| William Anderson and Elizabeth Betsy Ryan |
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| Isham |
| William Anderson and Elizabeth Betsy Ryan Family Tradition as it that Elizabeth was a mid-wife and a herb doctor in the area where they lived. Family Tradition also states that William Anderson did not fight in the Civil War, but instead hid out in the Mares Den. Story Below |
| 1870 Whitley Co. Ky. Census Wm. Anderson age 35 TN. Eliz age 32 TN. David age 11 Ky John age 9 Ky James K. age 7 Ky Simpson age 4 Ky Jacob age 2 Ky. C.H. (male) age 2/12 Ky. Barthena age 70 Ky. Moses Stephens age 24 Ky. Dorcas Ryan age 40 Tn. |
| 1860 Whitley Co. Ky Census Theney Anderson age 60 (Barthena Bull Anderson wife of Jacob) William age 25 Elizabeth age 23 Cammel age 18(Campbell) Isham age 4 Martha Childers age 23 John Childers age 4 |
| 1880 Whitley Co. Census Wm. Anderson age 45 Tn. Elizabeth age 40 John age 9 James age 17 Simon age 15 Jacob age 13 Campbell age 11 Jackson age 9 Milley age 6 Wm. Age 3 Delane Davis age 13 (servant) |
| 1900 Whitley Co. Census William M. Anderson b. May 1835 age 65 Tn. married 49 years (mother and father born in WV.) Elizabeth b. Nov.1836 age 64 Nancy b. 1884 age 16 Ky. Andrew J. b. April 1872 age 28 Ky. Married 3 years Sarah b. Mar.1876 age 24 Ky. Daughter in law Melda E. b. Apr.1898 age 2 Ky. |
| The First baptist Church at Little Rock, Whitley County KY. Was formed Nov. 1887. Elizabeth Betsy Ryan Anderson was instrumental in the formation of the church.She met with a group in 1887 at the Rock Creek School House to help organize the church. Simpson Anderson appears to be the first to be baptized in the newly formed church. William Anderson joined the church in 1888. He served as clerk for the church in 1888.In 1889, William and his sons David and campbell were memebers of the committee to build a church house. William Anderson and his brother ,Isham Anderson were elected as delagates to represent the church in 1890. In 1891 William and his son Simpson, were to go to Zion Hill to ask for Ministerial and Deacon aid for the First Baptist Church. Again in 1892, William was appointed to ask Zion Hill Church for aid The last entry in the Church Journol for William Anderson is 1895. William, along with G.C. Neal , have been ask to see Mark Duncan on a " rumor of misconduct". At the same time he is to investigate a complaint against Jackson Anderson (his son) for disorder. The last entry for Elizabeth Anderson ,is when she placed a charge against Sarah Strunk for swearing. David,John and Jack,sons of William Anderson and Betsy Ryan Anderson, served at different times as clerk for the First Baptist Church. Source: First United Baptist Church of Christ at Little Rock, Whitley Co. Ky.Clerks Journal. |
| The Mares Den and Rebel Rock The Civil War started in 1861 and ended in 1865. The area where the Anderson's lived was between the armies to the North and to the South. Both the Union and the Confederate armies conducted raids into this area. The soldiers raided and lived off the land as they passed through. With so much raiding going on some of the families were left with very few provisions, many families in the area managed to keep enough food to keep from starving by hiding food, and keeping only enough food in the house for a meal. The armies made a very heavy impact on the County side. Woodlands were destroyed during their encampments. Row after row of fence disappeared. Crops in the fields were stolen or destroyed, barns were plundered, food was taken from the smokehouse, bin, or barrel. Most devastating of all, the animals that were essential to each farm's survival were drafted for army use. Beef was not only used for food, the soldiers used their hides to make shoes for themselves and other soldiers. To add to the problem, was the marauding theft and murder inflected by the 'outliers". These were men who "lay out" from serving any cause but their own. Joined with bushwhackers, with guerilla bands of plunders, and with scavengers, the outliers looted homes and farms and businesses. At times the looters would hide in what is called the "Rebels Den".The den is located in the mountain on Rock Creek beyond where Rock Creek cemetery is located. It is said to be a rock with a room with a 4 foot square opening at the top. People in the area decided that the best way to protect themselves was to form what is known as the "Home Guard". The men joining the Home Guard pledged to unite together to " protect our homes and liberties." They also pledged to keep secret their meeting place, the orders, and anything they had to do to protect their homes and families. If it became known that a man belonged to the Home Guard , his life would be in danger, and anything he owned would be stolen, destroyed, or burned. Men belonging to the Home Guard had to hide to save their own lives and the lives of their families. It is not known if the sons of Jacob Anderson belonged to the Home Guard. The story has been told for generations in the Jacob Anderson family that during the Civil War , the son's of Jacob Anderson, ( James, William, Isham, and Campbell) did not join either of the armies, but hid out in the mountains in what is called the "Mares Den". The Mare's Den is a rock ledge on the mountain( referred to as Duncan Mountain by Willis Anderson) with rooms below the ledge. One of the rooms had troughs and is where they kept and fed their animals. The room beside it was where the families lived and kept their possessions and food they didn't want the soldiers or marauders to take from them . Above the room on the hillside was the spring where the families got their water. A rock had been dug, or somehow scooped out to form a bowl like shape to hold water from the mountain spring. Water still fills the rock bowl today. Behind theses two rooms was another smaller room and ledge where their moonshine still was kept. Parts of the still and the troughs remained in their natural settings until ten years ago, when someone ( perhaps a marauder???) decided to take them from the Mares Den. A few miles from the Mares den is where " Rebel Rock" is located. Rebel Rock is a rock formation where the men of the area stood watch, or guard over the roads and mountain area for raiders. It is not known how many families of the area used the Mares Den, and Rebel Rock. The Anderson's, Trammell's and the Vanover's are the only families to have known to have been there at this time. |
| William and Elizabeths headstone in Rock Creek Cemetery in McCreary County Kentucky. I thought it was so neat to see all of their childrens names on the stone. |
| Nannie |
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| William and Elizabeth Anderson |