Sanderson

   The Sanderson family has a proud heritage in England, where it is one of the oldest surnames on record, as well as in Colonial America, where as fine artisans they created the first fine silver and gold products, produced the first coins in the country as mintmasters, and became very wealthy (apparently they kept a lot of their mint work).
   The origin of the surname "Sanderson" is Scottish and English. It's a patronymic from the personal name 'Sander', a reduced form of Alexander, or the classical Greek Alexandros, which probably originally meant ‘repulser of men’, from alexein (‘to repel’) + andros, genitive of aner (‘man’)—which makes it a rotten name for a woman.
   The family Coat of Arms features six silver and blue stripes on a diagonal black stripe three gold rings. The Crest is a black dog on a green mound. The family motto, "Je suis veillant à plaire," means "I am watchful to please."
   The Sanderson variant of the name comes from "Saunderson" and is English in origin, from the time of the Norman conquests, and can first be found in the county of Durham. The family there is descended from ALEXANDER, a Norman noble who had been granted lands in Waslington, Durham, and whose son, James, took the surname SAUNDERSON.
   Here is a Saunderson pedigree from The antiquities of Nottinghamshire by Robert Thoroton (1623-1678). It begins with ALEXANDER de BEDICK (b. @1280) of Blyth, Nottinghamshire, England. He married JANE CANCELLARI (b. @1280) sometime around 1297. Their son, JAMES (or JACOB) SANDERSON de BEDICK was born around 1300 in Blyth. With him, the Sanderson name begins:

   Our lineage can be traced back to ROBERT SANDERSON, born in 1608, probably in Norwich, Norfolk, England. It has been reported that Robert was a descendent of Sir William Sanderson, a merchant of London who married Mary Gilbert, sister of Sir Humphery Gilbert & half sister of Sir Walter Raleigh. One source has him as a member of a highly prominent family of Higham ferrers, in Northampton county, but the vital records for the period of his birth have been lost.
   Robert apprenticed as a silversmith from 1626 to 1635, to William Rawlins in London, England. His mark (bottom of page) was registered at Goldsmith's Hall in London in 1635, but he left soon after that for the American colonies. A fortune was to be made as a silversmith in the colonies.
   So Robert and brother Edward (1615-1665) and possibly another brother named William left for America aboard the INCREASE, from Ipswitch, England, on 15 Apr 1635. Robert was accompanied by his wife, LYDIA. The full Sanderson clan then lived in Hampton, Rockingham County, New Hampshire. But by the 1640's, Robert and Edward had moved to Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts.
   It is here where the lives of brothers Robert and Edward diverge drastically. Edward lived in the eastern part of Watertown, and sold land as an agent for Capt. Champernowne, even selling his own place and moving to the western part of Waltham. He then married Mary Eggleston on 15 Oct 1645 and moved to a 12-acre lot in what is now the north part of Brandeis University. At the same time, he was successfully sued for slander by Mrs. Sarah Lynne, whom he claimed to have also wed, in October of 1645. She claimed to have lived in fear of him for two years. Edward and his real wife had several children, but only one, Jonathan (b. 15 Sep 1646), is believed to have lived long. On 7 Jul 1663, he was one of twelve freemen of Saco indicted by the Massachusetts Court for not attending to their orders. His occupatiopn was listed as "Proprietor," but he was not prosperous, and he lived in Waltham until his death in 1694 or 1695, under humble circumstances.
   Meanwhile, Robert's life trajectory was much different: On Dec. 6, 1646, Lawrence Waters testified in a court case that Richard Linton of Watertown "granted unto Robert Sanderson of same for a valuable consideration his dwelling house and lot in Watertown" in a deed dated September 1645, so it appears Robert decided to settle there for a local smithing practice. After living in Watertown (in the part that is now Belmont) for about a decade, Robert moved to Boston and became very successful as the partner of fellow silversmith John Hull. With Hull, Robert became Master of the Massachusetts Mint for many years. His work and social life flourished and he became a deacon, hobnobbed with the most prominent Bostonians, and was frequently appointed by them to positions of trust. Why the brothers parted ways isn't known.
   As a silversmith, Robert enjoyed a great many advantages over his brother. His work was highly sought after, because until the arrival of the silversmith, Colonists in the New World only used what utensils they could make. Probably the first plates and perhaps even the first spoons were made of wood. This early ware was known as "treen"—a term derived from the word trees. But there were also pewterers among the early settlers and they were soon making spoons and plates of pewter.
   Silversmiths were rare in early America and highly regarded in the community—and Robert Sanderson was one of the best. He and Lydia were among the first settlers in Hampton, New Hampshire, and he was made freeman in the 7th of September in 1639. Little remains of Robert's work in Hampton, but we can assume it was in high demand, and he was quickly accepted into the local society.
   Prosperous citizens and clergy took their coins to Robert and had them melted down and fashioned into household articles—spoons, tankards, and porringers. After melting the coins, Robert refined the metal, and poured it into a skillet to form a flat block of silver. The block was hammered out to the desired thickness and worked into whatever article the patron ordered. The metal was worked while cold, but was repeatedly heated over charcoal to prevent brittleness and to make it tougher. This process was called "annealing."
   A finished article was polished by rubbing with pumice and then with a burnisher. This method did not cut away the surface but simply rubbed it smooth while leaving some hammer marks. Collectors feel that these marks add to the charm of a piece of old silver. The surface of antique silver has a patina rather like that of fine old wood and rubbing. Furthermore, since each piece was made by hand, no two were alike.
   A merchant who had his coins made into household articles would have them engraved with initials or crest. In this way his wealth in silver was useful; it was still an investment, but it was not likely to be stolen, for initialed silver was fairly easy to trace. Old records show that sometimes articles of silver were stolen, but after advertisements appeared with a detailed description of some family piece, it was usually returned and the thief punished.
   According to the book "Hands that built New Hampshire: the story of granite state craftsmen past & present:"

