvania.
He was drafted into the Union army in September 1864, and he mustered in as a private in Company A of the 76th Pennsylvania Infantry. The regiment took part in the Carolinas campaign, and he mustered out on May 28, 1865.
Sellers returned to Patton after leaving the army, and he earned a living as a farmer. He married Esther E. Gray around 1872, and they had at least nine children: Elsie, born around 1873; J. E., born on February 10, 1876; Harry, born around 1878; Anna, born around 1880; Charles, born around 1884; Wilson, born around 1886; Ross, born around 1889; Annis, born around 1892; and Agnew, born around 1895. By 1890, he was suffering from heart disease. He applied for a federal pension in August 1890 and eventually secured one. He died in Centre County, Pennsylvania, on February 15, 1903.