ANDERSON – Descendants of Nutfield Settlers Allen and James Anderson

Anderson Farm, built by descendants of James Anderson
on the Londonderry/Windham town line

[Note:  I will be doing a series of genealogical sketches on the early Nutfield settlers in advance of the 300th anniversary of Founders Day, April 12 - 14, 2019 in Derry, New Hampshire.  If you have additional notes on the first few generations of this family, please comment below or send me an email at vrojomit@gmail.com, and I will edit this sketch.  These sketches will be used and distributed to the public and to descendants at the Founders Day activities.]

It is unknown if these two Anderson men (Allen and James) were kin.  Some suppose them to be brothers, but there is no proof.

Allen Anderson married Hugh Rankin’s daughter.  He was granted land in 1719 and in 1728.  Allen Anderson died childless.   His sister, Martha Anderson, married William Moore, who settled in Nutfield soon after 1720.  Seven Moore children are named in William Moore’s will, and also in the will of their uncle Allen Anderson.

James Anderson married Mary Unknown and had five sons and two daughters. He died in 1771 at age 88. James Anderson settled east of the turnpike in the Double Range of what is now Derry, New Hampshire.  His grand daughter Alice married Rev. Joseph McKeen, the first president of Bowdoin College in Lewiston, Maine.  He was the grandson of Nutfield settler, James McKeen.

Children:

      1.      Samuel, married Martha Craig, four children: James (married Nancy Armstrong), John (married Anna Davidson and Mary Williams), Samuel (married Mary Davidson) was a soldier of the American Revolution, Margaret (married John Graham).  This Samuel lived on the Anderson Farm located on the corner of Chase and Mammoth Roads, near the Londonderry/Windham border.      

      2.      Robert, married Agnes Craig, nine children:  James (unmarried), John (married Jane Wallace), William (married Margaret Wilson), Allen (married Sally Moor), Robert (married Mary Darrah), Samuel (married Anna Alexander and removed to Acworth), David (married Sally Barnett), Mary (married James Dinsmore), Jane (married David Campbell).

      3.      James, married first Nancy Woodburn and had eight children– James (married Margaret Reid, was lieutenant under Captain George Reid at the Battle of Bunker Hill, he died at Troy, New York in 1827), John (married Mary Morrison), Rufus, Joseph (moved west according to Parker), Mary (married Thomas Aiken), Margaret (married James Moor), Alice (married Rev. Joseph McKeen), Nancy (married John McClary). James Anderson then married second to the widow Elizabeth Barnett and had four children – Alexander (married Martha McGilvery), Benjamin (married Lydia Jackson), William (married Prudence Ladd), Jane (married Alexander McCollom). 

      4.      Thomas married Mary Craig, seven children – Daniel (married Sarah Nesmith), James (unmarried), John (unmarried), Mary (married William Anderson of Candia), Jane (married Robert Nesmith), Martha (married Robert McClure of Acworth), Margaret (unmarried).

      5.      David, married Mary Wilson and had three sons – Robert (married Naomi Aiken), James and Andrew. 

      6.      Jane, married Elder James Taggart and had two sons Samuel and Thomas.

      7.      Nancy (unmarried)

Note:  There was also an unrelated Scots Irish settler named John Anderson who came from Northern Ireland to Londonderry in 1725 with his children John (had two sons Matthew and John at the Battle of Bunker Hill), James (married Isabel McQueston), Robert (married and lived in Derryfield and had no children), and Jane (married and lived in Vermont).

For more information: 

History of Londonderry, by Rev. E. L. Parker, see pages 259 - 260 for a sketch of Allen and James Anderson.

See the blog post on the Anderson farm on the Londonderry/Windham town line:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/02/anderson-farm.html 

Click here for links to the sketches of all sixteen first Nutfield settlers: 
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/p/nutfields-first-16-settlers.html 

  

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “ANDERSON – Descendants of Nutfield Settlers Allen and James Anderson", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 8, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/03/anderson-descendants-of-nutfield.html: accessed [access date]). 

Tombstone Tuesday ~ An Infant, 1811, Windham, New Hampshire

This tombstone was photographed at the Cemetery on the Plain in Windham, New Hampshire.  This diminutive little stone with its delicate carving of a weeping willow caught my eye for a Tombstone Tuesday photo.

