Charles Anderson

I recently shared the 11 Crown patents Charles Anderson received, so now let’s take a look at the rest of his story. Charles is my seventh great‑grandfather, connected to me through his son, Parsons Anderson, and later ties into my Wilson/Lankford line in Greene County, Georgia.

There is much about Charles Anderson that remains unknown. His parents, his exact birth date and birthplace, the names of any siblings, the full identity of his wife Elizabeth, when and where they married, and the complete list of their children have not yet been found by me in surviving records. What can be reconstructed is the life of a capable, respected, and deeply rooted man who became one of the most relied‑upon figures in early Prince Edward County in the Virginia British Colonies.

Born sometime between 1715 and 1725, Charles emerges in the 1740s as a substantial landholder along the Appomattox and Buffalo River watersheds. Between 1740 and 1760, he received 11 Crown land patents across Amelia, Goochland, Lunenburg, and Prince Edward Counties, ranging from modest tracts to enormous grants exceeding 3,000 acres. These patents place him among the earliest settlers in the region and show him expanding steadily westward as county boundaries shifted. His land appears repeatedly in neighboring patents, processioning returns (parish boundary walking records), and boundary descriptions, confirming his presence in the Stony Creek–Nottoway corridor, the Dry Creek and Green Creek watersheds, the Buffalo River forks, and the Sandy River region. A 1734 patent to Thomas Haynes even calls out “Charles Anderson’s corner” and “Charles Anderson’s lines,” proving that Charles already owned land in the area where his later patents lay.

By the early 1750s, Charles had become a central figure in Prince Edward County’s civic life. The court relied on him to build and maintain the county’s first courthouse and jail at Worsham, including a 12×16‑foot log jail lined with thick plank, sealed with pitch, fitted with iron bands, and equipped with a brick chimney. 

Approval of Charles’ proposal to build the county courthouse
and jail near his home at Worsham (Prince Edward County Court
Order, March 12, 1754)

He provided his own kitchen as a temporary jail, guarded prisoners for extended periods, and performed maintenance on public buildings and bridges. His ordinary license—renewed year after year—shows he operated a tavern that served travelers, jurors, and neighbors. His militia rank, recorded as both Captain and Colonel, reflects the trust placed in him during a period when local officers handled security, enforcement, and emergency duties. The county also compensated him for legislative service, paying him “Burgess wages” for attending sessions and traveling to Williamsburg.

Excerpts from the November 1754 Prince Edward County
levy order showing payments to Captain Charles Anderson for
guarding prisoners, using his kitchen as a temporary jail,
and performing courthouse maintenance and county labor

Charles appears frequently in civil cases, both as plaintiff and defendant, demonstrating his active role in the county’s legal and economic life. He pursued debt claims, witnessed deeds, proved instruments, served as arbitrator, and participated in processioning teams that reaffirmed neighborhood boundaries. He was appointed to commissions of Oyer and Terminer (special courts empowered to hear and determine serious criminal cases), a sign of high standing, and served as a vestryman of St. Patrick Parish. His land was repeatedly walked and re‑marked in processioning returns, placing him among neighbors such as Bibb, Childress, Price, Cobb, Venable, Richey, Dupee, and Beggar. A 1764 return shows a cluster of Anderson properties—Charles, Parsons, Edmond, and James—indicating a broader family network living on adjoining tracts.

Charles’ wife Elizabeth appears in a July 1754 deed when she privately relinquished her dower, confirming their marriage. Their son Parsons Anderson, born in the late 1730s, appears beside Charles in several records: receiving land from him in 1759, serving as a county guard, appearing in levy lists, and living in the same neighborhood. Although the records never explicitly state that Parsons was Charles’ son, their repeated side‑by‑side appearances strongly support the relationship: Charles conveyed land to Parsons, they lived in the same precincts, were listed consecutively in county service and levy records, and shared boundary lines in processioning returns. Together, these overlapping entries show Parsons functioning as an adult male within Charles’ household and community, consistent with a son who had reached maturity. Other Andersons—James, Edmond, and George—appear in the same precincts and court sessions, suggesting additional kin whose exact relationships remain to be determined.

Throughout the 1750s and early 1760s, Charles remained one of the most dependable men in Prince Edward County. He built the jail, maintained the courthouse, guarded prisoners, operated an ordinary, served as a vestryman, acted as a commissioner, and handled routine civil matters. His land transactions continued, including sales to Archibald Huchelroy, Abraham Martin, George Walton, Henry Ligon, and Richard Woodson. He witnessed deeds, proved instruments, and appeared in levy lists for public work such as repairing Bush River Bridge. His land was sold to Sandy River Parish for a glebe (parish‑owned land that provided the minister with a home, farm, and income), confirming his role in parish affairs.

