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Anderson Family Tree
After digging through some old documents I have been trying to connect the dots on various pieces of information on the Anderson family name. It is a real detective hunt aided almost entirely by information available on the web. I started by trying to find out more about Robert Anderson "0", since there is no information available before him. I figured we could work our way forward and back from him to flush out the Anderson name. Here is what we know about Robert "0".
1. Robert was born December 18, 1832 and died at the Battle of Vicksburg on May 22, 1863.
2. One source says Robert immigrated from Edinburgh, Scotland with his brother, another says he was born in New York City.
3. Robert was reported to be a river boat captain, last know to be running the Mississippi between Dubuque, Iowa and St Louis.
4. Robert had a brother, name unknown, who was a river boat captain operating between his home town of Cincinnati, Ohio and St. Louis.
4. Robert married Lydia J. Jamison on April 17,1856. The Jamison family can be traced back through the Revolutionary War to Scotland around 1619.
5. Robert appears to have entered the military from Jackson County Iowa. Alex Anderson's letter says he lived in Bellevue, Iowa which is on Mississippi River in Jackson county.
6. Robert was mustered into Company I, of the 31 Iowa Infantry on October 13, 1862, then Col Smyth took them down river to Arkansas. I have Robert Anderson's commission certificate. It shows him commissioned on October 13, 1862 as a 1st Lieutenant. However the notary who signed the certificate Eleutter Major, signed the certificate on December 4, 1862 in Phillips County Arkansas. So they must have been moving faster than the paperwork could keep up.
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1.Robert was part of the 31st Iowa Infantry that ultimately placed him at Vicksburg on May 22, 1863 were he was killed at the age of 29.
Willis Eugene Anderson married Anna Engle. She was born October 31, 1864. They had four children
Willis Eugene, b May 15, 1889, Alexander D, b May 18, 1891, Rober, b Jan 1 1893, Edwin, b Nov 18 1897. They reside in Herman, Neb.
Anderson Family Tree as detailed in correspondence from Grace Jameson Rowe, who apparently was a cousin of Robert "1", Robert "0" grandson.
31st Iowa Infantry Memorial at Vicksburg
http://www.iowa-counties.com/civilwar/vicksburg/31st_inf.htm
Detailed history of 31st Iowa Infantry, not Robert Anderson mentioned on second page as officer with Company I, out of Jackson County Iowa
http://lserver.aea14.k12.ia.us/iacivilwar/Resources/31stinfreb.htm
Another history of the 31st Iowa Infantry
More detail on the 31st Iowa Infantry
http://www.iowa-counties.com/blackhawk/civilwar/31st.shtml
31st Iowa Infantry Roster Page, note Robert Anderson listed
Siege of Vicksburg information page
Interesting page on the Siege of Vicksburg. Robert Anderson was killed on May 22, 1863, during the worst day of the siege.
http://genforum.genealogy.com/jameson/all.html
Genealogy home page for Jackson County, Iowa. Looks like Robert Anderson lived in Jackson County, Iowa. Probably in either Bellevue or Sabula Iowa, both are port towns on the Mississippi. Robert Anderson was reported to be running a river boat out of Iowa down the Mississippi before the war.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~iajackso/
Jameson family forum. Robert Anderson married Lydia J. Jameson from a famous family that can be traced back to the 1600’s
Entire book The Jameson’s in America is on line.