The Anderson Reunion Blog

A few months ago, I started a new blog, The Anderson Reunion, to document the family of Mansfield and Harriet (Black) Anderson, who were the ancestors of many of the modern Andersons (and others) of Western North Carolina.

If you’re related to Mansfield and Harriet, please consider not only subscribing to the blog but contributing to it as well. What I’m most interested in at the moment are things unique to your family, such as stories, letters, pictures, and memorabilia. For my contact information, see the About page.

The 119th annual reunion of Mansfield and Harriet’s descendants is coming up in September. We’ll have more information on it as the time draws near. In the meantime, I hope to hear from my fellow Anderson cousins regarding contributions to the blog. Don’t be shy! All help is appreciated.

Surprise! (Although, I Should’ve Seen This Coming)

The 118^th Annual Anderson Reunion was this past Sunday, and a good time was had by all. Especially me, as I had the pleasure of playing with my new cousin, Izzie, who is not quite five months old. Yes, she is adorable, and my only regret is that I couldn’t also spend some time with my other new baby cousin, who is three months old and also adorable. And that is the joy of a family reunion: seeing old friends, and making new ones as well.

If you’re wondering, this reunion is for the descendants of Mansfield and Harriet (Black) Anderson, who lived in Blount and Sevier Counties, Tennessee, before moving to Macon County, North Carolina, before 1850. I’m connected to the family through my maternal grandmother, Ruth (Anderson) Ledford, who was Mansfield and Harriet’s great-great-granddaughter. I’ve spent a little time researching Mansfield and Harriet, but have mostly left them alone because so many others are researching the family, including Roy Duane Collier, who published an article on the couple in 1987,¹ and a cousin-in-law, Steve Beck, with whom I corresponded a little in the early 1990s, among others.

After the reunion, I spent some time on the Internet looking through FamilySearch‘s wonderful online database. I thought I’d see if they had any records online in Tennessee for Blount and Sevier Counties, something I hadn’t had a chance to look at yet. Honestly, I was really just piddling and didn’t expect to find anything.

Funny how those things turn out.

118th Anderson Reunion, Sunday, September 16, 2012

Please join the Anderson clan for their 118th annual reunion on Sunday, September 16, 2012 beginning at about 11 a.m. This year’s reunion will be held in the Macon County Coon Hunters Club building, located off of Prentiss Bridge Road just south of Franklin, North Carolina. All descendants of the Mansfield and Harriet (Black) Anderson family are invited to attend. Please bring a covered dish (or two!) and drinks, plus any stories, photos, or ephemera you may wish to share or show. We look forward to seeing y’all there!

Old Photo Week: Various Stray Pictures

The writing on the back is in pencil. The back is torn across the first word, which looks like it may have been Mama, then the writing continues “& daddy”. Below that, someone (possibly me) wrote very lightly in a different hand “Ruth Ledford”. I believe this photo may instead be of Edith Anderson (Ruth’s sister) and her first husband. Anyone who can clarify, please do so.

Old Photo Week: Ruth (Anderson) Ledford

Ruth (Anderson) Ledford with a gentleman who may have been one of her brothers. Under the Black Walnut tree in front of her home. [ETA 30 November 2023: The Aunts identified this man as R.L. Anderson, MawMaw’s brother.]

Old Photo Week: MawMaw and PawPaw

Treasure Chest Thursday: Grampa Anderson’s Chest of Drawers

One summer many moons ago, my grandmother Maw-Maw and I were cleaning out her attic. (This was my maternal grandmother, Ruth Anderson Ledford.) Over in one corner, hidden behind the detritis of several generations, was a chest of drawers. As best as I can remember, it had four drawers and was made entirely of wood, except perhaps for the drawer pulls. It was even held together by wooden pins rather than iron nails.

What was so remarkable about this piece of furniture was not its craftsmanship but the identity of its maker: My grandmother’s paternal grandfather, Robert Alexander Anderson (1857 – 1928). Maw-Maw was not quite seven years old when R. A. died, so this piece was a treasure to her, a reminder of a man she had barely known.

Wordless Wednesday: Ruth Anderson Ledford

My mother’s mother, Maw-Maw, as a young woman.

Maw-Maw’s Gingerbread

Gingerbread was one of my mother’s favorite holiday treats, although she seldom cooked it. I think it reminded her too much of her mother, whose recipe this was. I remember my grandmother cooking gingerbread during the winter, but for some reason, I always recall her serving it with a lemon sauce instead of whipped cream. That could be my own addition to the recipe.

Gingerbread
from Ruth (Anderson) Ledford

2 1/2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. ginger
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. salt
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. sugar (white, granulated)
3 eggs
1 c. light molasses
3/4 c. hot water
Sweetened whipped cream

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease well a 13 x 9 1/2 x 2″ pan. Sift flour with soda, salt, and spices; set aside. In a large bowl, mix the butter, sugar, and eggs for five minutes with an electric mixer. At low speed, beat in the molasses and hot water. Add the flour mix, beating just until smooth. Turn batter into pan. Bake on the middle rack for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool partially before serving with whipped cream.

Who is that Masked Ancestor?

My grandmother told me a story many moons ago about her grandparents. She never mentioned them by name, so I had no clue who she was talking about, but it was the kind of story that tends to stick with you.

If you thought I was going to talk about an ancestor who was a bandit, sorry, but no, I have none that I’m aware of. Same thing for ancestors who were cowboys or bank robbers; nor any who had an overwhelmingly large collection of Halloween costumes. My Uncle Steve worked in a nuclear plant for several years, but I don’t think that’s the same thing at all.