Fonds med-155 - Anderson, Sanderson family fonds

James Anderson of Stenness, Orkney, who was baptised in 1775, served with the Hudson's Bay Co. at Brandon House. He married a Salteaux woman, Mary (Maria), and they had 14 children. James Anderson and his family later settled on land along the Red River. James was buried in Portage LaPrairie in 1856; his wife Mary, in 1854. John, the eldest son of James and Mary Anderson, was born September 4, 1804. He also worked for the Hudson's Bay Co. John married Mary Desmarais and the couple had 13 children, two of whom died in infancy. John settled close to his parents on the Red River. He died in 1883 and his wife, in 1884. Charles Thomas, the 9th child of John and Mary Anderson, was baptised in 1840. In 1853, he and his entire family moved to Portage LaPrairie where he met and later married Maria Cook in 1859. One of their 13 children, James, settled in Medicine Hat. Charles passed away in 1909. James Thomas Anderson, the 9th child of Charles and Maria was born in Manitoba on March 13, 1874. James and his brother Cohn both suffered from tuberculosis and were advised to move to a drier climate, so both joined the Dominion of Canada Surveying Crew and travelled extensively in Western Canada. James later settled in Medicine Hat. He was involved in the cattle drive at the site which later became known as Drowning Ford, where numerous cattle were lost, and later was employed with one of Medicine Hat's earliest residents, James Sanderson. James Francis Sanderson (1848-1902), who was born in Eastern Canada, accompanied his family on buffalo hunting expeditions to Western Canada. He participated in the opposition to the Riel Rebellion and was taken prisoner by Riel's men. In 1872, he married Maria McKay, the daughter of Edward McKay, a leading Indian trader, who had settled in the Cypress Hills but continued to travel the western prairies and hunt buffalo. They had 4 children, Caroline, Owen, Duncan and Mary. In 1882, the Sandersons' and McKays' moved to Medicine Hat. Here James Francis worked on construction of the CPR, ran a bull herd and collected buffalo bones to be sent east to be made into fertilizer. He also was agent for the coal mine in 1899, held the ice contract for the CPR and was wolf inspector for the district. In addition, he also ran a profitable livery stable. He was considered an expert on Indian culture and wrote a series of articles in 1894, entitled "Indian Tales of the Canadian Prairies". He was among one of the most highly regarded and influential pioneers of the area. As part of his duties while working for James Sanderson, James Anderson was to protect and escort Mary Sanderson, their well-educated daughter. James and Mary married in St. Barnabas church in 1900, and homesteaded in the Golden Valley Farm area and at Finn's Lake. Their 7 children, Charles, Isabelle, Mary, Bertha, Howard, Owen and Dora, were all raised in that area. Both James and Mary were musical and music was very important to their family. They were one of the few families to own a piano, and their love of music was passed to their descendants. Mary passed away in 1952 and James, in 1961. Bertha Laura Sanderson, born October 8, 1907, married Daniel Harry Hogg (born 1903) in June, 1937. Their son, Nelson (April 1, 1939), compiled information about the family and donated it to the archives. Space does not permit further information to be included about these large families. There is much more biographical and general data about various family members in the manuscripts.