Sacramento County
Biographies
The spirit of a pure, earnest and
noble life burned in the mortal tenement of the late Judge Osmer Walters
Anderson, than whom no citizen of Sacramento was more worthy of the confidence and
esteem of his fellowmen. His life was characterized by inflexible integrity and
absolute loyalty in all of its relations and those who were privileged to
become his intimate friends could have full appreciation of the combined
elements of strength and gentleness, of courage and kindness, of duty and
generosity which were embodied in his make-up. He was an able and conscientious
lawyer and later a wise and just judge, honoring the bench and bar by his life
and labors.
Judge Anderson was a native of Sacramento,
California, born August 22, 1868, his father being the late Major W.A.
Anderson, who was born in Wisconsin February 25, 1845, and came with his
parents across the plains to California in 1849, being four years of age when
he arrived in Sacramento on the 12th of July of that year. With the
exception of five years spent at college, Alexander W. Anderson was thereafter
a resident of Sacramento to the time of his death. During the Civil war he
fought with the Union Army for one year. He was admitted to the supreme court
April 4, 1865, and the same year was elected auditor of Sacramento county and
ex-officio clerk of the board of supervisors, clerk of the board of
equalization and clerk of the board of swamp land commissioners, holding these
offices until March 1868. He entered upon his duties as county auditor just
four days after attaining his majority. He was associated in law practice with
George Cadwallader from 1868 to 1876 and became widely known as an able and
successful attorney, being retained as counsel in some of the most important
civil and criminal cases tried in the courts of this section of the state. He
made a commendable record as city attorney of Sacramento from 1875 until March
1878, then returned to private practice and was again city attorney from 1880
to 1886, while later he served for a number of years as judge of the Sacramento
police court. He was United States supervisor of the census in 1890,
represented his district in the general assembly in 1893 and long figured
prominently in public affairs as well as professional circles of his adopted
city and state. His political support was given to the republican party. W.A.
Anderson was appointed assistant adjutant general of the Fourth Brigade of the
California National Guard by Governor Frederick F. Low in 1867 and thus served
with the rank of major for thirteen years. He possessed marked literary
ability, writing much for the press and along general lines. He was a lifelong
student, a lover of literature and the drama and was the author of a number of
clever dramatic productions.
Osmer W. Anderson attended the
public schools, graduating from the Sacramento high school, and then received
an appointment to a position in the government mint at San Francisco, where he
remained for four years, after which he was for two years with the Crocker
estate. At the outbreak of the Spanish-American war he enlisted as a private in
the First Regiment California Volunteer Infantry and was soon sent to the
Philippine islands, where he served two and a half years. During that period he
contracted the disease which eventually was the cause of his death. Upon his
return to Sacramento he went to work in the state printing office, then later
for the Southern Pacific Railroad as a passenger brakeman. Several years
afterward he took up the study of law in his father’s office and was admitted
to the bar in 1915. He was associated with his father in practice until the
United States became involved in the World war, when he again gave evidence of
his patriotism by enlisting in Company D, One Hundred and Eighteenth Engineers,
in which he was commissioned a first lieutenant. He was sent overseas, where he
served for eighteen months, returning to his home in August 1919. He resumed
his law practice, which he conducted until 1921, when the first city council
under the new charter appointed him judge of the city police court, which
position he filled in a very creditable manner until his death, May 10, 1924.
On May 10, 1918, Judge Anderson was
united in marriage to Miss Emma E. Meyer, a daughter of Jacob and Katherine
Meyer, the former having come to California in 1870 and the latter in 1871. In
his political views Judge Anderson was a republican and fraternally was a
member of Concord Lodge, No. 117, F. & A.M.; Sacramento Chapter, No. 3,
R.A.M.; Sacramento Commandery, No. 2, K.T., in all of which he held office at
the time of his death. He likewise belonged to Ben Ali Temple, A.A.O.N.M.S.;
Sacramento Chapter of the Eastern Star; the Knights of Pythias; the White
Shrine of Jerusalem, of which he was an officer; the Ancient Egyptian Order of
Sciots. His military service enabled him to become a member of the Veterans of
Foreign Wars, the Spanish-American War Veterans and the American Legion, and he
belonged to the Sacramento Lions Club and various civic organizations. He took
an active interest in the ex-service men’s organizations and gave freely of his
time in securing pensions or government aid for disabled soldiers and their
dependents. He served for a time as scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America,
and the boys adored him. He was for many years a member of the vestry of St.
Paul’s Protestant Episcopal Church and was treasurer of the Episcopal diocese
at the time of his death. A man of rugged strength and character, he stood
firmly for all that was really best in life. Forgetful of self, expressing
simplicity in his own life, he devoted his efforts with enthusiasm to the
welfare of interests which he knew stood for righteousness and morality, and
his labors along those lines did not pass without due recognition and
appreciation, though no act of his was designed to gain public applause. To
have known him was a privilege, to have enjoyed his friendship was a
benediction and to have had him as a fellow citizen was an inspiration. The
following beautiful memoriam is from the pen of Mrs. Emma E. Anderson:
“The advocate of sorrow, and the
friend of those whom all forsake.” The gentle spirit of silence now rests upon
the still and pulseless form of Judge O.W. Anderson. Fate has decreed the end,
but his memory will always remain; such memories can never die.