"The first New Hampshire silversmith of which there is any record was Robert Sanderson, a highly trained English 'goldsmith'. In 1638, at the age of thirty, he took up eighty acres in the town of Hampton and lived there for four years. Then he went to Boston, where he became associated with his friend, John Hull, silversmith and master of the mint which was established by the General Court in Boston, 1652. There are no proofs that Sanderson ever worked at his trade in Hampton. The only evidence of his New Hampshire sojourn is found in the neglected grave of his wife, Lydia; in the tradition that his daughter, Mary, was the first white child born in Hampton; and in the positive record that he owned property on the plantation."

Cross

   The line about the "neglected grave of his wife, Lydia" seems to imply that the authors knew of a gravestone for Robert's wife in Hampton (probably at the Pine Grove Cemetery, pictured above). So by the time Robert moved to Watertown in 1642, Lydia had probably died. But Robert married again: to MARY CROSS before 1641, in Hampton. She was the widow of John Cross, and together they had sailed to America on the same ship as Robert from England. Mary was born in 1617, and died on the 21st of June, 1691, in New Haven, Connecticut.
   After three years in Hampton, Robert and Mary moved to Watertown, Massachusetts, and from there to Boston, where Robert would go on to make his name and fortune. Mary was beside him for most of those years.
   The next great partnership in Robert's life was made with John Hull, a silversmith from London—and probably the first silversmith to work in Boston. Together they would create some great work... And become very rich in the process.
   The first silver articles made by Americans were spoons. (Knives and forks were not in general use until the eighteenth century.) Today American spoons of the seventeenth century are rare, although many must have been made. The reason for their scarcity today is probably because they got such hard use that they had to be melted down and reformed, either into a later spoon design or into other articles. But whatever the reason for scarcity, the few early spoons known to still exist today are in museums or private collections.
   One fine early spoon with the mark of Sanderson and Hull is in the Essex Institute in Salem, Massachusetts (you can see it in the top photo). It has a large bowl like a fig, and the handle is a straight piece. This type, usually called the "Puritan spoon," is the earliest known design in this country.

A cup, a caudlecup and a tankard created by Robert Sanderson, between 1670-1680, on display in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. The tankard was made for Isaac and Mary (Balston) Vergoose. This is the only tankard known from the first generation of American smiths.

   After the spoon, the porringer, bowl, and tankard were made by silversmiths for food and drink. Liquor in some form was generally enjoyed by everyone in those days, even by the clergy. Those who could afford it had these articles made of silver. The tankards were usually made large to hold the large quantities of liquor necessary to stay warm in a cold climate. (At least that was the excuse.)
   Because the settlers of New England were religious (mostly Puritan), the first silver made there was usually for churches and reflected the simple tastes of the people. Even today many New England churches are proud owners of early silver that has been treasured for generations. (Robert was a member of the First Church in Boston, and made many silver products for his place of worship. You can see his work for the church in the Museum of Fine Arts today.)

