John Farwell Anderson (1823 - 1887)

Born 22 Jul 1823 in Windham, Cumberland, Maine, United States

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 25 Dec 1887 at age 64 in Windham, Cumberland, Maine, United States

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Biography

Excerpts and facts from "Memoir of John Farwell Anderson" by George Madison Bodge; 1889; Reprinted from the N.E. Historical and Genealogical Society for April 1889:

John Farwell Anderson, the eldest son of Hon. John Anderson and Ann Williams Jameson, was born in Portland, July 22, 1823.

"In 1843 he was appointed assistant engineer upon the Commission of the 'North Eastern Boundary Survey,' established by the so-called 'Webster and Ashburton Treaty,' to trace the boundary line... between the American and British Possessions.... Mr. Anderson held this position until the spring of 1847."

"He was married, March 30, 1847, to Marcia Winter, daughter of Captain Samuel Winter, of Portland, and adopted daughter of Dr. John Merrill, of Portland."

Between 1847 and 1853, he worked as an engineer building the Androscoggin and Kennebec Railroad, the Portland and Kennebec Junction Railroad and the York and Cumberland Railroad.

"In 1852 he was appointed city engineer of Portland.... In 1858 Mr. Anderson was chosen a member of the State Board of Agriculture for the County of Cumberland for three years... Mr. Anderson was persuaded to take the position (on the board) and was annually chosen president of the Board for 1846, '65 and '66."

"In 1867 the increasing energy that began to be shown in railroad enterprise claimed Mr. Anderson's ability and experience. He was offered the position of chief engineer of the Portland and Rochester Railroad in that year... In 1869 he was appointed chief engineer of the Portalnd and Ogdensburg Railroad, and in that office, which held at the time of his death, he found the great work of his life."

"He was a diligent collector of genealogical data and facts, records, and relics of local history. He was an active member of the Maine Historical Society, and took a deep interest in all its enterprises. He was also a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society for many years... He was active in the formation of the Maine Genealogical Society, was its first President, and with is friend Mr. S. M. Watson as Editor and Publisher was instrumental in establishing the Maine Genealogical Recorder, and mainly furnished several articles and much valuable miscellaneous matter for it."

"in Portland, on Christmas day, 1887, in the midst of his own, that he passed quietly away. The burial was at Windham, in the old 'Smith Cemetery,' upon the Anderson estate. There in the family tomb he rests with three generations of ancestors..."^[1]

Birth Record:

Name John Farwell Anderson

Gender Male

Birth Date 22 Jul 1823

Birthplace PORTLAND,CUMBERLAND,MAINE

Father's Name John Anderson

Mother's Name Ann Jameson ^[2]

Marriage Record:

Name John F. Anderson

Spouse's Name Marcia W. Merrill

Event Date 30 Mar 1847

Event Place Portland, Cumberland, Maine ^[3]

Household in 1850:

1. John Anderson M 58 Maine
2. Ann W Anderson F 43 Maine
3. John F Anderson M 27 Maine
4. Marcia W Anderson F 26 Maine
5. Ann H Anderson F 2 Maine
6. Edwd W Anderson M 20 Maine
7. Chrisr Manuel M 14 Maine
8. Frank Nugent M 17 Maine
9. Mary Norton F 40 Maine
10. Adelaide Norton F 10 Maine
11. John Hichborne M 30 Maine
12. Mary Hichborne F 26 Maine
13. Eliza Hichborne F 4 Maine
14. Ann Hichborne F 1 Maine
15. Mary Somers F 20 Ireland ^[4]

Household in 1870:

1. John F Anderson M 46 Maine
2. Ann W Anderson F 62 Maine
3. Marcia W Anderson F 45 Maine
4. Marcia W Anderson F 18 Maine
5. Francis P Anderson M 8 Maine
6. Sallie M Winter F 52 Maine
7. Bridget Foley F 50 Ireland
8. Mary A Doherty F 17 Ireland ^[5]

Household in 1880:

1. John F Anderson Self M 56 Maine, United States
2. Marcia W Anderson Wife F 55 Maine, United States
3. Frances P Anderson Daughter F 18 Maine, United States
4. Sarah M Winter Sister-in-law F 63 Maine, United States ^[6]

Death Record:

Name John Farwell Anderson

Gender Male

Death Date 25 Dec 1887

Age 64

Birth Date 1823

Father's Name John Anderson ^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ Memoir of John Farwell Anderson; George Madison Bodge; 1889; Reprinted from the N.E. Historical and Genealogical Society for April 1889
2. ↑ Maine Births and Christenings, 1739-1900, database, FamilySearch; accessed 20 December 2015, John Farwell Anderson, 22 Jul 1823; citing PORTLAND,CUMBERLAND,MAINE; FHL microfilm 12,013.
3. ↑ Maine Marriages, 1771-1907, database, FamilySearch; accessed 20 December 2015, John F. Anderson and Marcia W. Merrill, 30 Mar 1847; citing Portland, Cumberland, Maine, reference ; FHL microfilm 12,026.
4. ↑ United States Census, 1850, database with images, FamilySearch; accessed 20 December 2015, Marcia W Anderson in household of John Anderson, Portland, ward 5, Cumberland, Maine, United States; citing family 490, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
5. ↑ United States Census, 1870, database with images, FamilySearch; accessed 20 December 2015, John F Anderson, Maine, United States; citing p. 69, family 586, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 552,040.
6. ↑ United States Census, 1880, database with images, FamilySearch; accessed 20 December 2015, John F Anderson, 1880.
7. ↑ Maine Deaths and Burials, 1841-1910, database, FamilySearch; accessed 20 December 2015, John Farwell Anderson, 25 Dec 1887; citing reference p64; FHL microfilm 12,019.

• Poem about John from 1878: http://danegenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/03/poem-from-1878.html