It has been awhile since I last posted to the Anderson Group. I know this is quite lengthy, but I am looking for any clue that would nudge me in the right direction of determining who his siblings or parents were. For forty-four years now, my family has been trying to locate the parents and siblings of my gggrandfather William Preston Anderson. Any documents he signed, he used the name W P Anderson, however, anyone that knew him called him Preston Anderson. Our William Preston first showed up in Bossier Parish LA in 1848 when he married a Rutha Moore d/o Thomas Moore and Sarah Doyle. There were three witnesses to his marriage and they were Elijah P Lewis, R G Anderson and Jacob M Scoggins. Many years ago, we decided to try and concentrate on everyone that was around our WPA and see if we could come up with any clues. We have had terrific luck with everyone else surrounding him. Everyone around him came through or from White County Tennessee, so we assume he did also. The folks that I am researching in Bossier Parish are the following people that showed up in the 1850 census. Family 950 E P Lewis 34 M TN (Brother-in-law to my WPA, his wife Malissa Moore died young before 1850) Judith Anderson 60 F SC (Mother of E P Lewis, wife of Robert G Anderson Sr that died in Nacogdoches in 1841) Thomas B Anderson 15? MS (Unknown who this is) Evy D Lewis 12 M TN (child of E P Lewis & Malissa) Judith E Lewis 10 F TN ditto Sarah E Lewis 8 F TN ditto Cyntha Lewis 6 F LA ditto Next door we have Family 951 Robert Anderson 40 M TN (Unknown) Judith E Anderson 18 F TN ditto WM P Anderson 14 M TN ditto Rufus D Anderson 11 M LA ditto James M Anderson 8 M LA ditto Family 1089 Elison Anderson 27 M ILA (Unknown) Anna Anderson 22 F MS ditto Frances Anderson 2 F LA ditto Family 1257 William Anderson 57 M NC (Unknown) Elizabeth Anderson 50 F NC ditto Lensy? Anderson 29 M IND ditto Anna Anderson 26 F ILA ditto Jacob Anderson 23 M ILA ditto Eliza Anderson 19 F IND ditto Rachel Anderson 17 F IND ditto Carroll Anderson 4 M LA ditto Just a quick glance at what we know about his lifestyle and some folklore that was passed down through his children. His father passed away when he was young. Since he claimed to be born in 1824, we think this may have happened between 1835-1842. His mother remarried and he ran away from home. Many years ago, a very old woman lay on her deathbed and named the man that his mother married after his father died. The room was full of people and they seem to have all heard something different. They all agreed that it sounded something like 'Bird Seales'. For many years we have been trying every combination we can think of that involved a marriage of a widow Anderson and someone that could be close. ie Seales, Brizzelle, Friezzel, Bussell, etc. So far we have nothing. Folklore has it that when he ran away, he crossed the Red River and then the Mississippi River, or if they had it backwards, he crossed the Mississippi River then the Red River going to live with his grandparents. If the first scenario is correct, he could have been living in Texas or nine counties in Louisiana. If the second is correct, he probably was living in Tennessee, Alabama or Mississippi. Family folklore also has it that our family came from TN to AL then MS then LA then TX. It is said that he went to work on the Mississippi Riverboats while he was young. Even though he married in Bossier Parish in 1848, we have never been able to locate him in the 1850 census. He does appear again in Bossier in the 1860 and 1870 census. He had a plantation in Bossier and several slaves, but he made his living buying and selling land, and raising and selling race horses. He would deliver the horses as far away as Tenn and KY. In about 1870 he moved to Sabine County Texas. He had one of the first race tracks in Texas. I really believe he came from one of three Anderson families I will mention a little about. My aunt, the one that died several years ago, was convinced that he came from the William Preston Anderson that first helped lay out the State of Tenn along with his friend Andrew Jackson. This William Preston first married Nancy Bell and they had James Patton Anderson, the famous Confederate General and the wild and wooley Rufus King Anderson the three time senator of Alabama. When Nancy Bell died, he married a Margaret Lapsley Adair. He and Margaret had numerous children every two years but with one four year lapse, and of course that four year span included the year 1824. My aunt was convinced that they had our William Preston. However, this was such a famous family with so many things being written about them (even James Patton's book, he mentions all his sisters and brothers and our William Preston is not among them.) This William Preston Anderson also made his living buying and selling land and also had a race track that Andrew Jackson mentions in his writings as he loved to visit the track. The second family of Andersons is what I call the Bailey Anderson group that came to Texas early. Bailey Anderson Sr and his slaves were in one household and his son Bailey Anderson Jr along with his wife and children were in another in the 1835 Texas