THE FIRST MONEY IN AMERICA

   Until 1652, the Colonies had no currency. In that year, John Hull was made mintmaster by the General Court of Massachusetts. When Hull was named master of the Mint, he took Robert, a more accomplished silversmith aand whom he called "another godly goldsmith," into partnership. Despite this godly nature, Hull cut an outrageous deal with the British—his share in the profits of the mint was fifteen pence out of every twenty shillings—and soon he became the wealthiest man in America.¹ Robert did pretty well, too (rumor has it that later in life, he kept minting coins even after their contract with the British was up).
   Hull & Sanderson produced the willow-tree, oak tree, and pine-tree shilling used in the New England Colonies until 1683. A mint committee document dated 11 June 1652 recorded the oath of office created for the deposition of the mintmasters: "Itt is Ordered that the Oath here vnder written shall be the oath that John Hull and Robt Saunderson shall take as aequall officers In the minting of mony &c." The oath then began as follows: "Whereas yow : John Hull and Robert Saunderson are Appointed by the order of the Gennerall Courte bearing date the 10th of June 1652. to be officers for the massachusetts Jurisdiction in New England, for the melting, Refyning, and Coining of silver..."
   Customers brought in silver buttons, tankards, goblets, knives, old sword hilts, spoons and European coins which were melted down and converted into the coinage. Hull and Sanderson's fee was handsome—they kept one out of every twenty shillings minted—plus "wastage" (leftover scraps)—but their risk was great as well, because they were defying a restriction imposed by the English government which forbade private coinage in the colonies. But the Pine Tree Shilling was so useful in the colonies that the English government chose to ignore its existence rather than attempt to suppress its circulation—which was an important early step toward American independence.
   Robert worked from 1652 to 1683 with Hull in Boston, partnered as HULL & SANDERSON. This partnership also produced many fine pieces of silver, always identifiable with Hull and Sanderson's marks. They were New England's first master silversmiths, and created the earliest known piece of American silver: a dram cup made by the partners, now in the Yale University Art Gallery. (In 2001, their work earned the record bid for American silver made circa 1660—$775,750.)
   On October 1, 1683, John Hull died. It isn't known whether Sanderson continued to work at the mint after Hull's death—since all of the coins were marked "1652," it's impossible to know if he kept minting them. There is no evidence as to when the mint actually closed its doors. Sanderson could have kept the operation going on a part time basis until the silver supply was depleted. A series of letters from the London mint and the Royal Treasury dated from 1684 through 1686 list several objections to the reestablishment of the Boston mint, so we can assume the mint was defunct by that time.
   But Sanderson continued to work as a silversmith after Hull's death.
   All that we can be sure that Robert created himself are the following children:

CHILDREN OF ROBERT SANDERSON AND MARY CROSS

WILLIAM SANDERSON was born in New Hampshire. He married Mrs Sarah Sanderson on 18 Dec 1666 in Watertown Middlesex MA. (Mrs Sarah Sanderson was born about 1645 in Watertown Middlesex MA and died in Groton Middlesex MA.) Family listed below.

JOSEPH SANDERSON was born on 01 Jan 1645, in Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire. Apprenticed about 1658 to Robert Sanderson in Boston MA. John Hull's diary on 8 Nov 1658 reads, " Robert Sanderson and his son Joseph were very ill and lost several days work before they recovered." Joseph died when only 25 in 1667. Just before his widow's remarriage, a deed dated Dec. 21, 1681, made arrangements for property of Joseph Sanderson's children.

BENJAMIN SANDERSON was born on 29 Jul 1649, in Watertown, Middlesex, MA. Christened: 29 Jul 1649. Apprenticed about 1662 to Robert Sanderson in Boston MA. A caudle cup made by him is the only known work of any of the three sons of Robert Sanderson. Boston Births, 1630-99 records birth of Mary, 1677; Benjamin, 1674; and Joseph, 1673, all children of Benjamin and Mary Sanderson.

SARAH SANDERSON was born on 18 Jan 1651, in Watertown, Middlesex, MA. Christened: 18 Jan 1651, Watertown Middlesex MA.

ROBERT SANDERSON was born on 22 Oct 1652, in Watertown, Middlesex, MA, and christened on 22 Oct 1652. Apprenticed about 1665 to Robert Sanderson in Boston MA.

JOHN SANDERSON was born about 1654, in Watertown, Middlesex, MA. According to John Hull's diary on 1 Sep 1658, "My boy John Sanderson, complained of his head aching, and took his bed; a strong fever set in, and after 17 days' sore sickness, he departed this life."

ANNE SANDERSON was born about 1654, in Watertown, Middlesex, MA. She married a man named West, according to Robert's will.

