nav bar

family tree

Reverend James Anderson
(1678-1740)



James Anderson
b: Nov 17, 1678, Dowhill, Glascow, Scotland
d: Jul 16, 1740, Donegal in Lancaster County, PA
+ Dec 05, 1712, New Castle, DE
Suit Garland
b: Abt. 1690
d: 24 Dec 1736, Donegal, Lancaster PA
+ Dec 27, 1737
Rebecca Crawford

Egle's Notes and Queries of Pennsylvania
1700s-1800s
William Henry Egle

James Anderson, b. November 17, 1678 in Scotland; was educated at Edinburgh, under the care of Principal Stirling, He was ordained by Irvine Presbytery, November 17, 1708, with a view to his settlement in Virginia.

He sailed March 6, 1709, and arrived in the Rappahannock on the 22d of April following; but the condition of affairs not being favorable for introducing any other religion than that of the established Church of England in that Colony, he came northward, and was received by the Presbytery September 20 following. He settled at New Castle, where he was installed pastor in 1713. In 1714, out of regard for the desolate condition of the people in Kent county, he was directed to supply them monthly on a Sabbath, and also to spend a Sabbath at Cedar Creek, in Sussex.

In 1716, receiving a call from the first church organization of New York city, he went there and labored with his accustomed zeal and energy; but his strict Presbyterianism and rigid Scottish habits and doctrines were distasteful to the people, and his charge, consequently, did not prove to be happy or comfortable, and he desired a removal.

He was called september 24, 1726, to Donegal, on the Susquehanna, and accepted. He was installed the last Wednesday in August, 1727. In September, 1729, he gave every fifth Sabbath to the people on Swatara, and joined the congregation of Derry, thus becoming the first settled pastor over that church, until the call to Rev. William Bertram, in 1732.

He died July 16, 1740. In the language of Presbytery, "he was high in esteem for circumspection, diligence and faithfulness as a Christian minister." His name and fame are associated with the early history of the Presbyterian church in America. He was a man of talent, learning, and piety a graceful and popular preacher - a leader among men.

Mr. Anderson was twice married; m. first, February, 173, Mistress Suit Garland, daughter of Sylvester Garland, of the Head of Apoquinimy, Delaware, who d. December 24, 1736, and lies buried in Donegal churchyard, where a large flat stone marks the resting place of herself and her distinguished husband.

From a mutilated leaf in the Rev. james Anderson's Bible, (Imprint "Edinburgh, A.D.1676,") on which was recorded the family registry, is copied the following imperfect list of births and deaths. In his will he names only James, Susannah and Thomas, but refers to all his children. He left a large estate, including most of the land upon which Marietta now stands, a valuable ferry-right called "Anderson's Ferry," land on the opposite side of the river, together with several slaves. The Rev. James Anderson m., secondly, December 27, 1737, Rebecca Crawford, of Donegal. After his death the Widow Anderson married Joshua Baker, whose daughter, Mary Baker, became the wife of the Rev. John Elder, of Paxtang. Several of his children appear to have died young, and none of his descendants remain in Lancaster county.

Egle's Notes and Queries of Pennsylvania
1700s-1800s
William Henry Egle

James Anderson was a native of Scotland, born November 17, 1678; was educated under the care of Principal Stirling, of Glasgow, and ordained by Irvine Presbytery, November 17, 1708, with a view to his settlement in Virginia.

He sailed March 6, 1709, and arrived in the Rappahannock on the 22d of April following, but the state of things there not warranting his stay, he came northward, and was received by the Presbytery September 20. He settled at New Castle. In 1714, out of regard to the desolate condition of the people in Kent county, he was directed to supply them monthly on a sabbath, and also to spend a Sabbath at Cedar Creek, in Sussex.

He subsequently ministered in New York, but owing to some difficulties in the congregation there he desired a removal. He was called september 24, 1726, to Donegal, on the Susquehanna, and accepted it. He was installed the last Wednesday in August, 1727. In September, 1729, he gave every fifth Sabbath to the people on Swatara, and joined the congregation of Derry, thus becoming the first settled pastor over that church, until the call to Rev. William Bertram, in 1732.

He died July 16, 1740. In the language of Presbytery, "he was high in esteem for circumspection, diligence and faithfulness as a Christian minister." The Rev. Mr. Anderson married February, 1712-13, Suit Garland, daughter of Sylvester Garland, of the Head of Apoquinimy. She died December 24, 1736. He then married Rachel Wilson, December 27, 1737.

His son Garland Anderson married Jane, daughter of Peter Chevalier, of Philadelphia, but died early. His [Garland's] daughter Elizabeth married samuel Breeze, resided in New York, and was a woman of great excellence.

A brother of the Rev. Mr. Anderson was John Anderson of Perth Amboy, who in 1712 was made one of the Council of the Province of New Jersey. He died in March, 1736, aged seventy-three, being then president of the council.

