William Anderson

William Anderson (1762 December 15 or 16, 1829) was an American politician who served as a Democratic-Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 1st congressional district from 1809 to 1815 and from 1817 to 1819. He served as a major in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.

Early life and military service Anderson was born in Virginia in 1762. During the American Revolutionary War, he joined the Continental Army at the age of fifteen and served until the end of the war. He was a major on the staff of General Lafayette and distinguished himself at the Battle of Germantown and the Siege of Yorktown.

Career Major William Anderson gravestone in Old St. Paul's Episcopal Church burial ground in Chester, Pennsylvania In 1796, Anderson entered the hotel business through the purchase of the Columbia House in Chester, Pennsylvania. He served as postmaster in Chester from 1797 to 1798, Delaware County auditor in 1804, and county director of the poor in 1805. He was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Eleventh, Twelfth, Thirteenth, and Fifteenth Congresses. In 1780, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed An Act for the Gradual Aboliton of Slavery. It required the registration of all slaves by November 1, 1780. All persons born after that date were free except for the children of registered slaves who would be servants of their parents owners until they reached 28 years of age. A further act of the Assembly in 1798, required the registration of all children born of slaves within six months of their birth. On July 2, 1806, Anderson registered a "male mulatto bastard child" named Francis.

Personal life He was married to Elizabeth Dixon and together they had three children. Their daughter Evelina married Commodore David Porter.