EDITED to indicate John Anderson’s (Jr.) proper lineage.
Among the things that getting a DNA test has done to influence my research–I discover ancestors I skipped over when I wrote about members of their family. That has been the case with both my maternal line of Andersons and my paternal line of Kasers.
DNA strand from pixabay
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Last week I remedied an oversight in the Andersons by talking about my great-uncle William McCabe Anderson. (My attention had been drawn to Will because of a DNA match.) William, second son of the 2nd marriage of John Anderson—to my grandmother Isabella McCabe—survived the experience of a P.O.W. during the Civil War.
As I looked at Will Anderson, I realized there were other Andersons that I had missed.
A Recap of the Andersons I Have Introduced
Family portrait Anderson and Stout, 1909
For identification of everyone in the Anderson and Stout family picture above, follow this link.
Leonard Guy Anderson, my maternal grandfather. You can see “Daddy Guy” in the photo at the top of the page–an ancestor in an apron. I have written about Guy’s second wife, Vera Stout Anderson many times. I was named for her and spent a great deal of time with her when I was young.
Bernard Franklin (Ben) Anderson, great-uncle, was Guy’s brother. I wrote about the tragic loss of his young wife and his family, which presented quite a tangle. His descendants included his nephew Telmar, Guy’s son by his first wife and brother to Rhema Anderson Fair (below); Estil Anderson Sr., Ben’s only son; and Estil Anderson Jr.
Mary V. Brink Anderson and Joseph J. Anderson, my grandfather’s parents. Joseph was the next to youngest son of Isabella McCabe and John Anderson, and died young.
Isabella McCabe Anderson and her husband John Anderson, my great-great grandparents moved the Andersons from Ohio to Pennsylvania. Isabella lived a long time– long enough that my mother knew her great-grandmother, who sits in the center of the family picture above.
Great-Great Uncle Erasmus Anderson (actually a half-uncle of my grandfather), a soldier in the Civil War had a series of posts dedicated to his letters from the front and description of his service and death during the Civil War.
Margaret Anderson Lisle, great-great aunt. Margaret, the first child of John Anderson and his second wife, Isabella McCabe, played the role of family caretaker. It was Margaret who wrote to Erasmus during the war. It was Margaret who kept a family scrapbook with locks of hair and obituaries. It was Margaret who raised her own family and the grandchildren who needed a parent.
Franklin Anderson, great-great uncle– my grandfather’s uncle who raised him when his father died. Franklin was the youngest of the Andersons family.
Caroline Anderson Bird, great-great aunt.
Amy Anderson Roof, great-great aunt. Caroline and Amy were the two youngest children of Isabella and John Anderson, and close in every way for the rest of their lives.
I also wrote about the generations after my Grandfather–
Rhema Anderson Fair, my mother’s half sister. The daughter of Guy Anderson and his first wife, Lillis Bird.
William J. Anderson. My Uncle Bill could be a rascal, as in the story I told about his running away, but my mother’s older brother held a place in my heart as a favorite relative.
Herbert Guy Anderson, son of Guy Anderson and his 2nd wife, Vera Stout Anderson. My uncle Herbert was my mother’s younger brother.
And I have written many times about my mother, Harriette Anderson Kaser. (I’ll let you use the search function to find those articles and pictures.
Andersons in Waiting
Which Andersons still wait to have their stories told? Well, I am currently working on Sarah Jane Anderson McDowell and her family.
I have not written about John Anderson, first child of John Anderson and his second wife, Isabella McCabe I have a puzzle to solve about John’s possible service in the Civil War before I can write about this man who died from a farm accident in his 30s.
The first child of John and Emma may have been a girl named Mary who married before the Andersons left Pennsylvania. But information on Mary is scarce.
And of course, each time I research a great-great aunt or uncle, I discover their children and grandchildren, new cousins galore.
Are You an Anderson?
Anderson is such a common name that even in the small county of Holmes in Ohio, I find Andersons that are not visibly related to my John Anderson line. I keep hoping to meet someone who holds the key to where John Anderson (1795-1879) came from and who his parents were. Perhaps there is a family Bible. Perhaps an earlier Anderson wrote a family history. Until then, John Anderson is one of my brick walls, and I will continue to explore the families that came after him.
