William Anderson (abt. 1814 - abt. 1874)

Born about 4 Jan 1814 in Dickson, Tennessee, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Nancy Cook (Smith) Anderson — married 1838 in Mississippi, United States

Descendants

Died about Dec 1874 at about age 60 in Boston Township, Franklin, Arkansas, United States

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Biography

Family History, Birth, Migrations

William Anderson was born in 1814, the 9th child of Elkanah and Sarah Sally Murray Anderson, who were living in Dickson County TN at that time. The family had migrated with William's grandfather John Anderson from Rutherford County, NC to Mercer County, KY in 1798. William's parents married there in 1798. The family then moved to Barren County, KY within a year or so, where Elkanah served as sheriff. With the opening of land in central Tennessee to settlement, Elkanah moved his family to Dickson County, where the rest of his ten children were born.

Some secondary sources list William's birthday specifically as Jan. 4, 1814. Those sources do not list any supporting record, nor has one been located.

William was only about a year old when tragedy struck. His father Elkanah died of disease in January 1815 at Chalmette, Louisiana only days after fighting the British in the Battle of New Orleans. William's mother Sarah was left with nine children and one on the way (Sarah Jane). She raised the children herself, never remarrying. She moved the family to Hickman County TN, in the southwestern part around Cane Creek, probably about 1829 to be with some of her married children in that area and Elkanah's brother John G. Anderson. The family was very close with the Cane Creek community, including marrying into the Whitwell, Durning, Land, Curry, Lewis, Kelly, and other families.

William owned land briefly in Hickman County in 1834 based on a land record in (presumably) his name that year. But he must have had some wanderlust. In about 1836, Robert Whitwell, who was brother to William's uncle by marriage Thomas Whitwell, decided to move to Lafayette County, MS, again when the natives were driven out and the land was made available to whites. William was in Lafayette County near Oxford, MS by at least 1838, as he married his first wife, Nancy Cook Smith there in that year. He appears in census reports as a farmer in 1840 and 1860 and in between as a enslaved person overseer in 1850 on the plantation of one James Bowles. He served for four years in the Civil War as part of a Mississippi Cavalry unit recruited in 1861 by Captain William Middleton. He was in several important engagements in northern Mississippi and Tennessee and fought under General Bedford Forest in the last year of the war. His was one of last groups of soldiers to surrender, in May 1865.

After the war, William attempted to return to farming in Panola County, MS, but the destruction of the war in that area was too much. He moved his family by wagon train to Franklin County, AR, to join his older brother Elkanah and younger sister Sarah Jane Anderson Kelly who were already there. There is no record of William owning land in Arkansas - he probably lived on the property of William James, father of his 3d wife Talitha James. William died in Franklin County in 1874, although the exact date of death is unknown. His grave site is also unknown but is likely on the property of William James, father of Talitha.

Marriages

William first married Nancy Cook Smith in 1838 in Lafayette County, MS, shortly after moving there. The marriage and date are confirmed by marriage record, see below. She was the daughter of Capt. Elisha Smith, who also fought at the Battle of New Orleans. The two families have several geographic connections back two generations, so William and Nancy probably knew each other. Nancy was the mother of all of William's children. She died about 1852, around the same time two of their daughters died. William married again fairly quickly, in 1853, to Elizabeth Duke, daughter of James Duke. Elizabeth did not have any children, and she died during the war when William was away. He returned from the war a widow, and the family then moved to Arkansas in 1868. Once there, William married for the third time in Arkansas, to Talitha James in 1868. She was the daughter of William James, who owned property just south of the Mulberry River in Redding, Franklin County. William Anderson must have lived on James' property and worked as a farm hand there, as he served as James's executor for his will, then married James' widow.

Children

William and Nancy had seven children - all are confirmed via census reports and family records. Two of the children died in childhood (Thomas Wendall's twin Talitha and Sarah C.). The full list is Robert Moore Anderson (1839-1917), John William Anderson (1842-1907), Mary Rebecca Anderson Milton (1845-1918), Sarah C. Anderson, died young (1846-1850), Thomas Wendall Anderson (1848-1937), Talitha, twin of Thomas who died young (1848-1850), and Martha Malinda (1849-1940). All of these children except Talitha are included in the 1850 census by name. Four of them - John, Mary, Thomas, and Martha - are also in the 1860 census.