AN

Infant child

of Sam and Mary

Anderson; died

Nov. 11, 1811

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Transcribed from History of Windham in New Hampshire, by Leonard Allison Morrison, 1884, page 311

"40. Deacon Samuel [Anderson] 26 (John, Samuel, James) was b. March 3, 1781.  He lived upon the homestead in Windham, which is now in possession of Joseph P. Crowell.  His father deeded him 187 acres on Jan. 1, 1808; was made an elder under Rev. Calvin Cutler, in 1833; was selectman in 1821, '22, '25, '26, '35, '38; representative in 1827 and '28.  He was a genial, mild-mannered, and much respected citizen.  He m. Dec. 25, 1810, Mary Wilson, wo d. Aug. 29, 1843; ae. 58 yrs.; he m. 2nd Feb. 27, 1849 Elizabeth Armstrong, who d. Nov. 23, 1878, ae. 89 yrs. 5 mos.  He d. Jan. 5, 1864. Children, born in Windham: -

43 Infant son b. Nov. 11, 1811; d. young."


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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ An Infant, 1811, Windham, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 10, 2017, (https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/10/tombstone-tuesday-infant-1811-windham.html: accessed [access date]).

Samplers with Family Trees and Family Registers

Think outside the box for unusual places for clues to your genealogy! Or perhaps I should say, “Think outside of the book!”

Did you know that many samplers  worked by young girls in years past often had family trees or family registers?  Did you know that mourning pieces were often embroidered by young women, in memory of a loved one who had passed away.  All these types of samplers and embroideries contain names, dates, places and other clues valuable to genealogists.

The New England Historic Genealogical Society values these resources, and has created a data base of Family Samplers at their website www.americanancestors.org  This is the Dan and Marty Campanelli Collection.  You can access this database search directly at this link: http://www.americanancestors.org/search.aspx?Da=0503&utm_source=twgnewsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=twg672

I checked out this database last week. There is no browse feature, so instead of being able to peruse the surnames I decided to put in “New Hampshire” as a place name.   Many hits came up, including this sampler worked by Eliza Hills of Londonderry, with her family carefully embroidered in cross stitch lettering. Once you have pulled up a sampler of interest, you can hit “next” to browse the collection.

Each sampler in this collection has an enlargeable color photograph and a one line biography of the stitcher, some had a family sketch, description of the sampler, and every sampler had a list of each person on the piece.  I counted over thirty samplers, from many states, and even one stitched by a little boy, James H. Hoadley,  in Connecticut 1844!  

REGISTER

John Hills Born Oct. 3. 1799. Married to Jane

Anderson Dec. 17. 1807.  She was Born Feb. 5. 1785.

And by him hath the following children

Names                   Births                                      Deaths

Eliza Hills                  Born Sept. 27, 1808                

Gilbert Hills              Born May 20. 1811                

Charles Hills             Born Sept 23, 1813                

Jane P. Hills             Born Sept. 25, 1819               

Next unto God Dear Parents I address

Myself to you in humble thankfulness

For all car and pans on me bestow’d

The means of learning unto me allow’d

Wrought by Eliza Hills in the 12 year of her age

Londonderry Sept. 1, 1820

You just might find your family in a database or museum collection like this.  Many art museums and historical societies have collections of samplers.  The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston has had exhibits of samplers, and their website has an online database at this link: http://www.mfa.org/search/collections and type the word “sampler” into the search box.

I’ve also seen samplers at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont,  the Philadelphia Museum of Art and at the Smithsonian Museums.   Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth had a wonderful exhibit of nine samplers until February 1st (you just missed it!)  They have a new exhibit open February 1 through April 25 "Needlework Samplers: Wrought by Tradition" that includes 72 samples from the 17th to the 20th century including the oldest sampler in the USA, the Loara Standish sampler.  Keep your eyes open for exhibits of antique samplers at galleries and museum.   Watch online for samplers for sale in auction catalogs, eBay and at antique shops.

Here is a second sampler I found at the NEHGS database, from a border town of Londonderry.  It was wrought by Dolly Abbott of Litchfield, New Hampshire in 1817.  It is a combination sampler/mourning piece if you notice the embroidered gravestone of her little sister Mary T. Abbott, died 1815, at the bottom (not quite two years before she completed this sampler).  This one also has the death dates for most of the siblings, including herself in the black box.  Someone must have embroidered in the death dates later.

