Sacramento County
Biographies
ANDREW ANDERSON
The
early recollections of Mr. Anderson are associated pleasantly with the
prosperous city of Ribe, lying
on the banks of the stream of the same name not far from the point where the
tumultuous waves of the North Sea dash against the isolated coast of Denmark.
That same thrifty town of Ribe
is his native place, and he was born March 7, 1859, son of Nelson and Annie M.
Anderson, lifelong residents of the Danish kingdom. While the associations of
his childhood were principally Scandinavian, there was some intermingling with
representatives of the Teutonic race, for quite near the Ribe
was the province of Schleswig-Holstein, whose original Danish residents had
been replaced to some extent by German founders. There were excellent national
schools at Ribe and in them he acquired a fair
knowledge of the three R's, but at the age of fourteen he discontinued the
study of text-books for the complicated processes incident to acquiring a knowledge of a trade. The calling to which he served an
apprenticeship was that of cabinetmaker and in it he gained considerable skill
under the capable oversight of skilled masters of the craft.
Crossing
the ocean to the United States during
1881 at the age of twenty-two years Mr. Anderson settled temporarily in Boston,
Mass., where he secured employment as a
cabinet-maker. In 1883 he came west as far as Milwaukee, Wis.,
and there spent six months as an employe in
cabinet-making. From that city he proceeded to California
and settled in Sacramento, where he
entered the Southern Pacific Railroad shops as a cabinet-maker. Eleven busy
years were spent in those shops and afterward he spent one year in the planing mill operated by Pierson, Amson
& Barnett. Next he engaged as a cabinet-maker in the planting mill
conducted by Christopher Sutter. At the expiration of two years, he resigned
that position and began to take building contracts, which business he conducted
with fair success during the next ten years. Eventually he discontinued the
taking of contracts in order to engage again in the planning-mill business, and
since then he has operated a mill that furnishes employment to twelve
experienced men. Evidence of his right reputation as a cabinet maker appears in
the fact that leading citizens, in erecting fine residences, have looked to him
for suggestions along that line and have bought material from his mill. In
addition to providing material for many residences, he furnished that used in
the German Lutheran
Church of this city.
Upon
becoming a citizen of the United States and having studied the Republican form
of government as exercised in our country, Mr. Anderson affiliated himself with
the Republican party, and ever since he has been
stanch in his advocacy of its principles. Reared in the Lutheran faith and
confirmed in that denomination during early years, he still retains an earnest
and faithful devotion to its doctrines. Fraternally he holds membership with
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and also has been prominently connected
with the organization Dania in Sacramento,
being now a trustee of the lodge. At the time of his removal to California
he was unmarried, his union to Fredericka Joraas
having been solemnized in this city April 13, 1886. They are the parents of
four children. The eldest, Miss Alma, is a talented musician and teaches that
art in Sacramento. The misses Freda
and Edith are at home, the former a graduate of Howe's Business
College and the latter being now a
high-school student. The only son, Alf. C., is attending the public schools of this city.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta.
Source: Willis,
William L., History of Sacramento County,
California, Pages 878-880. Historic
Record Company, Los
Angeles,
CA. 1913.
© 2006 Sally Kaleta.