Part of an old map of the San Jacinto area from the Texas Revolution

Veteran Bio

Texian Location:  Participant

The Kemp Sketch

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ANDERSON, WASHINGTON -- Born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, January 31, 1817, a son of Dr. Thomas and Chloe (Glascock) Anderson. His father was a son of Richard Anderson who was born July 19, 1761 and was a Captain in the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War. His mother Chloe (Glascock) Anderson was a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Sanford) Glascock. She was the first wife of Dr. Anderson and the mother of his two children, John D. and Washington Anderson. Mrs. Anderson died in Virginia, September 5, 1819 and on February 6, 1824 Dr. Anderson married Sarah Tunstall, who died in Virginia before February, 1835.

Dr. Anderson and his two sons arrived in Texas in February, 1835. On March 14th of that year he received title to a league of land in Milam's Colony, situated in the present County of Travis.

In Comptroller's Military Service Record No. 9596 it is certified that Washington Anderson served in the army from February 23 to June 1, 1836. He was a member of Captain Jesse Billingsley's company of "Mina (Bastrop) Volunteers" and was badly wounded at San Jacinto, being shot in an ankle. He received Donation Certificate No. 127, dated May 21, 1836, for 640 acres of land for having participated in the battle. The records in the General Land Office do not show that he applied for the bounty land due him for his services in the army. In Headright Certificate No. 73 issued to him for one-third of a league of land by the Board of Land Commissioners for Bastrop County, February 1, 1838, it is stated that he came to Texas in February, 1835. The land was surveyed in the present county of Williamson, the town of Round Rock being situated on a part of it. A spring on the land was later known as Anderson's Spring.

Mr. Anderson was married to his cousin, Mary Ann Glascock, daughter of George John Glascock and Ann Payne (Coleman) Glascock, at Bastrop in March 1838. Mrs. Anderson was born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, June 3, 1820, and died in Georgetown, Texas, July 16, 1904. Mr. Anderson died at his home at Round Rock, April 28, 1894, while a member of the Texas Veterans Association. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Austin, on the R. H. Taliaferro lots.

Mr. Anderson in writing to the artist McArdle stated that at the time of the Battle of San Jacinto he was five feet, nine inches in height, of fair complexion with black hair and blue-gray eyes. He said that in the battle he wore a Casinette suite of clothes and a white hat of broad brim and low crown.

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson moved to Williamson County in 1843 and built the sixth house in the county. Later they placed glass windows in the house, the first to be used in the county. Mr. Anderson was one of the commissioners appointed to select a county seat for Williamson County.

In August, 1861, Mr. Anderson enlisted in Captain N. S. Tesdale's company for Williamson County, Twenty -seventh Brigade, Brigadier General E.G.C. Robertson commanding Texas Militia, Confederate Army. Being to old for active service in the field he was made county assessor for Williamson County. He was a member of the Texas Veterans Association.

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson had but one child, Chloe, who was married to the Reverend Robert Hay Taliaferro. Their children were (1) Annie Taliaferro, who married W. L. Mann. (2) Washington Anderson Taliaferro, who was married to Lucy Glascock. (3) Bettie Taliaferro, who married W. Kyle. (4) Fannie Taliaferro, who married Lee Mays Taylor. (5) Chloe Leigh Taliaferro, who was married to J. H. Langsford.

Written by Louis W. Kemp, between 1930 and 1952. Please note that typographical and factual errors have not been corrected from the original sketches. The biographies have been scanned from the original typescripts, a process that sometimes allows for mistakes in the new text. Researchers should verify the accuracy of the texts' contents through other sources before quoting in publications. Additional information on the veteran may be available in the Herzstein Library.


Battle Statistics

  • Died in Battle: No
  • Wounded in Battle: Yes - shot in ankle.
  • Rank: Private
  • Company: Capt. Jesse Billingsley

Personal Statistics

  • Date of Birth: 1817 Jan 31
  • Birthplace: Virginia, Pittsylvania County
  • Origin: Virginia
  • Came to Texas: 1835 Feb
  • Date of Death: 1894 April 28
  • Burial Place: Oakwood Cemetery, Austin, Texas
  • Comments: Enlisted in Confederate Army in 1861, but no active service due to age.
  • Donation Certificate: 127
  • Profession: Farmer, miller
  • Wife: Mary Ann Glascock
  • Children: Mary Anderson; Chloe Ann Anderson Taliaferro
  • Family at San Jacinto: Father Thomas P. Anderson, brother John D. Anderson