Who was \u201cMiss Anderson of Pennsylvania?\u201d<\/p>\n
By
\nLarry Pearce
\n1\/16\/04 rev. 7\/22\/09 & 4\/29\/13<\/p>\n
WEST DEER\u2019S ROBERT<\/span> \u2013 HAMPTON\u2019S CHARLES<\/span> \u2013 OTHER ANDERSONS<\/span><\/p>\n NAME ORIGINS<\/span> \u2013 ENDNOTES<\/span> \u2013 WORKS CITED<\/span><\/p>\n The Anderson name is sprinkled throughout both my maternal and fraternal ancestors:<\/p>\n This Scots-Irish surname is still common in the North Hills of Pittsburgh where they settled in the early 19th<\/sup> century. We know now that our illusive \u201cMiss Anderson of Pennsylvania\u201d mentioned in the 1889 History of Allegheny County<\/em> was Martha, possibly the daughter of the John and Mary Anderson listed on the 1863 indenture for the old Campbell farm <\/a>in West Deer Township. Or could they have been grandparents or other relations? The county history suggests that Robert Anderson (1776-1846) was our patriarch and a native of New England, descended from the Plymouth Colony founded by the Pilgrims in 1620 with the landing of the Mayflower\u00a0<\/em>(1). This idea is also reinforced in the notes of my late Aunt Edna Gray (1920-1997), the family historian of the last generation.<\/p>\n As we said above, Anderson is ironically also a middle name on the paternal side of my mother\u2019s Campbells. By Scottish naming customs, our Andersons and Campbells could have had common ancestry in the Old World. While we want to preserve Edna\u2019s romantic idea of Robert as a Mayflower\u00a0<\/em>descendant\u00a0for future consideration as additional information is uncovered, we have several new discoveries to share now that may shed some light on all these “Anderson” questions. In this piece we\u2019ll also present the origins of the Anderson surname and tell you where to find some famous namesakes.<\/p>\n We know that a Robert Anderson settled in West Deer Township, Allegheny County, Western Pennsylvania, about 1806. One source says that he died in 1846 at the age of 60, which makes his date of birth 1786 but another says he was born in 1776. Could there be more than one? This Robert was the son of John (1731-1814) and Elizabeth Wilson Anderson, who came to the Conococheage Valley, then Lancaster Co. (now Franklin Co.), in 1765, which probably rules out Puritan origins (2). John was the Ruling Elder of the Middle Octotaro Reformed Presbyterian Church. In 1782, the family, including Robert and four other of what would be nine children, moved west to 500 acres of land in Washington Twp., Westmoreland Co. The tract was patented in 1796 and named \u201cAnderson\u2019s Delight.\u201d John and Elizabeth are buried in the Polk Run Reformed Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Westmoreland County.<\/p>\n Son Robert married Mahaleth Thomas (1782-1852)(3) in 1799. They had a dozen children. The seventh child, Elias (1811-1887), who married Jane Haslett (1821-1878),was born and died on the same West Deer farm that his parents worked since 1806. Father, son, and many of the Andersons are buried alongside others of my family, the Grays, Norrises, and Leslies, at Bull Creek Presbyterian Cemetery in the township (4). So, the question remains, “Who were our Martha Anderson Ross’s parents?” We’ll leave it at that for now.<\/p>\n One thing should be clear by this time: The Scotch-Irish, and particularly the Andersons, were staunch Presbyterians, most Covenanters, or strict adherents of a Reformed Protestant British Isles. Recent E-mail correspondence with distant cousin Maureen Sweeney has revealed that her husband\u2019s Great-grandmother Pearce married a Charles Anderson, whose ancestor was also Charles Anderson (1803-1878). He, with brothers Samuel and Hugh, sailed from Antrim in the late 1820\u2019s or early 30\u2019s, leaving two sisters behind. Charles settled in Hampton Township near the old Pittsburgh-Butler Plank Road, now Rt. 8. He purchased the \u201cGreen Grove\u201d patent in the Depreciation Lands from Edward Bartholomew and James Cunningham, Revolutionary War soldiers. Today, all that remains of the farm is the Green Grove Drive through the neighborhood of Wildwood. What today is known as the old Anderson House at the corner of Rt. 8 and Anderson Drive was part of Hugh\u2019s property. The community became known as \u201cTalley Cavy,\u201d a congregation of Covenanters. Later known as Pine Creek Presbyterian Church and Cemetery, the building is today occupied by the Depreciation Lands Museum. (See Allison) Growing up just north along Rt. 8, I\u2019ve only recently discovered this rich history, but I do remember my Dad\u2019s Anderson aunts, uncles, and cousins attending the Pearce Reunion in nearby North Park.<\/p>\n There are many other Andersons in Pittsburgh\u2019s North Hills, some to whom I am sure I am related, but of special interest is Alexander (d.c. 1848) and Elizabeth Lawhead Anderson (d. 1880). Alexander farmed near Perrysville and was a blacksmith-welder for the IC railroad. Their eighth of ten children, Susan (b.c. 1835), married my great-grandfather\u2019s brother, Edwin, in 1852 and they moved to Shreve, Ohio, in 1873 and raised seven children. (See Pearce-Tice.) Edwin\u2019s father, Richard, is identified as a \u201cmiller by trade\u201d in the original family narrative, so it seems natural that the Pearce tradition should continue. Powered by a water wheel, the millsite sat just east of town. Long after the operation ceased and demolition of the building was complete, the millstone is now on display at the Wayne County Historical Society just up the road in Wooster. Fred Tice, the grandson, wrote a tribute:<\/p>\n While Grandfather was a man of many jokes, Grandmother (Susan Anderson) Pearce was very sedate and not always inclined to smile at his sallies. Her reply was, \u201cOh, Pa, how you talk!