Dimmit County Mesquite Roots pages 136-137 The Samuel Henry "Sam" Anderson Jr. Family

Samuel Henry (Jr.) and Doris Culver Anderson.  (Photo courtesy Sandra Anderson Wetzig)  Baby in chair:  Samuel Miles Anderson Sr. at age two in 1918,  (Photograph courtesy Sandra Anderson Wetzig)

The Samuel Miles Anderson Jr. family.  Left to right, rear; Sammy, Miles, and Jackie.  Front:  Lynn, Debby, and Mark.  (Photo courtesy Sandra Anderson Wetzig)

Samuel Henry Anderson Jr. was the son of Samuel Henry Sr. and Mary Lee Williams Anderson, early Dimmit County residents.  Sam Jr. was born in Carrizo Springs on February 5, 1894.  He was in France during World War I, and in the Civil Air Patrol during World War II.

Sam married Doris Culver, who was born April 16, 1896 in Naugatuck, Connecticut.  Sam and Doris had two children, Samuel Miles and Doris Margaret.

Doris Culver Anderson died on March 10, 1922.  She buried at the Mission Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.

Sam H. Anderson Jr. later married Mary Alarcon, who was born in 1908.  They had one child, Robert Henry.

Samuel Miles "Sammy" Anderson Sr.  was born in San Antonio on December 7, 1916.  He married Virginia Fain on July 15, 1939.  Virginia was born July 15, 1920 in Ancone, in the Canal Zone.  Sammy and Virginia Fain Anderson had two children, Samuel Miles Jr. and Sandra Louise.  Samuel Miles Anderson Jr. married Jackie Priour and they have four children: Miles, Lynn, Debby, and Mark.  The family lives in Corpus  Christi.  Sandra Louise Anderson married Donald Wetzig (see separate story)

Doris Margaret Anderson was born in San Antonio on December 20, 191.  She married W. C. "Bill" Davisson and they had four children (see separate story).

Robert Henry Anderson was born in 1934.  He married Carrie Lee Harrbison in 1956.  They had four children:  Robert Clyde born in 1957, Jennifer Lorraine born in 1958, Meredith Leigh born in 1960, and Alice Louise born in 1965.  Carrie Lee Harrbison Anderson died in 1965.  Robert married Barbara Ann Steadman in 1968.  They had three children:  Benjamin Alexander born in 1969, Elizabeth Siobhan born in 1973, and Samuel James "Sammy" born in 1975.

Mary Alarcon Anderson died in 1960.  Samuel Henry "Sam" Anderson Jr. died in December of 1960.  He is buried at Mission Cemetery in San Antonio.

Margaret Anderson Davisson Spring, Texas 

Sandra Louise Anderson Wetzig Carrizo Springs.

Dimmit Count Mesquite Roots Pages 135-136 Samuel Henry Sr. and Mary Lee "Molly" Williams Anderson Family

Five generations of the Samuel Anderson family.  Great-grandmother Molly Williams Anderson; her son Sam H. Anderson (Jr.) and his sister Frances Anderson Madsen; grandson Samuel Miles Anderson Sr.; granddaughter Margaret Anderson Davisson; and great-granddaughter Jill Davisson.  (Photo courtesy Margaret Anderson Davisson and Sandra Anderson Wetzig)

Samuel Henry Anderson Sr. was born in St. Helena Parish, Louisiana in January of 1867,  He came to Texas with his parents during his early boyhood.  He worked in various occupations in east Texas, San Antonio, and La Salle County.  The last job he held, before he died, was as foreman of the Espejo Ranch in Webb County, Texas.
  Mary Lee Williams was the daughter of Frank and Elizabeth Hopkins Rae Williams.  Mary Lee or "Molly", as she was known, was born in 1871.
  Samuel and Mary Lee married December 23, 1887.  They lived in Carrizo Springs.
  The Andersons had five children:  Ernest Leland, twins Samuel Henry Jr. and Van Kellogg, Margaret Elizabeth, and Frances Lucille.
  Ernest Leland Anderson married Kathryn Hall and later Helmi Kramer (see separate story),
  Samuel Henry Anderson Jr. married Doris Culver (see separate story),
  Van Kellogg Anderson, twin of Sam Jr., died of pneumonia at the age of 23.
  Margaret Elizabeth Anderson died of tuberculosis when she was only 16.
  Frances Lucille Anderson married M. P. Madsen (see separate story).
  Grandmother Mary Lee Williams Anderson, known as "Aunt Molly", was a very witty and courageous woman.  Her husband Sam (no relation to the Sam Anderson who was a cattle buyer and lived on the top of the hill near the Catholic Church in Carrizo Springs) died on March 31, 1913, when he was 46 years old.  This left her with two little girls still to raise.  Within a year, however, Margaret died of tuberculosis and Van died of pneumonia.
  Then Aunt Molly's son Sam Jr. lost his wife.  He left Sammy and Margaret, not yet two and four year old, with Aunt Molly for her to care for them.  Aunt Molly's oldest son, Ernest Anderson, was married to Kathryn Hall, who was sick for many years, so Grandma Anderson kept their son, Leland, also.
  Judge Freegift Vandervoort, Aunty Molly's brother-in-law, was helpful in advising her.  Her two sisters, Sarah Williams Vandervoort and Margaret Elizabeth Rae Kellogg Williams, lived nearby.  They were a very close-knit family.  During the summer, all the relatives and any friends who wanted to join in would camp out on the Nueces River near the Barker Bridge.  They would stay a week or two, and the men would come out to join them on evenings or during the weekends.  They would bring out ice, fresh fruit, and vegetables from town.  The teenagers would ride up and down the river at night, playing guitars and banjo-ukes and singing.
  There were always three Christmas trees-one at Aunt Molly Anderson's, one at the Vandervoorts, and one out at the Williams Ranch.  All the kin would go to each.  There would be presents and food at each place and fireworks at the ranch, as well as "42" and dominoes and all other kinds of games.
  Mary Lee Williams Anderson died in San Antonio at the age of 94.  She and Samuel Henry Anderson Sr. are both buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Carrizo Springs.
                                                Margaret Anderson Davisson; Spring, Texas.