He was educated at common schools and studied for five years with Anthony Bolmar at his academy in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Here his mechanical ingenuity quickly asserted itself and under his direction the wire mill belonging to the plant was rebuilt and improved.

Because of his prompt and thorough investigation of scientific discoveries, he became the mentor of a group of intellectual men in Cincinnati and frequently gave lectures, illustrated by practical experiments, on chemistry, physics, and electricity.

In 1888, Sellers was appointed professor of engineering practice at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey, where he delivered lectures at intervals during the school year.

In 1877, Sellers was decorated by King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway with the Order of St. Olav, in honor of his scientific attainments.

Coleman Sellers II died December 28, 1907, in Philadelphia and is interred at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

The use of absorbent cotton for surgical operations was recommended by him as early as 1861, and he proposed the employment of glycerine in order to keep photographic plates wet.