James Anderson Sr. (1740 - abt. 1814)

Born 15 Jun 1740 in Midlothian, Scotland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 4 Feb 1814 at about age 73 in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States

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Biography

James Anderson according to his Sons of the American memorial marker near Mars Hill in Madison County, North Carolina was born in 1740 and died in 1814. ^[1] It is written in numerous accounts that he was born in Antrim County, Ireland. This is a principally protestant Scot settled area of Northern Ireland. He may the James Anderson shown to have arrived in Philadelphia about 1769.^[2] A James Anderson is shown on tax lists in 1773 as a resident of Oxford, Sussex County, New Jersey.^[3] He married Martha Lydia Mallett in 1760’s in New Jersey. ^[4] Based on their dates of birth he had some five children born in New Jersey. It is written that in 1782 he was still living in New Jersey.^[5]

He is recalled by one of his granddaughters as having joined the Virginia militia to fight in the Revolutionary War in the Continental Line. ^[6] The memorial marked erected for him at Gabriel’s Creek Baptist Church appears to base his Revolutionary military service on this family tradition.

After the end of the Revolutionary War, James Anderson and his family moved to Surry County, North Carolina. He is shown on the 1790 United States census for Surry County with a family of 13 persons consisting of five males under 16, four males over 16, three females and one other free household member. While in Surry County he appeared to have resided in 1792 and 1795 on the Yadkin River near Deep Creek.^[7] A James Anderson received a land grant in Buncombe County, North Carolina for 50 acres on both sides of Gabriel’s Creek which was marked entered on July 22, 1795 indicating the Anderson family had moved into that county prior to 1795.^[8] It is reported by historical writer Albert Steven McLean “[James Anderson] settled on a nice farm on the Paint Fork of Little Ivy River to become one of the pioneers to settle in this area. His home was built of strong and sturdy hand-hewn logs built to withstand the ravages of time and the elements, and as a protective refuge against the possible attach of the Cherokee Indians who were not entirely subdued at the time and whose well-worn path into their nation ran nearby. This old home was one and a half stories high with gun slots cut through the logs at intervals along the walls of the upper floor as a protection against the Indians.”^[9]

The 1810 and 1820 federal censuses for Buncombe County show James Anderson, Jr. but no known census shows his father. Deeds and grants in Buncombe County for James Anderson are voluminous. It cannot always be ascertained if each deed is for James Anderson, Jr. or Sr. The deeds are analyzed and located in Dorinda Whitley’s Early Northeast Bunco County Land Records, Book Partners, 2014. An 1806 deed to James Anderson Sr. recorded in Deed Book A at page 30 described property on the Paint Fork of Little Ivy River “where [he] now lives adjacent.” The James Anderson lands are now located in Madison County, North Carolina. McLean id. further writes “James Anderson was said to have been one of the first Methodists to settle west of the Blue Ridge. He was a successful farmer and stock raiser and by the time of his death which occurred sometime between 1810 and 1814, owned 700 acres of land.” The date of death of James Anderson is estimated. The exact date is unknown. He is alleged to have been buried on his farm. North Carolina Archives and History databases covering early Buncombe County wills and estates indicate that he apparently left no will on his death. The alleged children of James and Lydia Mallett Anderson were^[10]:

1. Barbara Angel Anderson, born 1755(?)(11) married to Henry Hensley who last resided in Washington County, Tennessee and died there in 1850.
2. James Anderson Jr. was born in New Jersey in 1765 and died Madison County in 1834 leaving a large family.
3. Captain Robert Anderson, born 1769 who died in 1843 in Yancey (now Madison) County, North Carolina.
4. George Washington Anderson born 1772 who moved away sometime after 1817 and died in Catoosa County, Georgia in 1851.
5. Joseph M. Anderson, born 1774 who migrated to White County, Tennessee with his brother, G. W. Anderson, and died there in 1847.
6. John Anderson born 1775 who died in Yancey County in 1843 shown on the 1820 Buncombe County census.
7. Lydia Jane Anderson, born 1778 who married name and date of death is unknown.
8. Nathan Anderson born April 19, 1782 in New Jersey who died sometime after 1853 in Madison County, North Carolina who left a large family among whom was Rev. Woodson Anderson, one of the founders of Mars Hill College.
9. William Mallett Anderson born March 1, 1784 who resided on property he purchased from his brother, George Washington Anderson, near what is now Barnardsville who died in July 1856.
10. Levi Anderson, born 1788 shown on 1810 and 1820 Buncombe County Censuses who died at an unknown date after 1820.
11. Jessie Anderson, born 1793 who is alleged to have died in Monroe County, Iowa at an unknown date.

