Robert Anderson (November 15, 1741 – January 9, 1813) was a politician, militia officer, and surveyor from South Carolina. He was a lifelong friend of General Andrew Pickens.

Anderson, South Carolina Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 28,106 at the 2020 census, making it the 16th-most populous city in South Carolina. It is one of the principal cities in the Gree ...

Anderson County, South Carolina Anderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 203,718. Its county seat is Anderson. Named for Revolutionary War leader Robert Anderson, the county is located in northwest ...

, and the ghost town of Andersonville are named for him.

Early life

He was born on November 15, 1741, in Augusta County, Virginia. His parents were John and Jane Anderson, Presbyterian immigrants who had immigrated to Virginia from the town of

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 31,205 people at the 2021 United Kingdom census, making it the List of localities in Northern Ireland by population, seven ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

(in what is today

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Marriage and children

He married Anne Thompson in 1765. They moved to

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

and settled near his friend from Virginia, Andrew Pickens. She died after twenty-five years of marriage. They had five children: * Robert, Jr., married Maria Thomas. * Anne married Dr. William Hunter. * Mary (1766–1810) married Robert Maxwell (1753–1797), a Revolutionary War hero, was appointed as sheriff of the Greenville District. He lived in Greenville County and was killed by an ambush on November 10, 1797, while he was crossing the Saluda River shoals, where Piedmont Mill Dam was later built. His grave is fifteen miles south of Greenville, near Ware Place. * Jane Anderson (b. 12 June 1775) married William Shaw. * Elizabeth married Samuel Maverick. One child was

Samuel Maverick Samuel Augustus Maverick (July 23, 1803 – September 2, 1870) was a Texas lawyer, politician, land baron and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. His name is the source of the term "maverick", first attested in 1867. He was the grand ...

. In 1793, Anderson married a second time, to Lydia Maverick, a widow in

Pendleton, South Carolina Pendleton is a town in Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,489 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a sister city of Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The town is located southeast of Cl ...

. Her son, Samuel, married Robert's daughter Elizabeth. After the death of his second wife, he married Mrs. Reese. She was the widow of Dr. Thomas Reese, who was the pastor of Old Stone Church.

Military service

In the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, he joined the Fifth South Carolina Militia. He became a captain in the regiment commanded by his friend Andrew Pickens when they fought Boyd's Loyalists. Anderson was one of the Patriots who gave their parole to the British as

Ninety Six, South Carolina Ninety Six is a town in Greenwood County, South Carolina, United States, located approximately 9 miles northeast of the county seat, Greenwood, South Carolina, Greenwood. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 2,076, making it the ...

. Many took up arms after the British had disregarded their promises. At the

Battle of Cowpens The Battle of Cowpens was a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War fought on January 17, 1781, near the town of Cowpens, South Carolina. American Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot forces, estimated at 2,000 militia and reg ...

, Anderson was a colonel under Brigadier General Andrew Pickens. Anderson also served under Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee. He fought in the

Battle of Eutaw Springs The Battle of Eutaw Springs on September 8, 1781, was the last major engagement of the Revolutionary War to be fought in the Carolinas. Both sides claimed a victory. Background In early 1781, Major General Nathanael Greene, commander of the ...

in which the British were victorious. Later, his regiment held the line against the British between

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

, and Ninety Six. On the western frontier, he fought with Andrew Pickens against the

Cherokees The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

. A treaty signed in 1777 ceded most of the Cherokee lands in the present Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens counties. After the war, Anderson was promoted to the rank of general in the state militia.

Political career

He served in the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seatin ...

from 1791 to 1794 and from 1801 to 1802 from the Pendleton District. He was an elder of the Old Stone Church. In 1800, he was elector for

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

and

Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician, businessman, lawyer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805 d ...

. He owned in the current Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens Counties including his home, Westville, on the west side of the Seneca River across from Andrew Pickens' home, Hopewell.

Death and legacy

He died at his home on January 9, 1813. A flood prevented his burial at Old Stone Church, and he was buried on his estate. During the construction of

Lake Hartwell Lake Hartwell is a man-made reservoir bordering Georgia and South Carolina and encompassing parts of the Savannah, Tugaloo, and Seneca Rivers. Lake Hartwell is one of the largest recreation lakes in the Southeastern United States. It was creat ...

, his body was reinterred at Old Stone Church. The ghost town of Andersonville, the City of Anderson, and Anderson County were named for him.

References

Sources

* Louise Ayer Vandiver, ''Traditions and History of Anderson County'', Ruralist Press, Atlanta, GA, 1928. * Frank A. Dickson, ''Journeys into the Past: The Anderson's Region's Heritage'', Sponsored by the Anderson County Bicentennial Committee, 1975. * *

External links

Rootsweb
Robert Anderson's grave.
Historical Marker Database
Anderson S.C.: The Electric City Historical Marker {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Robert 1741 births 1813 deaths American militia generals Anderson County, South Carolina Oconee County, South Carolina People from Augusta County, Virginia South Carolina militiamen in the American Revolution American people of Irish descent Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives Surveyors 18th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly