San
Joaquin County
Biographies
REV. PAUL A. ANDERSON
Among the devoted clergy of San
Joaquin County who have done so much, through their unselfish labors and high
ideals, is the Rev. Paul A. Anderson, the pastor of St. Barnard’s Catholic
Church at Tracy. He was born at Lagro, Indiana, on February 12, 1879 the son of Philomen A. and Elizabeth Winifred (Dimond)
Anderson, both natives of Ohio, but who emigrated to
Indiana in the early ‘50s. His father
passed away in the early ‘80s and the family came to California in 1888. Father Anderson refers to his ancestral
record with just pride. His maternal
ancestors were of Irish descent, while his paternal ancestors were Scotch and
English, and he is of the fourth generation who has been born in America. His mother passed away while residing in Palo
Alto in 1918, survived by three children:
Paul A., Mrs. Beatrice C. Miller and Wilfred L. Anderson, and by two
sisters, Mary F. and Margaret Dimond, residing at the
parsonage in Tracy. His father’s uncle,
Rev. Peter A. Anderson, O. P., died at Sacramento on November 27, 1850, while
attending the sick during a severe epidemic of that year, and it is recorded
that he was the first priest to pass away in California after the territory had
become a state. The late Dr. Zahm, of Washington, D. C., who for many years was active
on the faculty board of Notre Dame University in Indiana, was a cousin of
Father Anderson. Dr. Zahm
was a close personal friend of the late Theodore Roosevelt and accompanied him
on his trip through South America. The
late Janarius A. McGahan,
who was a prominent writer for the London “Times,” and the New York “World,”
and known as the liberator of Bulgaria during the Crimean War, was Father
Anderson’s great-uncle on his mother’s side.
After arriving in California, the
family located at Livermore for a few years and there Paul attended the public
schools and when out of school worked at odd jobs. The Anderson family lived in Livermore from
1888 to 1894, when they moved to San Jose.
His schooling was interrupted for five years, during which time he
worked in commercial lines, but he felt the call of the Church, so he went back
to his studies. On August 1, 1899 he
entered the collegiate department of St. Patrick’s Seminary at Menlo Park, San
Mateo County, and after the usual courses of study covering a period of ten years, he was ordained to the priesthood on June 22,
1909. He was then sent to St. John’s at
San Francisco, remaining there for several months, when he took up his work at
St. Anthony’s in East Oakland, as assistant to Rev. Peter C. York, where for
four years he labored in the discharge of his duties. Early in 1914, he was sent to St. Mary’s at
Stockton and assisted there for one and one-half years. In November, 1915 he returned to San
Francisco and became the assistant pastor of St. Patrick’s, where he remained
for five years, and in March, 1920 received his first pastorate, St. Barnard’s
Church at Tracy. The history of this
church is comparatively short, there having been but three resident pastors
preceding Father Anderson, and each for but a short term, except Father Thomas
Moran, who built the present church and was its pastor for eight years. During October, 1921 a general renovation of
the church and parsonage was started, including new interior decorations.
Father Anderson by his affability,
scholarly attainments and kindness has greatly endeared himself not only to the
members of his congregation, but to all who know him. Aside from his duties as pastor he has found
time to accept and fill the position of director in the local Chamber of
Commerce, a place he is filling with ability.
The membership of the church is constantly growing, and now that Father Anderson
has put his hand to the helm, will be sure to increase in the healthiest
manner.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
1351. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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