As judge of the police court, Judge
Anderson will be missed by the community at large. He administered justice to a
remarkable degree, but justice always tempered with mercy. No one knew him
better than I, his wife, and yet such was the modesty of this good man that I
am now hearing for the first time, from other lips, of his many acts of
kindness and charity. His kindly words of advice to the youth of the land will
be remembered by many a boy who was given a chance. He possessed unusual
judgment in discriminating between the hardened criminal and the lad who may
have side-stepped for the first time (here I quote others who have been in his
court). His court was always conducted with dignity, a dignity not often seen
in police courts, and all who appeared before him were treated in a courteous
manner. He was fair and honest, in all his official duty, and therefore earned
the respect of all who admire those virtuous qualities. It is but little of his
due to say that he possessed the traits in life that are worthy of emulation.
Though over age, he volunteered for
service in the World war and served as first lieutenant of Company D, One
Hundred and Eighteenth Engineers. Judge Anderson spent many of his leisure
hours preparing applications for pensions for the disabled soldiers and
soldiers’ widows. He was a good comrade and a loyal friend to the ex-service
man. He was a patriot of the highest rank; he loved his country with a true devotion
and finally paid the price with his life, for his passing was due to a malady
contracted in the Philippine insurrection.
Few men today possess the wealth of
affiliations that was his – fraternal, patriotic and spiritual. His social
qualities endeared him to all who enjoyed the good fortune of his friendship.
Those who knew him will never forget the sunshine of his smile and the deep
sincerity of his handgrasp. “He was one of the kindliest, gentlest and most
modest and unselfish human beings (man or woman) whom I ever met. He never
intrigued for his own advancement. He had not, or at least never exercised, the
art of always putting the best foot forward. He never passed for more than he
was worth, he never passed for as much as he was worth, except with the few who
knew him intimately. It can be said of him without the slightest doubt or
reservation that from his cradle to his grave no cloud, no mist, no breath, no
speck ever obscured or rested for a moment on the bright surface of his
character for integrity and for all the open, truthful, honorable, manly
virtues. Judge Anderson was not a man who sought honors. His unassuming manner
and courteous character, his inclination to serve others rather than to lead a
selfish life and lay up for himself treasures upon this earth, won for him the
affection and approbation of his fellow citizens.
“He had a great capacity for
enjoyment, he took great delight in both nature and art. He had an estate in
things, real and personal, which breaking banks and shrinking values do not
touch, in the sunset and the stars, in the voices of the birds and brooks, in
the companionship of genial friends; in the love of the beautiful and the
ground found in nature, or art or man; and in the rich thoughts of his own
mind; and from this estate he derived an income more valuable than the
overflowing revenues which come from the ownership of stocks and bonds.”
All that he was, he owed to his own
efforts – he was a self-made man in every sense of the word. Reverses and
hardships were met without qualm. I marvel that he emerged with the sweet,
gentle nature that made him such a genial soul. Whatever faults Judge Anderson
may have had came from that warm side of human character where dwell the
generous and the liberal virtues – where the sources are of those genial and
amiable social qualities which make some men love each other.
Judge Anderson served his church and
his God with a loyal devotion. He was for several years on St. Paul’s vestry
and at the same time also treasurer of the Episcopal diocese of Sacramento.
Without the slightest exaggeration, I cannot conceive of any human being more
Christlike than was my sainted husband. I cannot imagine anyone living a purer,
a more useful life. May I follow in his steps!
I am rich in happy memories and
consider myself greatly blessed to have been the wife of such a man. Words
cannot express the loss I feel in separation. His memory is most sacred to me
and will ever be my greatest treasure. The letters and great number of
beautiful flowers sent to him are testimony to me of the admiration and esteem
in which he was held by the community at large. Those expressions of high
regard from our friends were a great comfort and have helped me to “carry on.”
By being brave, as he would have me,
I am trying to prove myself worthy of him. His was the life of a true
Christian; he has gone to a higher judgeship, there to enjoy eternal happiness
due him for a life filled with worthy deeds – there to hear his Master’s words,
“Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of the Lord.”
It is not difficult to realize what
the home life of Judge Anderson must have been. He was always kind and
cheerful, calm and patient. The sweetness of his personality radiated from him
like fragrance from a beautiful flower. Often have I been sustained and
seconded by the indomitable energy and devoted affection of my beloved husband.
He was ever by my side in the hour of need, ready to revive my drooping spirit
and to stimulate me to fresh exertion. No words of mine can better describe the
divine happiness of our married life than the lines of a motto which he brought
to me upon his return from the World war – words which seemed to have been
written for him, so well they reflect his wonderful personality and character –
“This house my kingdom is. So shall I bar all thoughts or words that bring not
harmony. Love shall adorn it like a brilliant star and Faith and Hope my
guiding words shall be. My happy song shall echo from the walls, my cheerful
smile shall keep it fair and bright, and warmth and welcome shall pervade the
halls, so all who dwell herein shall know delight and call it home.”
“I
cannot say, and I will not say, that he is dead – he is just away! With a
cheery smile and a wave of the hand, he has wandered into an
unknown land
And
left us dreaming how very fair it needs must be, since he lingers
There;
And
I – Oh I, who the wildest yearn, for the old time step and the glad
Return,
Think
of him faring on, as dear in the love of There as the love of Here – think of
him still as the same. I say, he is not dead – he is just away!”
Transcribed by Debbie Walke Gramlick.
Source: Wooldridge, J.W. Major History of the Sacramento Valley California, Vol. 2 pgs. 32-38. The Pioneer Historical Publishing Co. Chicago 1931.
© 2005 Debbie Walke Gramlick.