   As Robert's fame and fortune grew, he apprenticed his sons, Joseph Sanderson (1653 in Boston), Benjamin Sanderson (about 1662 in Boston), and Robert Sanderson (about 1665 in Boston). It took seven years of apprenticeship to develop a silversmith in this country. A lad born in the Colonies would be apprenticed at fourteen to a master who had recently come from London. The boy stayed with his master until he was twenty-one and then he too became a master silversmith, if he had proved his skill. But the dynasty was not to be: Joseph and Benjamin died young. Robert Jr., was the only son to survive his father and carry on the business in Watertown. However, his mark and therefore his products, have not been identified. And Benjamin, apparently embittered toward his family, ignored them all in his will, dated Dec. 11, 1678, on file at Suffolk Probate. It names Robert Sr. as executor and the North Church and Mary Sinderlin, sister, as legatees, stating "the rest of my estate to be given to some honest Poor persons."
   Robert Sr., himself, died on the 7th of October, 1693, in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts. By this time he had been married a third time, with his new wife mentioned in his will (he left his brother Edward one measly cow).
   His first son with Mary, WILLIAM SANDERSON, was born between 1641-1643, in Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire. Some genealogies list him as the son of Robert and his first wife, Lydia, and born in 1641. It's just our hereditary luck that William appears to be the only one of Robert's sons with no talent for smithing. He apparently decided not to follow in his father's footsteps, and never apprenticed under him, as far as we know. Whether this is because he rebelled against Robert, or, like this descendant, he couldn't soder two pieces of tin together in shop class without setting fire to somebody, we don't know. William married a girl named SARAH on the 18th of December, 1666, in Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts, and died there after 1680 (Sarah was born about 1645 in Watertown and died in Groton, Middlesex.). William's early death is a reason that there's no mention of him in Robert's will, which caused confusion among genealogists who once questioned their relationship. However, in the will of Robert's third wife, Elizabeth, Mary and Lydia, William's daughters, are mentioned. They and William's other children are listed here:

CHILDREN OF WILLIAM AND SARAH SANDERSON

JOHN SANDERSON was born on 13 Oct 1667, Watertown, Middlesex, MA.

SARAH SANDERSON was born on 17 Mar 1668, in Watertown, Middlesex, MA. She died on 31 DEC 1749, in Watertown, Middlesex, MA.

WILLIAM SANDERSON, JR., was born on 06 Sep 1670, Watertown Middlesex MA. He was married on 14 May 1704, in Watertown. He died in Sudbury or Farmingham, MA.

ROBERT SANDERSON was born on 22 Oct 1652, Watertown, Middlesex, MA, and christened on 22 Oct 1652.

MARY SANDERSON was born on 30 Nov 1671, in Watertown, Middlesex, MA.

HANNAH SANDERSON was born on 05 May 1674, in Watertown, Middlesex, MA.

LYDIA SANDERSON was born on 21 Apr 1679, in Watertown, Middlesex, MA.

JOSEPH SANDERSON was born on 28 Aug 1680, in Watertown, Middlesex, MA. He married Bethia Kemp. Their son Joseph, was born 8/30/1714, Groton, MA and died 3/20/1772 in Whately, MA. Joseph Sr. died in 1736, in Groton, Middlesex, MA.

Shattuck

   Their son, WILLIAM SANDERSON, JR., was born on the sixth of September in 1670, in Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts. He married ANNA SHATTUCK on the 14th of May, 1703/04, in Watertown. She was from another prominent (and very large) family in town (Robert Sanderson mentioned a "kinsman" named William Shattuck in his will of 1693). Anna was the daughter of DR. PHILLIP SHATTUCK. (Dr. Phillip was a "physician of eminence and was chosen moderator of town meetings, held the office of assessor, town treasurer, chairman of the selectmen, and many other important stations of public trust.")
   Fortunately both families are well-chronicled. According to Genealogies of the Families and Descendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts, by Dr. Henry Bond (1860), and Memorial of the Descendants of William Shattuck, by Lemuel Shattuck (1855), Anna was born on the eighth of December, 1677, in Watertown, and died after 1740.
   She and William lived in Watertown for about ten years, then moved to nearby Sudbury, as is evidenced by the birth records of the following children:

CHILDREN OF WILLIAM SANDERSON AND ANNA SHATTUCK

WILLIAM SANDERSON III was born on 10 Apr 1706, in Watertown, Middlesex MA. William married REBECCA MORGAN on 20 May 1723 in Springfield Hampden MA. Died: 05 Jul 1750, Springfield Hampden MA.

AMOS SANDERSON was born on 07 Aug 1708, in Watertown, Middlesex, MA.

ISAAC SANDERSON was born on 08 Aug 1714, in Watertown, Middlesex, MA. Married: 24 Dec 1740, in Watertown to Keziah Bright, daughter of Henry Bright and Margaret Jackson. (Keziah Bright was born on 27 Jul 1717 in Watertown Middlesex MA.

LYDIA SANDERSON was born on 17 Dec 1704, in Watertown, Middlesex, MA.

ANNA SANDERSON was born on 22 May 1709, in Sudbury, Middlesex, MA. Married on 04 Nov 1741, in Sudbury to John Rice, son of Ephraim Rice and Hannah Livermore. (John Rice was born on 23 Apr 1704 in Sudbury Middlesex MA and died on 07 Dec 1771 in Sudbury Middlesex MA.)

DEBORAH SANDERSON was born on 14 Jan 1711, in Sudbury, Middlesex, MA.

Morgan

   Their son, WILLIAM III, was born on the 10th of April in 1706, in Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts. He married REBECCA MORGAN (20 Oct 1695 - 22 Feb 1775) on the 20th of May in 1723 and they raised a family in her hometown of Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
   The Morgans were extremely prominent in Springfield. Her grandfather, MILES MORGAN, was an adventurer, explorer, Indian fighter, constable, and local hero for his exploits during King Philip's War. Legend has it that he saw a beautiful girl (PRUDENCE GILBERT) in Bristol on a dock, about to sail for America, and simply dropped his things and followed her to the New World. Once there, he quickly became a colony leader, despite his age (21), and created the town of Springfield. A life-size statue of Captain Morgan still adorns Court Square, Springfield. The colossal bronze artwork, sculpted by Jonathan Scott Hartley, shows Miles in huntsman's dress, jackboots, and cocked hat, with a rifle over his shoulder as he stands vigilant over the town, over 300 years after his death.
   The Morgan family started in ancient Wales, and Rebecca was descended from two separate branches. The family line is responsible for many famous descendants (beyond us, I mean): Daniel Boone (his mother was a Morgan), Millard Fillmore, Morgan the Pirate, John Robbinson Jeffers, John Pierpont (J.P.) Morgan, General John Hunt Morgan, Archibald MacLeish, Humphrey Bogart, Thomas Lanier ("Tennessee") Williams, and more recently Princess Diana Spencer and her sons.

CHILDREN OF WILLIAM SANDERSON AND REBECCA MORGAN

WILLIAM SANDERSON, IV, b: 13 May 1724 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts. Died: before 1729.

MEDAD SANDERSON, b: 7 May 1726 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts. He married SARAH NICHOLSON on 7 May 1753. Died: 11 Sep 1781.

REBECCA SANDERSON, b: 27 Jun 1728 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts. She married JAMES NASH on 25 Oct 1770. Died: 24 May 1815.

ELNATHAN SANDERSON Born: 03 Jul 1730, Springfield, Hampden, MA.

AMAZIAH SANDERSON, b: 1 Sep 1732 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts. He married ABIGAIL STEELE on 26 Jun 1751.

ROBERT SANDERSON, b: 13 Jul 1734 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts. Christened: 23 Jul 1734. Died: Aug 1798, in Chester, Hampden, MA. Family listed below. He died between 1790 and 1800.

   William died on the fifth of July, 1750, but Rebecca lived another 25 years. Their son, ROBERT SANDERSON (b. 13 Jul 1734) married RHODA STEELE (b. 22 Jun 1735 in Hampden) on the eighth of March in 1754, in Springfield. They lived in Chester, Hampshire, Mass., and had a LOT of kids:

Waters

   Robert and Rhoda finally quit after 13 kids, probably because they had run out of names after "Submit," "Thankful" and "Charity." They even used one name twice, to name our ancestor, ELNATHAN SANDERSON (1777 - 1854). At this time, a child was often named after a deceased sibling as a tribute. There is no record of the death of the first Elnathan, nor really ANY kind of record, but we know he was born to Robert and Rhoda in late 1755 or early 1756. This means he could have died in infancy, like a large percentage of children in that rough time, but it seems unlikely that Robert would wait twenty years to honor his name with another child. But Elnathan I would have been about 21 years old at the time of the American Revolution, a year before Elnathan II was born, and Massachusetts was the flashpoint at the start of the war, so he could have died in battle².
   Whatever happened, the second Elnathan, our ancestor, was born and named in late 1777. He was Christened on the 5th of January, 1778.

Personal Information Census Image Name: Sanderson, Robert Township: Chester County: Hampshire State: Mass. Year: 1790 Roll: M637_4 Page: 105 Image: 0161 Slaves: 0 View image View blank 1790 census form  (PDF 13K) Personal Information Census Image Name: Sanderson, Elnathan Township: Chester County: Hampshire State: Mass. Year: 1800 Roll: M32_15 Page: 1122 Image: 148 Slaves: 0 View image SOURCE INFORMATION: 1790 & 1800 US Census Records. Index created from United States of America, Bureau of the Census.

   In 1790, Elnathan II was still living with Robert, the only male out of three under age 16, along with two females. But by the 1800 census, Elnathan was the only male in the house, living with one woman over the age of 45 (presumably his widowed mother). According to a Hause Family Bible in the possession of Jerry Hause in Michigan, Elnathan married BETSEY WATERS soon after that, on February 12, 1801 in Chester, Hampshire, Mass. (It's spelled "WALTERS" by some genealogical sources, but WATERS here: Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT, Film # 0760646 & 0879889)
   David and Betsy had nine children:

CHILDREN OF ELNATHAN SANDERSON AND BETSEY WATERS

BETSY SANDERSON, was born in 1802 in Massachusetts. In 1860 she was living with her brother Sherman and his family in Conneaut, Crawford, Pennsylvania.

