submitted by Albert Stevens McLean |
James Anderson of Scotch ancestry, was born about 1740 in the North of Ireland from whence he came to America sometime before the beginning of the Revolutionary War. During that conflict for freedom, James served his adopted country with the Virginians. In 1782 he and his family were living in New Jersey, but two years later were living in Delaware. By the year 1790 he had moved his family to Surry County, North Carolina, where he was listed in the first Federal Census reports for that county as being the head of a family of nine males and three females. Here the family lived until 1795 when they moved to Buncombe (now Madison) County and 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.
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 occured sometime between 1810 and 1814, owned 700 acres of land. The known children of James and his good wife Pattie or Lydia Mallett Anderson were: James Anderson Jr. was born in New Jersey. His will dated April 6, 1834 was the first recorded in Yancey County, NC. He married Elizabeth Frances Summers (Summerline/Sumner) of South Carolina and left a large family in Madison County, NC. Nathan Anderson was born April 19, 1782 in New Jersey. He married Surry County, NC on November 3, 1807 to Sarah Burch. He was a Justice of the Peace, Constable and deputy sheriff of Buncombe County. He died sometime after 1870 in Madison County, NC. His will dated March 15, 1853, is on file in that county. He left a large family among whom was Rev. Woodson Anderson, one of the founders of Mars Hill College. Source of Publication:
“Old Buncombe County Heritage – North Carolina, Vol. 1” article #211, p. 139 |
Anderson, James & Lydia (Mallet)
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