All three sons and their father William served in the Confederate army during the Civil War. Father William and older sons Robert Moore and John William all signed up in September 1861 under Captain William Middleton and became part of a Mississippi cavalry unit. None were killed, but John William suffered a medical condition that took him out of the war by 1862. Youngest son Thomas Wendall signed up in 1864 when he turned 16. The family fought in the same unit for the most part, and ended up under the highly successful but controversial General Nathan Bedford Forest. Their unit was one of the last to surrender, in May 1865 near Mobile, Alabama. The father and three sons probably had to walk home from there to the war-ravaged Lafayette County. Robert's first wife, Sarah Elizabeth Slaughter, died during the war. Robert then married her sister Amanda Slaughter. The family moved away from Lafayette County in 1868 to be with William's older brother Elkanah and younger sister Sarah Jane Anderson Kelly, who had moved to Franklin County, AR in 1854.

Historical References and Sources

• Ancestry site for William Anderson, under the William Eugene Anderson family tree, including full chapter writeup on his life, movements, Civil War history is at [1].

• Family Tree Life Sketch: William Anderson was born and reared in Tennessee. When a young man William Anderson went to Mississippi and there married Nancy C. Smith, a native of Mississippi, who died in that State in 1854. In 1867 William Anderson left his farm in Mississippi and coming to Arkansas located in Boston Township, Franklin County, where he lived until his death in 1874. William Anderson enlisted in the first company of cavalry which left Mississippi during the war and served until the end of the war. To himself and wife three sons and three daughters were born, all save one daughter, now deceased, being residents of Franklin Co. (Ed. note - records indicate that there were seven children total, two died young.]

• William owned about 115 acres of land in Hickman County in 1834. He was only 20 at the time and would shortly move to Mississippi. Tennessee, U.S., Early Tax List Records, 1783-1895, William P. Anderson p. 140[2]

• William's marriage to Nancy Cook Smith is documented in the U.S. and Interational Marriage Records, 1560-1900, Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 (database on-line). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004[3]

• 1840 Federal Census, Lafayette County, MS, William living in Lafayette County after moving from Tennessee a few years earlier. He is married to Nancy Cook Smith and has one son (Robert Moore) under 5. Federal Census, U.S. Lafayette County, MS, 1840, p. 20 [4]

• William patented 320 acres through the Pontotoc land office, probably in Lafayette County, in 1842. Mississippi, U.S. Homestead and Cash Entry Patents, Pre-1908, source United States, Bureau of Land Management. Mississippi Pre-1908 Patents: Homesteads, Cash Entry, Choctaw Indian Scrip and Chickasaw Cession Lands. General Land Office Automated Records Project, 199 [5]

• 1850 Census, William working as plantation overseer in Lafayette County, MS, married to Nancy C. Smith with six living children. Federal Census, U.S. Lafayette County, MS 1850 [6]

• William married for the second time on Aug. 7, 1853, to Elizabeth Duke. Mississippi, U.S., Compiled Marriage Index 1776-1935, source Hunting For Bears, comp. Mississippi Marriages, 1776-1935[7]

• William in the 1860 census, 49 years old, farming in Panola County, MS. Five children still at home (Robert is married by this time). Federal Census, U.S. Lafayette County, MS 1860 dwelling 694. [8]

• William married for the 3d time on Dec. 20, 1868, to Talitha James, the daughter of William James on whose property William was probably living and whose will William served as executor for. Arkansas, U.S., Compiled Marriages from Select Counties, 1792-1992, source Hunting For Bears, comp.. Arkansas Marriages, 1779-1992.[9]. Also in Arkansas, U.S., County Marriages Index 1837-1957, source "Arkansas County Marriages, 1838–1957." Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2009, 2011. "Arkansas County Marriages, 1838–1957," database, FamilySearch; from Arkansas Courts of Common Pleas and County Clerks.[10]

• William's last census before his death, 1870, living in Franklin County, Arkansas, now married to Talitha James, 1 child (John William) at home. Also apparently a son of Talitha, James, whose last name is given as Anderson. Census also lists Betty Sadler, a 7 year old Black girl who moved with the family to Arkansas from Mississippi. Her story is not known. Federal Census, U.S., Limestone Township, Franklin County, AR 1870 dwelling 5[11]

• Death certificate of oldest son Robert Moore Anderson confirms that his parents were William Anderson and Nancy Smith Anderson. Arkansas, Death Certificates, 1914-1969[12]

• Anderson Blue Book, authored by Elmer "Andy" Anderson circa 1960, private publication (can send PDF), summary of life of William Anderson, 1960: https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-[viewer/collection/1030/tree/28323561/person/12029430913/media/9deb8f54-8cb5-4b29-962b-550bc1b59cad?_phsrc=LYE426&usePUBJs=true&sort=-created].

• Civil War Records, taken from the Mississippi state library, including enlistment and muster records, loaded up at: [13].

• Goodspeed's Franklin County, Arkansas Biographical and Historical Memoirs, Robert M. Anderson, p. 1222 [14]