DAVID SANDERSON was born on 28 Apr 1804 in Massachusetts. In the early teens of the 19th Century his family moved to New York, where he married POLLY BRIGGS. They had a son, Edward, then moved to Ohio, where more children followed. During the 1850's he moved to Riley Center, Michigan, and in the next few decades, more Sandersons followed. Polly died in 1867, and David passed away in 1884.

JULIA SANDERSON was born in 1806. No further information.

EDWARD W. SANDERSON was born in 1809 in New York. In the 1830's he traveled to Bainbridge Township, Gauga County, Ohio, along with his brother, David (they were neighbors in the 1840 and 1850 census), where they did farmwork. In 1854 he moved to Conneaut, Crawford, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Nancy J. (b. 1811 in Herkimer Co., NY, according to the 1888 Meadville, PA Tribune Republican Centennial Edition, May 12 1888), and children Fedelia E (24), Sarah E (14), William E (19), and twins Hen(r)y and Henretta (13). In the 1870 census, Fedelia was gone but Henry's wife Sarah J. (21) and their one month-old daughter Ettie were added to the brood. In 1880, Nancy was still in Pennsylvania, living next to Henry, and listed as a widow with William E. and Henrietta still at home. She was still there at age 90 in 1900, with William farming the property with Henry's daughter, Nellie tending the house.

MARVIN SANDERSON was born in 1811. No further information.

SHERMAN STEPHANSON SANDERSON was born in 1814 in New York, according to the 1850 Cenus, which shows him employed as a farmer, living near his brothers in Russell, Geauga, Ohio, with his wife, 30 year-old Orvilla (or Aurelia), who he was issued a marriage license with on 25 Dec 1840 in Ohio. They have one child in the census, 5 year-old daughter Alice. Their son Charles S. was born @ 1853. Geauga County then lists Sherman as marrying Lovina Green on o4 May 1856. Both marriages were in Russell Township. In 1860 they had moved to Conneaut, Crawford, Pennsylvania, and had a daughter, Emma, in 1862 and a son, James, in 1866. Sherman moved to Michigan sometime after 1870 near his brother, David, and is listed as a "cheese maker" on the 1880 Census. They owned an extremely large property in Memphis.

DELANA SANDERSON was born in 1817. No further information.

AMANDA SANDERSON was born in 1819. No further information.

SILVIA J. SANDERSON was born in 1822. No further information.

   The Sandersons moved to Russia township, Herkimer county, New York, around 1810—which was very fortuitous for Elnathan's first son, David, and second son, Edward, who married local beauties. They remained there for the next few decades.

Personal Information Census Image Name: Sanderson, Elnathan Township: Russia County: Herkimer State: New York Year: 1810 Roll: M252_27 Page: 403 Image: 223.00 M -10: 2 M, 26-45: 1 F -10: 2 F, 26-45: 1 View image View blank 1810 census form Personal Info Census Image Name: Sanderson, Elnathan Township: Russia County: Herkimer State: New York Year: 1820 Roll_Page: 67_44 M, 1-10 : 2 M, 16-26 : 1 M, 26-45 : 1 F, 1-16 : 3 F, 16-26: 1 F, 26-45: 1 View image View blank 1820 census form Personal Info Census Image Name: Sanderson, Elnathan Township: Russia County: Herkimer State: New York Year: 1830 Roll_Page: 91_29 M, 15-20 : 2 M, 50-60 : 1 F, 5-10 : 1 F, 10-15 : 2 F, 20-30: 1 F, 40-50 : 1 View image View blank 1830 census form Personal Info Census Image Name: Sanderson, Elnathan Township: Philadelphia County: Jefferson State: New York Year: 1840 Roll_Page: 291_56 M, 60-70 : 1 F, 30-40 : 1 F, 40-50 : 1 F, 60-70 : 1 View image View blank 1840 census form SOURCE INFORMATION: United States Federal Census. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington DC.

Briggs

   DAVID (1804 - 1884) is the next Sanderson in our line. While living with his family in New York, he met POLLY BRIGGS (1811 - 1867), the daughter of another Massachusetts transplant named LEMUEL BRIGGS, in a line descended from a famous Minuteman who fought at the battle of Bunker Hill. The Briggs family now lived in the same New York township as the Sandersons (they appear two pages later in the 1830 census). And in 1831, David married Polly.
   David and Polly had their first son, whom they named Edward, after David's brother, in New York. But their new family soon moved on from that state, in pursuit of more plentiful (and cheaper) land.
   New York had long since been cultivated, and since most of the remaining Indian land had been divided up to veterans after the Revolution and War of 1812, there was little new land to start a family on by the 1830's. So David and Polly eventually moved to Bainbridge Township, Gauga County, Ohio, along with David's brothers, Edward and Sherman, sometime in the early 1830's (they were neighbors in the 1840 census), where David apparently worked as a yeoman. The days of the Sandersons being the richest family in the country were long over, since the money that Robert had accumulated had been dispersed out to countless descendants, and countless descendants of those descendants, over a hundred and fifty years. So David had to work his way up from lowly yeoman to start his own farm.