census living in Ayish Bayou (very close to where my William Preston Anderson lived in Sabine County many years later. We never found out why our WPA moved to Sabine County Texas from Bossier Parish). I believe that at least one of their descendants was living in Bossier Parish LA during the 1850 census. This family also had some William P Andersons but I believe the P stood for Pinkney. The family that appears to be the most logical is the Robert G Anderson that came to Tenn early 1802-1803 that first married Rebecca Fry. One of their children was named William P Anderson that married in Madison Co MS and later moved to Central Texas. Robert G also bought and sold land in Tenn from about 1806 to about 1832. He even sold and purchased land from the William Preston Anderson indicated above. In about 1808 Robert G sold part of his land to a Elijah Lewis and his wife Judith Sherrill that was born in Pendleton Dist SC. Their son Elijah P Lewis was one of the witnesses at our WPA's marriage. This Elijah P Lewis also married the sister of our William Preston's wife Rutha Moore. When Robert G's wife Rebecca Fry died, and Elijah Lewis died, Robert G married his widow Judith Sherrill Lewis about 1824?. We have never been able to determine if Robert G and Judith ever had any children, but it would seem likely as they were in their mid to late thirties. About 1808-1809, Robert G also sold some land to Simon Doyle (the father of our WPA's mother-in-law Sarah Doyle). Robert G also sold land in 1808 to a John Scoggin the father of Jacob M Scoggin that was one of the witnesses at our WPA's marriage. This Jacob M Scoggin died abt 1860 in Sevier Co AR which is northwest of Bossier Parish, LA. I have found that Robert G Anderson jointly purchased some land in Madison County Mississippi with his son William P Anderson in 1836. During the same year, Robert G jointly purchased some land in Madison Co MS with a man named Carroll Anderson. I do not know who this Carroll is, but it sure makes sense that he would be a son of Robert G and Judith Sherrill. Robert G Anderson and Rebecca Fry had a son named Robert G Anderson Jr that was living in Nacogdoches TX during the 1850 census and I believe he is the R G Anderson that was the third witness to our WPA's marriage as Nacogdoches is just west of Bossier Parish LA. I also found a court record in Nacogdoches TX that Robert G Anderson Jr and his brother William P Anderson were made guardians of the children of a Carroll Franklin Anderson of Madison County MS. This could be the same Carroll Anderson that Robert G Sr jointly purchased land with in Madison Co in 1836. Robert G Anderson Sr died in Nacogdoches in 1841. His widow Judith Sherrill Lewis was found living with her son Elijah P Lewis in Bossier Parish LA during the 1850 census. It is thought she returned to her native Pendleton District SC sometime afterward where she died. I just received a copy of a gift deed from Lewis Sherrill made in 1836 in White Co TN to his daughter Judith Sherrill after her marriage to Robert G Anderson. I had a couple of surprises reading the gift deed. Lewis stated that Judith and Robert G were living in Alabama in 1836. Lewis mentions all his grandchildren and one of them was an Anna Anderson that was still living in White Co TN. This sure appears that Judith and Elijah Lewis had a daughter Anna Lewis that married an Anderson. This could possibly be our WPA's mother but we do not know when she was born or who she married. She could have been a daughter of Robert G and Judith, but one would think she would have been living with her parents in Alabama as she more than likely would have only been about 16 years old if Robert G and Judith married about 1820. The other surprise was that this deed was witnessed by Simon Doyle (the father of our WPA's mother-in-law). To complicate things more, the other witness was Turner Lane which I understand married a Martha Anderson who was part of the Bailey Anderson Group. If we look at the naming protocol back then, it would suggest that our WPA's father was named John and his mother was named Anna. One of our WPA's descendants said many years ago that he was named after our WPA's father and his name was Herman. We have never seen but one Herman in our family. Quite a while back, I was curious to see that a John H Anderson was in White Co early and was from the Bailey Anderson group. I have corresponded with several of his descendants, but I don't really know what the H stood for and no one else seems to know. I wrote the National Archives and received what little was there for my WPA's military record from the Confederacy. He joined when he was 39. I was hoping against hope that at least there would be some helpful information. No such luck. It also seems a little strange that he joined the Cresent Regiment which was originally formed in New Orleans. I'm just curious why he didn't join with his friends and neighbors in Bossier. I know this is quite long and I appreciate your indulgence. The other surnames that fit into our family is Conn, Delafield, Humphreys Pace, Burkhalter, Cartwright and Moore. I will be happy to share any information that we have.