JONATHAN ABBOTT Born Jan

20. 1772 Married to REBEKAH MASSEY

April 1794 Who died Dec. 19 1795 in the 24^th year of her age

And to DOLLY PARKER Dec 31 1800 Who Was Born

Sept 12 1779 the following are the names of their CHILDREN

NAMES                                                 BORN                                      DIED

REBEKAH                                       Nov. 21. 1795                         July. 18. 1819

CLARISSA                                      August. 20. 1801                     Nov. 28. 1841

DOLLY                                           April. 19. 1803                        April. 27. 1855

  ELIZA                                             April. 5. 1805                              August 3, 1838

EMILY                                           Sept. 18. 1807                                                 

THOMAS P.                                 May. 14. 1810                          May. 24. 1810

SALLY P.                                       Sept. 13. 1855                          Sept. 22. 1811

MARY T.                                     June. 17. 1815                         Nov. 7. 1815

My heart exults while to the attentive eye

The curious needle spreads the enamel’d dye

While varying shades of the Pleasing task beguile

My friends applaud me and my Parents smile

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Dolly Abbott         Litchfield  New Hampshire   Sept 18, 1817

Other blog posts I have done on school girl embroidery:

Sarah Henshaw’s Embroidery, daughter of Elizabeth Bill (my 3rd cousin, 6 generations removed)

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/06/sarah-henshaws-embroidery.html

Phebe Munroe’s Sampler, 1844  (my great great grandmother)

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/09/phebes-sampler-1844.html

Both sampler photographs above  are from Family Tree Samplers. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2013. (From the collection of Dan and Marty Campanelli.)

Pilgrim Hall Museum,
75 Court Street,
Plymouth, Massachusetts
"Needlework Samplers: Wrought by Tradition" 72 samplers from the 17th to the 20th Century, including the Loara Standish sampler- February 1 - April 25, 7 days a week, 9:30 - 4:30.
http://www.pilgrimhallmuseum.org/ 

UPDATE 20 February 2014 Flickr album of the NEHGS Campanelli Collection
http://www.flickr.com/photos/110664726@N08/sets/72157641266541014/

 

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/01/samplers-with-family-trees-and-family.html 

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Anderson Children, Windham, New Hampshire

This gravestone was photographed at the Cemetery on the Plain, Windham, New Hampshire

ERECTED in the memory of five children

of Mr. James Anderson & Mrs. 

Mr. Samuel

Anderson

died Febry 10

1793

in ye 24 yr

of his age

Mr. John

Anderson

died Febry ye 18

1793

in ye 22 yr

of his age

Miss Janny

Anderson

died Febry ye 25

1793

in ye 19 yr

of his age 

---------------------------------

David Anderson

died Oct. ye 4 1776

in ye 2 yr of his 

age

James Anderson

died Sept ye 24 1776

in ye 2 yr of his

age

This very sad tombstone shows that the first three children listed all died in the month of February 1793, and the set of two year olds (twins?) died in the fall of 1776.   All their children died young! 

Perhaps the stone originally commemorated the first three children, and the second two were added. This is my theory since there are three portraits in the top of the stone, and the first three names are under each one? 

We will never know, will we? 

From History of Windham in New Hampshire (Rockingham County) 1719 - 1883, by Leonard A. Morrison, page 308:
 

"James (3), m. Nancy or Agnes Armstrong; they were the first occupants of the James Armstrong, now W. C. Armstrong farm in Windham.  They had children; all died in infancy or youth.  They gave the farm to John Armstrong, for taking care of them in their old age.

Children:

1. Samuel (4), b. Oct. 13, 1769; d. Feb. 10, 1793, ae. 24 years.

2. John (4), b. March 31, 1771; d. Feb. 18 1793, ae. 22 Years.

3. David (4). b. 1774; d. Oct 4, 1776, ae. 2 years

4. James (4), b. 1774; d. Sept 24, 1776, ae 2 years" 

Note that the daughter Janny is not mentioned in the History of Windham.  I estimate she was born about 1774.  The father, James Anderson, was the son of David Anderson and "Miss Wilson", and the grandson of the first James Anderson in Windham, who lived in the Double Range. He was one of the first sixteen settlers in Nutfield in 1719.  

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The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/09/tombstone-tuesday-anderson-children.html
 

Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Anderson, Windham, NH

These gravestones were photographed at the Cemetery on the Plains, 

in Windham, New Hampshire. 

from page 312 of The History of Windham, by Leonard A. Morrison,

"James4 [Anderson] (John3, Samuel2, James1), b. Dec. 26, 1786.  Jan. 1, 1808, his father deeded him 113 acres of land, upon which he built his building, and there he spent his life.  H was the first occupant, and the farm is now in possession of Sherburne B. Farmer; was a captain in the militia; he was a large, well-proportioned man, and lived to a good old age; rarely if ever had a sick day.  He m. Nancy, dau. of Samuel Anderson, of Londonderry [his first cousin].  He d. suddenly, July 13, 1875, ae. 88 yrs, 6 mos. 18 days; she d. May 7, 1873, ae. 78 yrs. 4 mos. 20 days."