A sample page from a Sanderson family genealogy, in possession of Jerry Hause of Michigan.

Personal Information Census Image Name: Sanderson, David Township: Bainbridge County: Geauga State: Ohio Roll: 339 Page: 345 Year: 1840 View image View blank 1840 census form  (PDF 136K) SOURCE INFORMATION: United States Federal Census. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington DC

   Around 1854, the brothers parted ways, with David moving north to Michigan while Edward and Sherman went to Pennsylvania.
   David and Polly's family settled in Riley Center, Michigan, sometime before 1855. David's brother, Sherman Sanderson, would follow later with his family. (Apparently his venture with their brother Edward in Pennsylvania hadn't worked out, so he reunited with David.)
   Michigan had only been a state for about twenty years, and there was plenty of new land to acquire. David bought a nice piece of real estate, building a farm worth $4000 by 1860, and had a personal estate of $1879, as well. In 1876, David & Edward Sanderson (his son) had separate but adjoining acreage, west of the Belle River. By the 1880 census, the value of the property had more than doubled.

Personal Information Census Image Name: David Sanderson Age: 45 Birthplace: NY (sic) Home in 1850: Banebridge Township Gauga County, Ohio Gender: Male Estimated Birth Year: 1804 Birth State New York Family (on next page) Click here Page: 302 Roll: M432_603 Year: 1850 View image View blank 1850 census form  (PDF 136K) Personal Information Census Image Name: David Sanderson Age: 56 Birthplace: Mass. Home in 1860: Riley, St Clair County, Michigan Estimated Birth Year: 1804 Post Office: Memphis Roll: M653_559 Value of Real Estate: 4000 Value of Personal Estate: 1879 Year: 1860 View image View blank 1860 census form  (PDF 136K) SOURCE INFORMATION: 1850 and 1860 United States Federal Census. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington DC

   In the 1860 Census, there are two boarders in the David Sanderson house: James and Juliette "Pinkman" (or Pincombe), brother and sister aged 27 and 23 respectively. They became more than just boarders, however! James was already married to Mary Sanderson, and Juliette would soon marry Edward. David and Polly had five children, and two Pincombes:

CHILDREN OF DAVID SANDERSON AND POLLY BRIGGS

EDWARD SANDERSON was born bet. 1830 - 1832 in New York. He was living with his parents in 1850 at age 19, but appears on his own in the 1860 Census. Edward married Juliette C. Pincombe (sometimes spelled Pinkham) bet. 1860 - 1870; She was born @1837 in Beaford, Devon, England, the daughter of Richard & Margaret Pincombe. He and Juliette had a daughter, Orpha Sanderson ("niece" in 1880 census, with parents from Ohio and Canada which could meanshe was the child of Edward's brother George and wife Jessie). Edward's father, David, moved in with them at Riley Center after Polly died. Ed had a cheese factory on his farm. He died in 1907. (Information from Eileen Lawrence, great, great-granddaughter of Mary C. Sanderson Pincombe.)

MARY CORDILIA SANDERSON was born in July of 1835 in Ohio. Around 1860, she married JAMES PINCOME (10 Apr 1833 - 28 Dec 1912), brother of Edward Sanderson's wife, Julliette. He was a stone and brick mason, a trade he learned from his father. In 1865, 32-year-old James enlisted for service of 1 yr in the Union Army. He was assigned to Co. B, 29th Regiment, then transferred to Co B 22nd Regiment. Physical description: 5 ft - 5", grey eyes, fair skin, brown hair. James and Mary had five chidren: William E. (1861-1912), Esther E. (1863-1890), Polly Jennie (1867-1946), Sarah Melissa (1871-?), and Charles Arthur (1877-1948). Mary died on 22 Feb 1903, in Michigan. James died on 28 Dec 1912 in Mobile, Alabama. Photos at right (click to enlarge): Mary with her daughters—Polly Jennie Pincombe (Lown) is at right; James Pincome with granddaughter Ina (b. 1895); William Pincome, first-born of James and Mary (and Ina's father). Photos courtesy of Mary's great-granddaughter Joyce Keeney (née: McKeehan).

