Caldwell County MO Archives History .....ANDERSON FAMILY  
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/mo/mofiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Karen Walker khw4@yahoo.com September 4, 2008, 4:59 pm

THE ANDERSON FAMILY IN HAMILTON
	Narrators:  Members of the Anderson Family

     This Anderson family must be kept apart from other Andersons in the 
county, of whom there are several distinct families.
     Joseph M. and Wallace Anderson, brothers, came to Hamilton in 187? as 
merchants and stock buyers, and in a few years became some of the leading 
citizens of the town.  They came from Monroe county Mo but were natives of 
Kentucky, having settled in Monroe county after the Civil War.  There were 
originally four brothers and two sisters in that group of Monroe county 
settlers.  Of these six, the families of five have lived in Hamilton.
     The first of this family here was Chas. A. Deaderick, who married one of 
the Anderson sisters.  He bought a grocery store in 1875 and in a few weeks, 
Joe Anderson came on and they went into partnership in then Rohrbaugh block 
(present Bram Building) on the northwest corner of east Main north of the 
tracks.  Then Wallace Anderson came, and the firm was Anderson Brothers, as it 
stayed for many years.  Joe was also a large cattle buyer and had customers 
all over the county for whom he shipped to Chicago, when such business was 
very lucrative.  They soon was able to buy the business block which is still 
in the family.  They changed the name of the upper double room from Rohrbough 
Hall to Anderson's Opera House, a name familiar to old timers of the 80s.  
Joseph Anderson married Ella Austin, daughter of Judge Austin of this city and 
their first home was the present Mrs. Mary Kautz house on south Broadway.
     Wallace married Pauline Moss of Paris Mo.  Both finally bought beautiful 
homes for their families; Joe bought a large frame home of T.D. George in the 
west part of town, and when it burnt, he built the fine brick, now the Webb 
Conrad home.  Wallace bought the fine Manning home, now the M.E. parsonage.  
Before their marriages, both men were gay society fellows, in dances and 
picnics.  But after they married, they settled down into staid business men, 
always however, keeping the polite manners of Southern born men.
     Some of the members tell some interesting stories of the early days of 
the old Anderson store:  They often took home made goods on trade at their 
store; many people made rag carpets and brought them to the store to trade in 
on an ingrain, when ingrain carpets were scarce and new.  Some women knit 
socks, mittens and gloves for trade ins.  Mrs. Susan Stephens of Black Oak, 
yearly sold them knit socks, and one year they say that she realized $45 
(forty-five dollars) from her sales.  There were old fashioned customers in 
the 80s who wanted knit socks.  They often threw in a spool of thread with the 
sale of a calico dress, which meant about ten yards then.  It was on account 
of their rag carpets that they also kept ready made carpets, a thing which 
belonged in the furniture store.  Their early lady clerk was Jennie Sigman, 
for a store never kept more than one lady clerk, and she sold the delicate 
things to women, as corsets etc.  Sam McLallen was one of their leading men 
clerks.
     Another sister of the Andersons was Mrs. Catherine Giddings and Mrs. 
Giddings lived here many years, her son James Giddings finally becoming a 
member of the firm Anderson and Giddings.  Chas. Anderson a nephew is the only 
member of this Anderson family now living in town.  He married Belle Tuthill, 
daughter of T. Tuthill.  Mrs. Sue Smith (wife of Dr. Smith) until very recent 
years has lived here, being a daughter of Mrs. Catherine Giddings.  The son 
and daughter of Wallace Anderson both live in Alaska, while the Joseph 
Andersons are in Texas, where Mr. Anderson died 1933.  The Wallace Anderson 
family have their burial lot here in Hamilton.  Thus is the scattering of a 
former prominent family of this town.  Interviews 1933.


File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mo/caldwell/history/other/anderson288gms.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/mofiles/

File size: 4.4 Kb