Anderson in Cumberland County

Late 18th century tax records 

indicate the presence of:

ANDERSON, Charles
ANDERSON, James
ANDERSON, Jesse
ANDERSON, John
ANDERSON, Rhoda - a widow in the Descendants of Lawrence Anderson
ANDERSON, Robert -  Descendants of Robert Anderson
ANDERSON, Robert - Descendants of Robert Anderson
ANDERSON, Robert Of Hanover - Descendants of Robert Anderson
ANDERSON, Thomas
ANDERSON, William
ANDERSON, William - see Descendents of Robert Anderson

Late 18th century marriage records 

indicate the presence of:

ANDERSON, Parsons           COCKE, Mary                 15 Feb 1758
WADE, Charles               ANDERSON, Elizabeth         27 Sep 1773
COCKE, Anderson             MICHAUX, Elizabeth          12 Sep 1782
BOWLES, Anderson            THOMAS, Jane                30 Aug 1785
ANDERSON, James             HUBBARD, Amy                23 Jan 1786
WILLIAMS, Anderson          SHEPARD, Mildred            18 Dec 1786
ANDERSON, Charles           ALLEN, Anna                 20 Oct 1789
CONNER, Benjamin            ANDERSON, Elizabeth         01 Jan 1790
ANDERSON, John              BRYANT, Nancy               28 Jan 1793
ANDERSON, William           KEELING, Sarah              24 Nov 1794
GAULDING, Alexander         ANDERSON, Frances           22 Jan 1805
DUNKUM, William             ANDERSON, Phoebe            16 Oct 1805
ANDERSON, Lawrence          JENKINS, Ann                24 Sep 1806
BLANKENSHIP, Joseph         ANDERSON, Polly             30 Dec 1806
MEADOR, James               ANDERSON, Fanny             04 Dec 1809
JONES, Daniel               ANDERSON, Susanna           27 Mar 1809
ROBINSON, Gross             ANDERSON, Sarah             30 Oct 1809
JETER, Anderson             ALLEN, Laura S.             05 Dec 1809

18th century Virginia land patents 

reveal the presence of:

James 09/10/1755 Cumberland Co
800a Appomattox River above Dry Creek
patents 31/731

1810 Virginia Census

Anderson, Catherine   Cumberland       143  02100-00001-0,4
Anderson, Charles     Cumberland       135  31010-22020-0,0
Anderson, George      Cumberland       142  01101-20001-0,3
Anderson, Jesse       Cumberland       141  01101-10101-0,5
Anderson, John        Cumberland       134  01101-11010-0,9
Anderson, John        Cumberland       134  20010-10010-0,0
Anderson, Lawrence    Cumberland       134  10010-10100-0,1
Anderson, Lewis       Cumberland       142  00100-40010-0,0
Anderson, Richard     Cumberland       134  21201-11010-0,9
Anderson, Richard     Cumberland       141  00010-30010-0,2
Anderson, Sally       Cumberland       132  00120-00201-0,0
Anderson, Samuel      Cumberland       139  11111-21021-0,9
Anderson, William     Cumberland       140  11210-10100-0,3

Discussion

Caution: There is a mixture of at least two branches of the Anderson family in Cumberland County. The descendants of Lawrence Anderson of Essex County seem to make up most of the late 18th century residents of Cumberland County.  

However early in the County history the families of James, William and Charles Anderson three of the sons of Thomas Anderson and Agnes Gannaway; themselves descendents of Robert Anderson of Hanover County were also in the county. 

I have not had the opportunity to examine the land records in detail to assist in sorting these men all out. I do caution though that both the Robert Anderson of York River and Lawrence Anderson of Essex County branches of the family have claimed a particular James Anderson of Cumberland as one of theirs. I have not received corroboratory evidence yet from either branch as to the substance of their claims. It is likely that there were several James Andersons in the County and researchers should be cautious not to merge them into one.  Examination of the records would indicate that most of the children of James and Charles moved south out of the county by 1800. William the brother apparently remained past 1810.

There is one marriage for Charles Anderson, a descendant of the south side Thomas Anderson, but this appears to be serendipity and most all of the county Andersons had immigrated from north of the James River.

The MIDI file of "Why Have My Loved Ones Gone" (lyrics) by Stephen Collins Foster (1826-1864) is used by permission of Benjamin Robert Tubb from his website at Public Domain Music http://www.pdmusic.org.