Charles’ final confirmed appearance occurs in August 1765, when he was paid for two days’ attendance and travel as a witness in a civil case. After that date, he disappears from surviving court minutes, deed books, parish records, land transactions, and tax lists across Prince Edward, Amelia, and Lunenburg Counties. His exact death date and burial place are unknown; the document trail ends. My goal moving forward is to continue piecing together the Anderson family network—identifying family ties, locating missing records, and determining how Charles fits into the larger Anderson lineage of Southside Virginia.

References

• Burrell, LL. B., D.D., Charles Edward, A History of Prince Edward County Virginia: From Its Formation in 1753, to the Present, 1922.
• County court Orders 1, 1754-1759, Prince Edward County, Virginia: Prince Edward. Court Records 1754–1758, images 50–51, 55, 64, 70, 77, 81, 83, 87, 99, 108, 112–113, 115, 125, 144, 161, 164, 198, and 209, FamilySearch.
• County Court Orders 2, 1759-1765, Prince Edward County, Virginia: Prince Edward. Court Records 1759–1765, images 28, 40, 65, 68, 81, 93, 100, 102, 138, 150, 188, 196, 211, 218, 229, and 240, FamilySearch.
• County Court Orders 3, 1765–1767, Prince Edward County, Virginia: Prince Edward. Court Records 1765–1767, images 42 and 69, FamilySearch.
• County Court Orders 7, 1782–1785, Prince Edward County, Virginia: Prince Edward. Court Record Indexes 1782–1785, image 158, FamilySearch.
• Crown patent 1, Land Patents Book 19, 1739–1741, State of Virginia: Virginia. Land Patents 1739–1741, images 227–228, FamilySearch.
• Crown patent 11, Land Patents Book 33, 1756–1761, State of Virginia: Virginia. Land Patents 1756–1761, images 319–320, FamilySearch.
• Crown patent 2, Land Patents Book 21, 1742–1743, State of Virginia: Virginia. Land Patents 1742–1743, image 158, FamilySearch.
• Crown patent 5, Land Patents Book 26, 1747–1748, State of Virginia: Virginia. Land Patents 1747–1748, images 91–92, FamilySearch.
• Crown patent 6, Land Patents Book 28, 1746–1749, State of Virginia: Virginia. Land Patents 1746–1749, image 147, FamilySearch.
• Crown patent 7, Land Patents Book 30, 1750–1752, State of Virginia: Virginia. Land Patents 1750–1752, image 462, FamilySearch.
• Crown patent 8, Land Patents Book 34, 1656–1762, State of Virginia: Virginia. Land Patents 1756–1762, image 99, FamilySearch.
• Crown patents 3 and 4, Land Patents Book 23, 1743–1745, State of Virginia: Virginia. Land Patents 1743–1745, images 519–521 and 525–527, FamilySearch.
• Crown patents 9 and 10, Land Patents Book 30, 1750–1752, State of Virginia: Virginia. Land Patents 1750–1752, image 452–456, FamilySearch.
• Deed Book 1, 1754–1759, Prince Edward County, Virginia, Deeds, images 97 and 217, FamilySearch.
• Episcopal church Vestry Book, 1755-1774, Prince Edward County, Virginia: Prince Edward. Vestry Records 1755–1774, images 9, 10, 73–74, 83, and 91–92, FamilySearch.
• Land Patents Book 15, 1732–1735, State of Virginia: Virginia. Land Patents 1732–1735, image 479–481, FamilySearch.
• Land Patents Book 28, 1746–1749, State of Virginia: Virginia. Land Patents 1746–1749, image 726–728, FamilySearch.
• Land Patents Book 31, 1751-1756, State of Virginia: Virginia. Patent Records 1751–1756, images 66–67 and 548–549, FamilySearch.
• Land Patents Book 34, 1760–1762, State of Virginia: Virginia. Land Patents 1760–1762, images 297–299, FamilySearch.
• Order Book 10, 1764–1765, Lunenburg County, Virginia: Lunenburg. Court Orders 1764–1765, image 213, FamilySearch.
• Order Book 2 1/2-B, 1753–1754, Lunenburg County, Virginia: Lunenburg. Court Orders 1753–1754, images 176, 235, 242, 244, 261, and 278–279, FamilySearch.
• Order Book 2, 1748–1752, Lunenburg County, Virginia: Lunenburg. Court Orders 1748–1752, image 303, FamilySearch.
• Order Book 4, 1755–1757, Lunenburg County, Virginia: Lunenburg. Court Orders 1755–1757, image 122, FamilySearch.
• Parson Anderson, Virginia, U.S., Marriage Records, 1700–1850.