William Anderson,
farmer, post-office New Bedford, Penn., is a son of John and grandson
of William Anderson, a pioneer of Mercer County, who immigrated to this
country with his wife Betsey (Adams) Anderson and one child, the father
of our subject.
About 1796 John Anderson, a brother,
followed and located a short distance from his brother William.
He was known as "Agent John Anderson," acting in that capacity for Dr.
Nathaniel Bedford, of Pittsburgh, who owned large tracts of land in
this and Lawrence Counties. He married Jane McFarland, and had
six children, all of whom are dead, the last survivor, William R.,
dying on the old homestead [Shenango Township] June 27, 1888, aged
seventy. He died in 1826, leaving an estate of 800 acres.
William
Anderson, the grandfather of our subject, and his son John, were
progressive men of their day. They erected on their farm one of
the first gristmills built in this county, and were also extensively
engaged in the distilling business. John served with the army in
the War of 1812. He married Ellen, daughter of William Crawford,
of Mercer County, and by this marriage was the father of eleven
children: William, Adam, deceased; James, deceased; David, Hiram,
Robert, deceased; Alexander, of Fairview Township, Mercer County;
Samuel, deceased; Betsey, wife of Frederick Breede, of Crawford County,
Penn.; John and Louisa, deceased. He died in 1860 at the age of
sixty-three.
His father died in 1859 at the age of
ninety-three. William was the eldest son, and was born in 1817 on
the old homestead, and was educated in the common schools. He was
apprenticed to the carpenter's trade, which business he followed for
some ten years, then engaged in farming upon a part of the homestead,
and has since followed farming. He married in 1851, Miss Mary A.,
daughter of David and Kate (Gundy) Crawford, and they have one child,
David W.
Source: History of Mercer County, 1888, pages 847-848, Chapter 33, Biographies of Shenango and Hickory - - Shenango Township
|
|