Who is my granddaddy?

Dear Kinfolk,

Well it is time to move farther back in our ancestry to James Anderson and Fannie Griffin Anderson, the parents of gg grandfather Henry M. Anderson.

The farther back we go the harder it is to find documentation such as birth certificates, marriage license and census records.  What we have to count on is finding information from a family bible and in our case, affidavits for membership to the Cherokee Nation.

When you go back to my ggg grandfather James Anderson, born 1779, you realize it was 233 years ago!  The American Revolution War was starting with Charleston SC being taken by the British forces.  The United States had not started a national census.  In 1790 President George Washington gives his first State of the Union address. 

So for these writings I am going back to affidavits by William Henry Anderson and the children of Prudence Anderson.  Both show their lineage as follows: 

        Henry M. Anderson , born 1809 

       James Anderson, born 1779

       Henry Anderson, born 1740-45

This blog is what little I have know about James Anderson.  He was born in 1779 in either Virginia or Louisiana.  He was married in Benton , North Carolina to Francis “Fannie” Griffin, born 1785-90.   There are internet posting indicating that Fannie was 1/2 Cherokee blood.  However tracking who her parents were has proved difficult.    I plan to do more research on Fannie Griffin Anderson for a future blog.   I would really appreciate my cousins, Mary Lou, Barbara, Patrick and Brandon filling me in with any information they have on Fannie and James Anderson.   Also, please edit my ancestry chart for any corrections.

Thanks, hope all is well with the Kinfolk.

Jim Lee                

Dear Kinfolk,

It has been awhile since I wrote, I have been doing  research on who is our great grand mother…Sarah Collier or Sarah Lowry??  Most internet family trees show Henry M. Anderson married to Sarah Collier.  However there is no marriage certificate to confirm this.

Our cousin, Mary Lou Manley Laird wrote  she had made a trip to the old Fort Belknap and found the book   Fort Belknap Frontier Saga .    Mary found a picture in the book of Lucinda Anderson Ratliff, Henry’s daughter, and the caption below said her mother was Sarah Lowry!    Looking on the internet I found records of a Mississippi wedding of Henry Anderson and Sarah Lowry, 27 Sep 1827, in Amite County, Mississippi.   My grandfather, William Henry Anderson said his grandfather, Henry M. Anderson, was born in Mississippi and then moved to Arkansas.

Recently I wrote that I had found a “Sarah Lowry” on the Indian Rolls …Sarah Lowry, Cherokee 1/2 blood, card #1895 , roll #27368.   I sent off to the National Archives for copies of her enrollment.  Results, this is not our Sarah Lowry born 1810,  however, could she be the great granddaughter?  The Sarah on the Rolls was born 1886 and the daughter of George Guess Lowry and  Narcisia Fannie Hendricks. 

 So once again, we have un-answered questions about Henry Mitchell/Madison Anderson and Sarah Collier/Lowry.  Actual records/facts are hard to come by in the early 1800’s!  Hopefully one day a member of our Anderson clan will solve these unanswered questions.

Have a great week.

Jim Lee

P.S.  If anyone would like copies of the National Archives records, just let me know.  jimmielee@suddenlink.net