The Anderson Farm

There were several Anderson farms in Londonderry.  One was located on Nashua Road, now known as Route 102, approximately where the Apple tree Mall and Hess Gas station are today.  The other, still standing, is on Mammoth Road near the Windham border, on the corner of Bockes Road.  Across the street, on the corner of Chase Road, is a monument to the Anderson family and it lists the names of the men who owned the land over the years. 

The Anderson family lived in Londonderry since the 1720s.   Obviously this house was built much later.   Several years ago the huge barn that outsized the house was removed, and a parcel of land behind the house was developed into several smaller house lots.  There was an older salt box style house on the other side of Mammoth Road, too. 

The Anderson Genealogy:

Generation 1: The first immigrant from Northern Ireland to Londonderry was James Anderson, who settled east of the turnpike in the Double Range of what is now Derry, New Hampshire. 

Generation 2: His son, Samuel, mentioned above, was born abut 1730 and married Martha Craig.  He lived on the present Anderson farm on Beaver Brook in the southern part of Londonderry. 

Generation 3: Samuel, Jr., born about 1755 was a soldier in the American Revolution and had only one child, David. 

Generation 4: David Anderson was born in Londonderry about 1780 and married Rebecca Davidson.   All of David, Jr.’s children died of spotted fever except for Francis born in 1807. 

Generation 5: Francis Davidson Anderson married Jane Davidson, and lived on the homestead. He was a representative in the New Hampshire legislature in 1850.  Francis Anderson built the big house which still stands today in 1830, and various features such as the porch and the round tower were added later.

Generation 6: William H. Anderson was born 12 January 1836 and died in Lowell on 14 April 1902.  He graduated from Yale University in 1859 and became a lawyer.  He married Mary Hine of Springfield, Massachusetts.  They had one surviving child.

Generation 7:  Frances Welton Anderson was born 20 December 1877 in Lowell.  She married Dr. E. J. Gillette of Waterbury, Connecticut.  The Gillettes summered in an old saltbox house across Mammoth Road and behind the monument.  The big house and farm passed into the hands of a family named Clark.

This monument is on the corners of
Chase and Mammoth Road, on the Windham border

The Anderson Farm

First Settled in 1720

Saml. Anderson 1720 -1794

His son Saml. 1794 – 1796

His son David 1796- 1819

His son Frank D. 1819 – 1866

His son Wm. H. 1866

For more information:

Londonderry, by the Londonderry Historical Society, Acadia Publishing Company, 2004, page 128 has an old photo of the Anderson farm.

A sketch of William H. Anderson in History of Lowell and its People, by Frederick William Coburn, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1920, Volume 2, page 77 – 79.

Early Londonderry: Tidbits and Historical Sketches, compiled by the Londonderry Historical Society, 1968, Volume III, for a sketch of the Anderson family and the farm see pages 105 – 109.

UPDATE 27 January 2013

New information from Nancy Britts, an Anderson descendant. 

Surname: ANDERSON

Source:  History of Acworth with the Proceedings of the Centennial Anniversary, Genealogical

         Records and Register of Farms by Rev. J. L. Merrill, Town of Acworth, 1869, page 180

 

    James Anderson was one of the first sixteen settlers of Londonderry.

    SAMUEL ANDERSON, his grandchild, whose father's name was Robert, settled in Acworth, 1793,

married Anna Alexander.

    SAMUEL ANDERSON, his nephew and son of David, came to Acworth in 1795, married Jane Campbell

- children

I.,    Anna

II.,   David C., married Martha L. Brigham (see Brigham family) - children

    1,    Mary E.

    2,    Walter H.,  died young

    3,    Emma E.

    4,    George W.

    5,    Alice L.

III.,    Horace, married first, Lucinda Blanchard; married second, Isa Dora Burnham, residence

Windham - children

    1,    Samuel H.

IV.,    Milon, married Lucy M. Weston, residence Windham.

V.,    Sarah J., married Charles Abbot, residence Windsor, Vermont - children

    1, Jennie S.

 

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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo