Vital Information
| Field | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Full Name | Rev. James Anderson | DAR supplemental 511175; multiple published histories |
| Born | 17 Nov 1678 | DAR supplemental 511175; Egle (1886); Webster (1857) |
| Birthplace | Scotland (see Data Discrepancies) | DAR supplemental 511175 |
| Died | 16 Jul 1740 | Egle (1886); Webster (1857); Derry Church profile |
| Death Place | Donegal, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania | Multiple sources |
| Burial | Donegal Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Mount Joy, PA (grave #127, with first wife) | FaG #12234831; Ziegler (1902) |
| Occupation | Minister (Presbyterian) | Multiple sources |
| Education | Educated at Edinburgh under Principal Stirling of Glasgow | Egle (1886); Stewart (1907) |
| Ordination | Irvine Presbytery, 17 Nov 1708 (Egle says 1708; Derry profile says 1707) | Egle (1886); Derry Church profile |
| Immigration | Sailed 6 Mar 1709 from Scotland; arrived Rappahannock, VA 22 Apr 1710 | Egle (1886); Derry Church profile |
| Father | James Anderson, Bailie of Fortrose (alderman-magistrate; moved family to Edinburgh ~1675, then Glasgow) (Moderate Signal) | Lockhart (2008) via brother Col. John; corroborated by Webster (1857), Egle (1886), Stewart (1907) |
| Mother | Unknown | |
| Brother | Col. John Anderson (c.1665, Fortrose, Scotland; d. 28 Mar 1736, Monmouth Co, NJ) | Stewart (1907); Webster (1857); Egle (1886); Wikipedia |
| Wife (1st) | Sodt/Suit Garland, daughter of Sylvester Garland of Head of Apoquinimy, DE; m. 5 Dec 1712 (O.S.) / Feb 1713 (N.S.), Philadelphia | Stewart (1907); Egle (1886); First Presb. Church Philadelphia registry |
| Wife (2nd) | Rebecca Crawford of Donegal; m. 27 Dec 1737 | Egle (1886); Ziegler (1902) |
| Children | 11 total (see Children section) | Anderson family Bible (mutilated leaf); Egle (1886) |
| Estate | 305 acres (present-day Marietta, PA), ferry right ("Anderson's Ferry"), land across Susquehanna, 3 slaves | Klein (1926); Egle (1886); Ziegler (1902) will text |
Children (from Anderson family Bible, per Egle 1886)
All children by first wife Suit Garland unless noted.
| # | Name | Born | Other | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garland Anderson | 21 Nov 1714, New Castle, DE | m. Jane Chevalier (d/o Peter Chevalier, Philadelphia); died young; administered father's estate | Egle (1886) |
| 2 | Ann Anderson | 24 Jul 1716, New Castle, DE | m. John Stewart | User-provided family record |
| 3 | [daughter] | 1 Jun 1717 | Name lost (Bible page mutilated) | Egle (1886) |
| 4 | [daughter or son] | 17-23 Feb 1718/19, New York | Name lost | Egle (1886) |
| 5 | James Anderson II | 14 May 1721, New York | m. Ruth Bayley; d. 1 Jun 1790, Donegal, PA | Egle (1886); user-provided record |
| 6 | [a son] | 18 Dec 1722, New York | Egle (1886) | |
| 7 | John Anderson Sr. | 13 Jan 1723/24, New York | m. Sarah Carney (per user record) / Sarah Crossey (per DAR); d. 8 Oct 1781, Camden, SC | DAR supplemental 511175; Egle (1886) |
| 8 | Susannah Anderson | 4 Oct 1725/26, New York | d. aft. 1740; named in will | Egle (1886) |
| 9 | [a son] | Mar 1726/27, New York | d.s.p. in Maryland | Egle (1886) |
| 10 | [daughter] | ~Jul 1728, Donegal, PA | Name lost | Egle (1886) |
| 11 | Thomas Anderson | 1730, Donegal, PA | d. 1814, Washington County, VA; bequeathed to stepmother Rebecca in will | Egle (1886); user-provided record; Anderson will |
Biography
Rev. James Anderson was born 17 November 1678 in Scotland. He was educated at Edinburgh under the care of Principal Stirling of Glasgow and ordained by the Presbytery of Irvine on 17 November 1708, with a view to settlement in Virginia. He sailed 6 March 1709 and arrived at the Rappahannock on 22 April 1710. Finding the established Church of England hostile to Presbyterian worship in Virginia, he traveled north to Pennsylvania and was received by the Presbytery of Philadelphia on 20 September 1710 (Egle) or 1711 (Derry profile).
Anderson was installed as pastor at New Castle, Delaware in 1713. In 1714, he was directed to supply Kent County (Cedar Creek, Sussex) with monthly Sabbath services. In 1716 or 1717, he accepted a call from the first Presbyterian church in New York City, where he was installed in the autumn of 1717. The congregation had been worshipping in the City Hall. Under Anderson, they purchased a lot on Wall Street near Broadway (1718) and built a church (1719), but the heavy debt and difficulty obtaining a charter from the hostile Episcopal establishment caused persistent trouble. Some members objected to his "strict Presbyterianism" and "rather severe preaching." Thomas Smith and Gilbert Livingston complained to the Synod, which sustained Anderson but noted his "terms in some passages were not so mild and soft as they could have wished." Jonathan Edwards, then barely nineteen, preached briefly to Smith's disaffected group in 1722-23.
Anderson requested removal and was called to Donegal on the Susquehanna on 24 September 1726, installed the last Wednesday of August 1727. Donegal Church, planted on Schecassalungo Creek in 1714, was the center of a large Scotch-Irish settlement. Beginning in September 1729, Anderson gave every fifth Sabbath to the people on Swatara and the congregation of Derry, becoming its first settled pastor until Rev. William Bertram was called in 1732.
Anderson was a charter member of the Donegal Presbytery (organized 11 October 1732) and was elected Moderator of the Synod of Philadelphia on 23 May 1739. In 1738, at the behest of John Caldwell (great-grandfather of John C. Calhoun), the Synod sent Anderson to wait on the Virginia government and solicit its favor for Presbyterian interests. He performed this mission satisfactorily.
He also settled land disputes for his congregation, frequently riding to Philadelphia to plead their cause with the Provincial Government. He purchased a tract of 305 acres in 1727 from Peter Allen, which later became the site of Marietta, Lancaster County. He secured a ferry right ("Anderson's Ferry") across the Susquehanna.
Anderson married Suit (Sodt) Garland, daughter of Sylvester Garland of the Head of Apoquinimy, Delaware, in February 1712/13 (recorded as "12-5-1712" in the First Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia registry). "Sodt" is the spelling in her father's and brother John's wills; on her tombstone it is "Suit." The name is perpetuated among descendants as "Sutia," "Sutiah," and "Satira." She died 24 December 1736 at Donegal. From a torn leaf in Anderson's family Bible is "a reference to the death of a very beautiful woman by small-pox," presumed to be Mrs. Anderson. She is buried at Donegal churchyard under a large stone slab (grave #127) alongside her husband.
Anderson married secondly Rebecca Crawford of Donegal on 27 December 1737. He died 16 July 1740 at Donegal. His will (dated 14 July 1740, proved 22 July 1740) names only James, Susannah, and Thomas as heirs, but refers to "all his children." He left the plantation, ferry right, land across the river, and three slaves (Pline, Dinah, Bell). He bequeathed his son Thomas to his wife Rebecca "to be brought up by her as her own" and desired "that if possible that he may be brought up to learning and particularly to the ministry." Rebecca later married Joshua Baker, whose daughter Mary Baker became the wife of Rev. John Elder of Paxtang.
His brother, Col. John Anderson (c.1665-1736) of Perth Amboy, NJ, was captain of the ship Unicorn during the failed Scottish Darien expedition (1698), was made a member of the New Jersey Provincial Council in 1712, and served as acting Governor of New Jersey for 18 days before his death on 28 March 1736. Governor Hunter appointed him to the Council despite his being "a Dissenter" because he was "a man of sense" (though Wikipedia notes he was actually Church of England, and the accusation of being Presbyterian was made to discredit him).
Data Discrepancies
| Field | Source A | Source B | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birthplace | Scotland (DAR, Egle, Webster, Derry profile) | Edinburgh (Stewart 1907 says "born in Edinburg") or Glasgow | PARTIALLY RESOLVED. Stewart (1907) says Edinburgh. Geni tree says Dowhill, Glasgow, but this is an error from conflating James with the Anderson of Dowhill family (see parentage resolution below). Father moved family from Fortrose to Edinburgh ~1675, then Glasgow; James born 1678 could be either city. |
| Father | John Anderson (1636-1710), Lord Provost of Glasgow, "of Dowhill" (Van Deusen 2003; Geni tree) | James Anderson, Bailie of Fortrose, moved to Glasgow ~1675 (Lockhart 2008, via brother Col. John's origin) | RESOLVED: Theory B (Fortrose). See resolution below. |
| Ordination year | 1708 (Egle, Webster, Nevin) | 1707 (Derry Church profile) | Most sources say 1708; Derry profile likely rounding. |
| Arrival date | 22 Apr 1709 (Webster) | 22 Apr 1710 (Derry profile, Egle) | 1710 is more widely cited. The 1709 date in Webster may be a typo since he also says Anderson "was received by the Presbytery, September 20" of the same year, which only works with 1709 if arrival and reception were months apart. |
| Ship name (brother) | Kincorn (Stewart 1907) | Unicorn (Wikipedia, citing Anderson 1938 and Lockhart 2008) | Unicorn is correct per primary sources on the Darien scheme. "Kincorn" appears to be Stewart's error. |
| Wife 1 name spelling | Sodt (father's will, brother John's will) | Suit (tombstone), Sout (Philadelphia church registry), Suitt (Webster) | All refer to the same person. "Sodt" is the legal form; "Suit" is the tombstone form. |
| John Anderson Sr. birth | 13 Jan 1723/24 (Egle, family Bible) | ca 1734 (DAR supplemental 511175) | 1723/24 preferred. The Bible record is a primary source. DAR date of "ca 1734" is approximate and conflicts with the Bible. John's birth year of 1723/24 is consistent with his death on 8 Oct 1781 at Camden, SC (age ~57). The DAR date "ca 1734" would make him only 47. |
| Wife of John Anderson Sr. | Sarah Crossey (DAR supplemental 511175) | Sarah Carney (user-provided record) | UNRESOLVED. DAR application is an official document but may contain transcription errors. Both could be the same person with variant spellings, or different individuals. |
Parentage Resolution
RESOLVED: Father was James Anderson, Bailie of Fortrose (Moderate Signal)
Two theories existed for Rev. James Anderson's father. After systematic evaluation, the evidence strongly favors Theory B (Fortrose).
Theory A (Van Deusen 2003): Father was John Anderson (1636-1710), Lord Provost of Glasgow, "of Dowhill and Stobcross." This would connect Rev. James to a prominent Glasgow magistrate family traceable to the 1500s.
Theory B (Lockhart 2008): Father was James Anderson, Bailie (alderman-magistrate) of Fortrose, Ross-shire, who moved his family to Edinburgh (~1675) and then Glasgow.
Evidence favoring Theory B:
-
Lockhart 2008 (The American Genealogist 83:1, peer-reviewed): Demonstrates Col. John Anderson (c.1665-1736) was the son of James Anderson of Fortrose. Three independent 19th-century sources (Webster 1857, Egle 1886, Stewart 1907) confirm Col. John was Rev. James's brother. Therefore Rev. James's father was also James Anderson of Fortrose.
-
The Dowhill pedigree excludes Rev. James. The Stirnet Anderson of Dowhill pedigree (a standard reference for Scottish landed gentry) lists the children of John Anderson of Dowhill the Younger (1636-1710). Rev. James Anderson does not appear.
-
The Dowhill estate passed to daughters. When John of Dowhill the Younger died in 1710, his estate went to daughters Marion and Barbara (per Stirnet and the FaG memorial for the Elder John). If Col. John or Rev. James were his sons, the estate would normally pass through the male line.
-
The Elder John's children are documented. The FaG memorial for John Anderson of Dowhill the Elder (1611-1684) lists his children: John (the Younger), Ninian, Margaret (primus), Christine (primus), Christine (secundus), William, Margaret (secundus). No "James" appears.