MELISSA SANDERSON was born on 09 Oct 1839 in Bainbridge, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio. She became a schoolteacher in Memphis, Michigan, at age 15. She then married the family's neighbor, LABAN HAUSE. They had four children, Alice, Sarah, Frank and Edith, listed below. Melissa died in Memphis, MI in 1921. Read a Hause genealogy by Melissa here. Read a letter written by Melissa to her grandson Ray here.

ESTHER SANDERSON was born in 1841 in Ohio.

GEORGE SANDERSON was born in 1848 in Ohio. In 1880 he was farming in Riley, St. Clair County, MI with his wife, Jessey (25, she immigrated from Canada in 1870), and children David (4), Bertha (3), and Ida E. (4 mos.). Another child, Aaron, was born the next year. By 1910, George and "Jessie" were living in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he was working as a carpenter. In 1920 Jessie is listed as a widow, still in Florida, living near Aaron, now a mechanic, and his family.

Melissa Sanderson: Could that gold jewelry be handed down from great, great, great, great, great grandpa Robert? (Click to enlarge)

   Their third child, MELISSA SANDERSON (10/9/1839 - 11/25/1921), was a smart, industrious woman who became a school teacher at the amazing age of fifteen.
   Education had always been important in the Sanderson family. In 1642, the Puritan government in Robert Sanderson' home colony of Massachusetts passed a law in which parents and the masters of apprentice's had to educate their children, or the state would take them away. Robert took this law seriously and always trained apprentices in his studios, including three of his sons. Then in 1647, another law was passed declaring that towns of fifty families were to provide a teacher for elementary instruction, which created the first public schooling in America. In Michigan, public education was in the first state Constitution of 1837, and the model presented in that document was so successful that it was copied by many states, like California. Melissa qualified to teach primary schools in St. Clair County on November 3, 1855.
   While teaching, Melissa (or "Melissy" as she was sometimes called) was romanced by LABAN HAUSE, a friend of her father's and a recent widower trying to make do while starting a farm and raising a two-year-old daughter, Elma, by himself. (Laban's first wife, SARAH DYSINGER, died from complications after Elma's birth. David Sanderson had witnessed the signing of a deed in Michigan when Laban and Sarah sold some land back in New York.)
   21-year-old Melissa had hardly even been romanced with such a strict upbringing, let alone married before like Laban. Still, love blossomed, and in 1860 they were married in Riley Center, Michigan. Melissa raised Laban's daughter as her own, and had four more children with him, as well (listed below).

CHILDREN OF MELISSA SANDERSON AND LABAN HAUSE

ALICE HAUSE was born in 1861. She married Senica Young and had one son, F. Arthur Young, in 1880. A letter by Melissa Hause from 1920 says Alice was living in a tent in California with her husband's sister-in-law at the time. In 1930, Alice lived alone in Memphis, next to Ida Dysinger. Alice died in 1939. She was buried in Millington, MI. Click on the image at right to read Alice's obituary.

SARAH L. HAUSE was born on 16 April 1863. She died from food poisoning that she contracted from canned beans at the reception of her own wedding to Arthur Baker on 11 Nov 1880. At right is the only known photo of Sarah Hause-Baker, from the scrapbooks of Charles Hause Jackson, in the collection of Jerry Hause. It was probably taken on her fateful wedding day. Named after her father's first wife, Sarah Dysinger, they all rest together in the Memphis Cemetery.

FRANK AUGUSTUS HAUSE was born in 1867. He married FLADELLA RAYMOND (6 Sept. 1869 - 19 July 1961) and went into business with his uncle, C. Oakes (husband of Laban's sister, Basheba Hause), and then with his brother-in-law, George Cottington, husband of Edith. Frank and Fladella had five children, all boys, listed below. Frank died in Memphis, Michigan, on 3 May 1951. The photo at right is from the Hause family Bible, in the collection of Jerry Hause. Click on the photo at right to access the Frank Hause Genealogy Page.

EDITH HAUSE was born in 1871. She married George Cottington in 1900. They ran a general store in Memphis, Michigan, with her brother Frank and his wife, Fladella (detailed in the next chapter). Edith and Joseph had four children: Josephine Pray, Frances, William H., and John Cottington. Edith died in 1949. At right is a photo of Edith from the Hause family Bible, in the collection of Jerry Hause.

   Later in life, Melissa opened a boarding house in Ypsilanti, Michigan with her daughter-in-law, FLADELLA RAYMOND, to finance the college education of three of her grandsons. (Fladella's father, a blacksmith, would've been very impressed that Melissa was a direct descendant of one of the greatest silversmiths in American history—if Melissa even knew by that point.)
   Meanwhile, David continued to run the farm after Polly died. In 1870 he was running it with his son, Edward. Edward's wife, Juliette, was helped around the house by a domestic servant, and a farm laborer lived there, as well. By 1880 David had retired completely.

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