\u201d She was a good woman and always gave as she could afford to all the benevolences of the church. When young, she was a teacher in the schools of her neighborhood. Grandmother was a true lady.<\/em><\/p>\n Living past 80-years, Susan and Edwin now rest for eternity in the Shreve Cemetery with several other family members.<\/p>\n We can\u2019t end our story of the Anderson name without a brief history of its origins. The obvious meaning is \u201cSon (or servant) of St. Andrew.\u201d The historical family is actually a sept (marriage as opposed to a fundamental clan) of Clan Ross. And while there are dozens of spellings and pronunciations, from the Swedish \u201cAndersson\u201d to the Ukrainian \u201cAndreychyn,\u201d the first recorded use in Scotland was on the Ragman Rolls of 1296 when David and Duncan, both \u201cle fiz Andreu,\u201d swore allegiance to King Edward I. Earlier legend has it that St. Regulus took St. Andrew\u2019s relics to Scotland in the 4th<\/sup> century and later, \u201cAnders\u201d had become a popular northern Middle English form of Andrew. Both Scottish Highlanders and Lowlanders claim their own versions, which were subsequently taken to Northern Ireland and then to America. Probably the most famous Scottish hero is affectionately called \u201cLittle John\u201d MacAndrew, a bowman who struck fear into the hearts of his enemies. He\u2019s truly representative of the clan motto, \u201cStand Tall,\u201d and the family icon, an oak tree. Other Andersons became renowned for their intellectual and artistic achievements. For information on these famous relatives, click on \u201cThe Scottish Nation\u201d on the Electricscotland.com website or Google \u201cFamous Andersons.\u201d<\/p>\n So, while we\u2019ve solved the mystery of \u201cMiss Anderson of Pennsylvania,\u201d we have not yet made the sure connection between Martha Anderson Ross, her parents or other relatives, John and Mary from the old Campbell deed, and the Robert Anderson line of West Deer Township. In addition, with so many other Andersons in the Scots-Irish North Hills of Pittsburgh, it would be nice to know if there are links to other parts of our family. We\u2019ll certainly keep you informed as research continues.<\/p>\n Endnotes<\/p>\n 1. The History of Allegheny County<\/em> (1889) lists many Andersons: Robert, James, and Elias, to name a few. One Robert is identified as \u201cHon.\u201d, \u201cSquire\u201d and \u201cEsq.\u201d, labels usually reserved for magistrates and legislators. He built the old Union Church in Shousetown (now Glenwillard) opposite Sewickley on the Ohio River. Several were from Washington County, PA, south of Pittsburgh. One hauled and hewed the logs that served as pickets for Fort Pitt sometime after 1758. A daughter of another Robert Anderson married a steamboat engineer who later formed a shipbuilding company.<\/p>\n 2. Tradition says that these Andersons came from Dunluce, Northern Antrim. Appearing on the 1630 muster lists, they probably preceded King James\u2019 Plantations in Northern Ireland, landing in the 1500\u2019s with the McDonalds from Islay, a large island north of Ulster. This is ironic because the McDonalds were the sworn enemies of our Campbells.The Anderson name was originally McGillander, meaning \u201cson of the devotee of St. Andrew.\u201d Andrew is the patron saint of the Scottish and there are still Andersons and McGillanders on Islay today.<\/p>\n 3. Mahaleth (as is on her tombstone, sometimes spelled Mahalath or pronounced Mahala) was the daughter of Moses and Mary Butler Thomas.<\/p>\n 4. The third child, John D. (b.1848), is listed in the History of Allegheny County<\/em> as being a public school teacher in the affluent Pittsburgh suburb of Wilkinsburg and eventually became their School Superintendent. I did my student teaching there in 1970.<\/p>\n Works Cited<\/p>\n \u201cAnderson.\u201d 22 July 2009 Cemetery Inscriptions from BULL CREEK PRESBYTERIAN CEMETERY, West Deer Township, Allegheny County, PA. 30 June 2002 http:\/\/freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com\/~njm1\/bull.htm<\/a><\/p>\n “Descendants of John Anderson.” 3 November 2004 http:\/\/homepages.rootsweb.com\/~merle\/andersons<\/a><\/p>\n “Descendants of Robert Anderson.” 22 July 2009 http:\/\/www.geocities.com\/heartland\/point\/9840\/anderson3.html<\/a><\/p>\n Gray, Edna. Personal speculative notes. Date unknown.<\/p>\n History of Allegheny County, PA.<\/em> Chicago: A. Warner Co., 1889.<\/p>\n Hughes, Penny. E-mail. 3 November 2004.<\/p>\n Springer, Grace Anderson, and Lois Anderson. Anderson Family History.<\/em> [Community Library of Allegheny Valley, Tarentum]. 2003.<\/p>\n Sweeney, Maureen. E-mail. 20 July, 2009.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Who was \u201cMiss Anderson of Pennsylvania?\u201d By Larry Pearce 1\/16\/04 rev. 7\/22\/09 & 4\/29\/13 WEST DEER\u2019S ROBERT \u2013 HAMPTON\u2019S CHARLES \u2013 OTHER ANDERSONS NAME ORIGINS \u2013 ENDNOTES \u2013 WORKS CITED The Anderson name is sprinkled throughout both my maternal and … Continue reading \n
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