The Planting of the Presbyterian Church in Northern Virginia

Prior to the Organization of Winchester Presbytery
James R. Graham, Winchester VA, Geo. F. Norton Publishing Co., 1904

Mr. Gelston was followed by Rev. James Anderson, one of the most distinguished of the early Presbyterian ministers in America. Born and ordained in Scotland, he left there in 1709. After preaching for brief periods at different places, he became, in 1717, the first pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in the city of New York; but difficulties arising in his charge, he, in 1726, accepted a call to Donegal Presbytery; and eleven years thereafter (1737) we find him visiting Opecquon [VA]. This visit was made memorable by the fact that either in that year, or within the next two years, he organized our "old Opecquon Church."

From 1735 the claims of the settlers on this side the Potomac engaged the attention of the Presbytery at every session. At first, however, a serious bar to its efforts was found in the hostility of the Virginia Government to the worship of the "Dissenters." East of the Ridge they were persistently persecuted; and west of it they were barely tolerated. Therefore, in 1738, the Synod, at the request of Presbytery, sent a deputation, with a letter to Governor Gooch, soliciting his favor on behalf of the Presbyterian interests of the colony. This action was taken at the instance of John Caldwell, a Ruling Elder of Chestnut Level, Pa., and the great grandfather of John Caldwell Calhoun, of South Carolina. The Rev. Mr. Anderson was deputed to bear the letter of the Synod. He was kindly received by the Governor, and his mission resulted very satisfactorily.

Enclyclopedia of the Presbyterian Church in the USA:

Including the Northern and Southern Assemblies,
Alfred Nevin, D.D., LL.D., Editor, Philadelphia,
Presbyterian Encyclopedia Publishing Co., 1884

He [James Anderson] was born in Scotland, November 17th, 1678, and was ordained by Irvine Presbytery, November 17th, 1708, with a view to his settlement in Virginia. He arrived in the Rappahannock, April 22d, 1709, but the state of things not warranting his stay, he came northward, and was received by the Presbytery, September 20th. He settled at New Castle, Del.

In 1717 he accepted a call to a congregation in New YorkCity, which, at the time was worshiping in the City Hall.

September 24th, 1726, he received a call to Donegal, on the Susquehanna, and accepted it. He was installed the last Wednesday in August, 1727. In September, 1729, he began to give every fifth Sabbath to the people on Swatara, and joined the congregation of Derry.

In April, 1738, at the behest of John Caldwell, the founder of Cub Creek Congregation in Charlotte Co., Virginia, the Presbytery decided to ask the Synod to send a deputation to wait on the Virginia Government, and solicite its favor in behalf of Presbyterianism there. The Synod wrote to the Governor, and sent Mr. Anderson to bear the letter, providing supplies for his pulpit, and allowing for his expenses "in a manner suitable to his design." This mission he performed satisfactorily.

He died July 16th, 1743. At the time of his death, he owned a farm of 305 acres well stocked and three slaves. He was a charter member of Donegal Presbytery October 11, 1732, and was Moderator of the Synod of Philadelphia May 23, 1739.

February, 1713 he married Suit Garland, daughter of Sylvester Garland of the head of Apoquiminy, by whom eleven children. She died December 24, 1836 and he married Rebecca Crawford of Donegal, Pennsylvania.

A History of Lancaster County,
H.M.J. Klein,1926

James Anderson, who was the first regular pastor of Donegal Presbyterian church, made his home in Donegal from 1727 to his death, 1740. He was born in Scotland in 1678, and had been in the ministry in America since 1709. He was one of the founding members of Newcastle Presbytery in 1716, was later in a New York charge, and accepted call to Donegal in 1726.

He was a man of broad mind, and was not long in Donegal before he saw that distorted matters of land-title needed straightening, and he gave them his careful inteligent attention. He himself purchased a tract of 305 acres in 1727 from Peter Allen, an Indian trader. It was not until 1737 that he straightened the titles of some of the land holdings of some of his congregation, "which then included nearly the whole population of Donegal township." He frequently rode to Philadelphia to plead the cause of the people with the Provincial Government in the differences over land-titles, and finally cleared the disputes to general satisfaction. This accomplished, Rev. Anderson gave some thought to his own affairs.

He had for ten years lived on a farm he had exchanged with William Wilkins for the Peter Allen tract he had bought. The Wilkins tract was along the river, and upon part of it the borough of Marietta de- veloped. But when Rev. James Anderson was able to think of his own affairs, in 1737, he only saw in his river-farm the possibility of establishing a ferry. He applied for a patent for a ferry, but was unable to get it for some time, owing to the objections of John Wright, who then had a ferry three miles further down the river. However, he secured the right eventually; and it was probably because of that ferry patent that his son held to the land, and also his grandson, James (3d), and great-grandson, James (4th), who founded the town of Waterford in 1804, which town was merged with another ultimately to form the borough of Marietta.



separator






Morris
NJ Governor
Lewis Morris



Breese
Breese
Family



Henry Livingston
Night Before Xmas
Henry Livingston



Burnett
Lincoln Assassination
Gen. Henry Burnett



Bush
President
George Bush



Father
Father
Bradley Van Deusen


Jean
Mother
Jean Van Deusen


Home Favorites Map



IME logo Copyright © 2003, Mary S. Van Deusen