Cumberland County, Maine - Major John D. Anderson ********************************************************************** USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb This copy contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: C. Wendland SilverDrusilla@aol.com Copyright © 2005 by C. Wendland Caitlin's Gold Award Project, Girl Scouts USA, Rio Grande Girl Scout Council, El Paso, Texas ********************************************************************** Biography Major John D. Anderson Biographical Review Cumberland County, Maine Boston Biographical Review Publishing Company 1896 Page 684-686 Major John D. Anderson, ex-United States Pension Agent, ex-Treasurer Eastern Branch N. H. D. V. S., ex-Representative and Past Department Commander, Maine Grand Army of the Republic, was born in Gray, Me., on November 7, 1836, eldest son of Dr. Abraham W. and Annah T. (Waterman) Anderson. Abraham Anderson, his earliest known ancestor, emigrated from Scotland and settled in Marblehead, Mass., moving subsequently to Windham, Me., of which town he was one of the original proprietors. His son Abraham, a farmer and lumberman, was born there. He married Miss Lucy Smith, a daughter of Parson Smith, the first minister of Portland, Me. They had six children - Peter, Edward, John, Abraham W., Betsy, and Nancy. The father died in 1846 on the old Anderson homestead at South Windham. Dr. Abraham W. Anderson, the youngest son of Abraham, was born in Windham in February, 1805, where he grew to manhood. He attended Gorham Academy, and in 1829 was graduated from Bowdoin Medical School. The next year he became a practising physician in Gray, where he remained until his death on March 24, 1876. He was universally liked, and had a very large practice. His wife, Annah T., was a native of New Gloucester, Me., and a daughter of Captain John and Mary (Harris) Waterman. Dr. and Mrs. Anderson were the parents of eight children, namely: Ann J. married C. G. Hanscome, who was killed by Indians in Dakota in 1862. She now resides in La Crosse, Wis. Mary W. became the wife of Judge M. G. Hanscom, who outlived her, he being at present a resident of St. Peter, Minn. Jane T. married Charles Hoppin, of New York, who is now deceased. John D. is the subject of this sketch. Hannah L. became Mrs. Charles B. White, and lives in Massachusetts. Dr. Wendall A. Anderson, United States Consul-general at Montreal, married Miss Susan G. Small, a native of Gray, Me. He was educated in the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons, being graduated in the class of 1863. From 1861 to 1862 he was a medical cadet, and during the war he served as Regimental, Brigade, and Division Surgeon. In 1865 he was mustered out of service with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and in the following year went to La Crosse, where he practiced medicine for several years. He is now retired from the profession. Joseph W. died in infancy, and Lucy W. died in very early life. Mrs. Annah T. Anderson, the mother, died May 24, 1880. John D. Anderson fitted for college at Gorham Academy and Yarmouth Institute, and was graduated from the latter in the class of 1852. He then entered Bowdoin College, where he remained three years. From 1855 until 1858 he taught school, after which he returned to Bowdoin College, and was graduated in 1859. In the spring of 1860 he went to Macon, Ga., where he remained several months, going from thence to La Crosse, Wis. There he was engaged as teacher, and also read law in the office of Cameron & Bishop. On August 21, 1861, he enlisted as a private in the First Wisconsin Battery, was made First Sergeant, and promoted to First Lieutenant. He was in camp at Racine, Wis., and at Louisville, Ky., and was attached to the Seventh Division of the Army of the Ohio, organized for the reduction of Cumberland Gap, Ky., then occupied by the Confederates. He participated in the whole of that campaign, and was with the troops in the celebrated retreat from the Gap to the Ohio River, a distance of one hundred and eighty miles. He resigned in October, 1862, and re- enlisted in the Thirty-second Maine Infantry, which participated in the bloody campaign of General Grant in 1864-65, and was severely wounded at Burnside's mine explosion, losing the use of his left hand and arm. The Thirty-first and Thirty-second, decimated by losses, were consolidated. Major Anderson was mustered out as a supernumerary, and immediately joined the Third. Maryland Infantry as First Lieutenant. He served as Aide-de-camp on the staff of General N. B. McLaughlin till August 20, 1865, when he was finally mustered out at Baltimore, Md. . His record as a soldier is enviable, he having been complimented in general orders by General George W. Morgan for his "coolness and intrepidity " in rescuing two of his guns when surrounded by the enemy at Tazewell, Tenn., and having lost an eye and arm in the service of his country. After receiving his discharge in August, 1865, he returned to Gray, where he engaged in the insurance business, and practiced law until 1873, when he went to Portland, Me., being in the law office with Bion Bradbury & Son until 1880. Mr. Anderson then returned to Gray, and remained six years in the active and lucrative practice of his profession. In 1886 he was appointed United States Pension Agent for the district of Maine, which position he held until October 1, 1889. In April, 1889, he was elected Treasurer of the Eastern Branch of the Soldiers' Home at Togus, Me. He resigned in October, 1894, and returned to Gray, where he has since remained. Mr. Anderson is a Democrat in politics, and he has acceptably filled many offices. He was Representative from this district in 1875. He is a member of Cumberland Lodge, No. 12, of New Gloucester; of Greenleaf Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of Portland; and Hawthorn Lodge, Knights of Pythias, of Raymond. In the Grand Army of the Republic he is a devoted and enthusiastic worker. A charter member of George F. Sheplay Post, No. 78, of Gray, Mr. Anderson was elected Department Commander of Maine in 1890, being the only Democrat ever holding that position. In March, 1869, Major Anderson was united in marriage to Miss Anna S. Thayer, a native of Gray and daughter of Warren and Mary (Goff) Thayer. Major Anderson and wife are the parents of seven children, as follows: Marcia W. married J. H. Pinkham, a dry-goods merchant of Dover, Me., where they now reside; John W., who resides at home, was graduated from Bowdoin College in the class of 1894; Annie T. married Ralph Lewis, an engineer of Greenwood; Bion B. is in the dry-goods business in Dover, Me.; Abraham W. and Bessie W. are attending Pennell Institute in Gray; and Effie M. died in infancy. Mrs. Anderson died on September 12, 1893, beloved and respected by all who knew her. Major Anderson's inherited Scotch grit and his own power of adaptation have enabled him to act a worthy part in the battle of life. He is widely known and equally respected and liked.