Research Notes

• Discrepancy between fathers death in '36 and this man birth in '40
• Children need to be verified.
• Wife needs to be verified, Wife and son, William Mallet Anderson, were removed with no explanation for the removal. Reinstated with a note to be sent asking for further information on removal need.
• Is the Tombstone not an official government tombstone? If it is then information on the Tombstone would be available from the US for it that would determine what documentation led to the stone's placemnet. This is normally some sort of record like a widow's pension filing or the soldier's affidavit about his service before a court so that he could receive a pension.

Sources

1. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #69194146 in Gabriel’s Creek Baptist Church Cemetery near Mars Hill. No military record for James Anderson has been identified. There were many James Andersons who fought in Continental Line from Virginia.
2. ↑ Ancestry.com U. S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, Provo, UT 2010 which shows a James Anderson arriving in Pennsylvania in 1769.
3. ↑ Ancestry.com New Jersey Compiled Census and Census Substitutes, 1643-1890, Provo, Utah, using New Jersey Tax Lists Index 1772-1822.
4. ↑ (4) Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
5. ↑ Albert Stevens McLean, The Heritage of Old Buncombe County, Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society, Hunter Publishing Co., Winston-Salem, N. C., 1981 Section 211, 211A and 212 with sources unstated.
6. ↑ Mathew S. Brandy Manuscript, id. sources unstated.
7. ↑ No direct deeds to James Anderson have been found in Surry County. However, he is recited as an adjoining landowner in warrant and entries to James Lester and James Jones in 1792 and 1795. Index to Abstracts of Land Entries Surry County, North Carolina 1784-1795, A. B. Pruitt, self published 1988.
8. ↑ It is difficult to determine if this is for James Sr. or Jr. North Carolina Land Grant Files, 1693-1960, Ancestry.com, online database, Grant No. 376, Book 92, Page 226 issued December 2, 1797. Early Northeast Buncombe County Land Records, Dorinda Whitley, Book Partners, 2014.
9. ↑ The Heritage of Old Buncombe County, Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society, Hunter Publishing Co., Winston-Salem, N. C., 1981 Section 211, 211A and 212 which cites no sources of proof.
10. ↑ The 1790 Surry County, N. C. census shows eleven children. Source for these names and dates is Family Trees sketch of James Anderson, Ancestry Public Member files, Find a Grave Memorials and Albert S McLean, id. who accepts only the first three names as the “known children “. Additional names are claimed by researchers. This list should be relied upon with caution.

• "United States Census, 1790," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XHK1-C38 : accessed 2 February 2018), James Anderson, Surry, North Carolina, United States; citing p. 516, NARA microfilm publication M637, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 7; FHL microfilm 568,147.

Endnotes showing sources are as folows: These have been converted to WikiMark-up anf formatted inline for readability and can be removed

(1) Find A Grave Memorial 69194146 in Gabriel’s Creek Baptist Church Cemetery near Mars Hill. No military record for James Anderson has been identified. There were many James Andersons who fought in in Continental Line from Virginia. (2) Ancestry.com U. S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, Provo, UT 2010 which shows a James Anderson arriving in Pennsylvania in 1769. (3) Ancestry.com New Jersey Compiled Census and Census Substitutes, 1643-1890, Provo, Utah, using New Jersey Tax Lists Index 1772-1822. (4) Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. (5) Albert Stevens McLean, The Heritage of Old Buncombe County, Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society, Hunter Publishing Co., Winston-Salem, N. C., 1981 Section 211, 211A and 212 with sources unstated. (6) Mathew S. Brandy Manuscript, id. sources unstated. (7) No direct deeds to James Anderson have been found in Surry County. However, he is recited as an adjoining landowner in warrant and entries to James Lester and James Jones in 1792 and 1795. Index to Abstracts of Land Entries Surry County, North Carolina 1784-1795, A. B. Pruitt, self published 1988. (8) It is difficult to determine if this is for James Sr. or Jr. North Carolina Land Grant Files, 1693-1960, Ancestry.com, online database, Grant No. 376, Book 92, Page 226 issued December 2, 1797. Early Northeast Buncombe County Land Records, Dorinda Whitley, Book Partners, 2014. (9) The Heritage of Old Buncombe County, Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society, Hunter Publishing Co., Winston-Salem, N. C., 1981 Section 211, 211A and 212 which cites no sources of proof. (10) The 1790 Surry County, N. C. census shows eleven children. Source for these names and dates is Family Trees sketch of James Anderson, Ancestry Public Member files, Find a Grave Memorials and Albert S McLean, id. who accepts only the first three names as the “known children “. Additional names are claimed by researchers. This list should be relied upon with caution. (11) This date of birth is from the age 95 shown by the census taker on the 1850 United States census for Washington County, Tennessee, and is doubtful.