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Stewart (1907) wrote of Rev. James's family: "Of his family we know little; but that little shows it to have been highly respectable." If his father were Lord Provost of Glasgow, one of the most prominent men in Scotland, this statement is nonsensical. It is entirely consistent with the father being a minor Highland alderman from Fortrose.
-
Religious denominations diverge. Col. John was "baptized and educated in the communion of the Episcopal Church" (per his FaG memorial and Wikipedia). Rev. James was strictly Presbyterian. Sons of the Dowhill family (prominent Glasgow Presbyterians) would more likely both be Presbyterian. Sons of a Fortrose family that relocated across Scotland could plausibly follow different paths.
What we know about James Anderson, Bailie of Fortrose:
- Born in Fortrose, Ross-shire, Scotland (Highlands)
- Served as alderman-magistrate (Bailie) in Fortrose
- Moved family to Edinburgh ~1675, then settled in Glasgow
- Had at least two sons: Col. John (b. ~1665, Fortrose) and Rev. James (b. 1678, after the move to Edinburgh/Glasgow)
- Wife's name, exact dates, and parents: unknown
The Anderson of Dowhill family (Ninian Anderson, John Ninian Anderson, John Anderson Elder, John Anderson Younger) is a separate, unrelated family. Their pedigree should NOT be attached to Rev. James Anderson.
Remaining Research Gaps
- Anderson's correspondence with Principal Stirling is preserved in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh. This may contain family information.
- The family Bible (Edinburgh, A.D. 1676 imprint) with the mutilated family register: current location unknown.
- Suit Garland's family: father Sylvester Garland of Apoquinimy, DE. His will and brother John Garland's will both name "Sodt." Mother unknown.
- Niece Susannah Bradford: mentioned in the will as receiving "those bills and bonds which belonged to my former father-in-law, now in the hands of Mr. Sherer of Newcastle." This suggests Suit Garland's father Sylvester Garland had outstanding debts.
Document Sources
| Document | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|
| DAR supplemental application 511175 | Membership application | Obtained; transcribed |
| FaG #12234831 (Donegal Presbyterian Church Cemetery) | Cemetery/memorial | Consulted |
| Anderson family Bible (Edinburgh, 1676 imprint) | Family register | Mutilated leaf transcribed in Egle (1886); location of Bible unknown |
| Anderson's will (14 Jul 1740, proved 22 Jul 1740, Lancaster Co) | Probate record | Full text in Ziegler (1902) |
| Irvine Presbytery ordination records (17 Nov 1708) | Church records (Scotland) | Referenced in published histories |
| Anderson's letters to Principal Stirling (Dec 1717, 1723) | Correspondence | Preserved in Advocates' Library, Edinburgh; excerpts in Stewart (1907) and Webster (1857) |
| First Presbyterian Church Philadelphia registry ("12-5-1712") | Church marriage record | Referenced in Stewart (1907) |
| Egle, Pennsylvania Genealogies (1886), p24 | Published genealogy | Consulted |
| Stewart, Colonel George Steuart (1907), p26ff | Published genealogy | Consulted |
| Webster, History of the Presbyterian Church (1857), pp326-332 | Published church history | Consulted |
| Derry Presbyterian Church historical profile (PDF) | Church document | Available online |
| Lockhart, "Scottish Origin of Col. John Anderson," American Genealogist 83 (2008), 1-12 | Peer-reviewed article | Not directly consulted; cited via Wikipedia |
| Van Deusen, Historical Account of Rev James Anderson's Ministry and his Family (2003) | Published study | Not directly consulted; cited via WikiTree |
| Klein, History of Lancaster County (1926) | Published county history | Consulted |
| Ziegler, Authentic History of Donegal Presbyterian Church (1902) | Published church history | Consulted (includes full will text) |
| Wallace, Historic Paxton (1913), p99 | Published local history | Consulted |
| Graham, Planting of the Presbyterian Church in Northern Virginia (1904) | Published church history | Consulted |
| Nevin, Encyclopedia of the Presbyterian Church in the USA (1884) | Published encyclopedia | Consulted |
| McClintock Biblical Encyclopedia | Published encyclopedia | Consulted |