William Thompson Anderson (abt. 1839 - 1864)

Born about 1839 in Hopkins, Kentucky, United States

Husband of Malinda A. (Smith) Anderson — married 3 Mar 1864 in Sherman, Grayson, Texas, United States

Died 26 Oct 1864 at about age 25 in Albany, Ray, Missouri, United States

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Biography

William Anderson is Notable.

He was one of the deadliest and most brutal pro-Confederate guerrilla leaders in the American Civil War. Anderson led a band that targeted Union loyalists and Federal soldiers in Missouri and Kansas.

One of his worst and most infamous was,

The Raid on Danville, Missouri October 14, 1864

William T. "Bloody Bill Anderson"

"Danville was not garrisoned with active Union militia when Anderson arrived. Many militia units had been called up to help repel General Price’s invasion, so only a few civilians were left to protect the village, though several of these men had served time as Union militiamen and had been mustered out of service.20 A few of them were discussing who would take on guard duty near the Watkins & Drury store in town when the band of guerrillas appeared quite suddenly before them in the twilight, between 8 and 9 o’ clock at night. Anderson gave the order to “Fire on them.” The attack had begun. Within moments there were guerrillas all over town. M. A Gilbert and Henry L. Diggs were the first men to be killed in the initial moments."

"Oct 14 1864 " Henry L. Diggs (24 years old) ..shot down and killed near the sidewalk"... at Danville- (History of St. Charles, Montgomery and Warren Counties, Missouri) - page 648.

Burried: Pioneer Cemeteary, Richland, Ray County, Missouri.

Sources

• "United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHT5-2VV : 19 May 2020), William C Anderson, Liberty Township, Marion, Missouri, United States; citing p. 86, NARA microfilm publication , (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll ; FHL microfilm .[1]
• "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDZJ-56X : 4 April 2020), William Anderson in household of William Anderson, Salt Spring, Randolph, Missouri, United States; citing family 269, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).[2]
• "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M664-JLK : 11 November 2020), William T Anderson in entry for William C Anderson, 1860.[3]
• Marriage of William T Anderson and Miss Bush Smith in Grayson County, Texas March 3, 1864, page 13 {http://usgenwebsites.org/TXGrayson/records/1846-1877_GCMarriages/Marriages1846-1877_5.html}
• Operation Report 52 reporting the death of William T. Anderson{https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077730046&view=1up&seq=466}

See also:

• Bio by wikipedia.com

Research Notes

Lieutenant William T “Bloody Bill” Anderson married Bush Smith in Sherman, Grayson County, Texas, March 3, 1864. He was killed October 26, 1864, in Ray County, Missouri, After William’s death, his brother, James M Anderson, brought their surviving sisters to Grayson County. Mary Ellen “Mollie” married A V Doak June 28, 1865, in Grayson County. Martha Jane “Mattie” married E G Douglass February 20, 1867.

The B P Smith family, including Malinda, 10 months old, lived in Red River County, Texas, in the 1850 census. In 1851, the family moved to Sherman, Texas, where Burrell became the first mayor in 1858, and died from tuberculosis in 1859. The Smith family was not found in the 1860 census of Grayson County. Bush Smith married William Anderson March 3, 1864, and was widowed in October 1864. Jim Anderson and his sisters came to Grayson County in late 1864. Mollie married A V Doak in 1865. Mattie married E G Douglass in 1867. There are stories that James Anderson married his brother’s widow. A Grayson County marriage record shows that J M Anderson married Malinda Anderson August 22, 1866. If this was Malinda Smith, the surname of her previous husband, and not her birth name, would be on the marriage record. James Anderson married Mary Erwin October 21, 1868. After the death of James Anderson in the spring of 1871, Mollie Anderson married B P Smith December 17, 1873. They named their first child Bush Virginia Smith.

After the death of Burrell P Smith in August 1859, the petition of Sarah H. Smith identified 4 children: Malinda A; B P; Paulina; and Virginia H, all under the age of 14.

It seems probable that the full name of William T Anderson’s bride was Bush Malinda Smith. No record of her death has been found.