Family and Friends of Howard Roscoe Anderson and Estella Marie Yancey Anderson

BLACK FAMILIES:Vol 2, Sec 2
GREENE COUNTY ARCHIVES BULLETIN NUMBER FORTY-FIVE

For the other sections of Black Families (Archives Bulletin Number Forty-Five, please visit the online edition at the Springfield-Greene County Library Shepard Room.


FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF

HOWARD ROSCOE ANDERSON

and

ESTELLA MARIE YANCEY ANDERSON

Materials compiled by
Judy Reustle
1999

About the Anderson Records

In the early fall of 1998 a friend of mine bought a house which had been sitting unoccupied for several years. I volunteered to help clean and get it ready for rent or sale. At first glance I thought the only solution was a match and some combustible liquid, but cooler heads prevailed. What we found beneath the layers of decay and abandonment was historical treasure.

We uncovered fragments of the Masons, Order of Eastern Star and Reedy A.M.E. Church; a Louisiana lottery ticket and a souvenir from the Baldwin Opera House from the 1800s; picture postcards from the early 20th century and tin types from the 19th century; an 1864 dictionary and an autographed picture of Joe Lewis; and many memorial records and carefully clipped obituaries.

Part of the collection of Howard and Stella Anderson has been compiled on the following pages with the hopes that this information will serve as a resource for genealogists. The individuals on these pages are the family, friends, co-workers, fellow lodge members, employers, employees, neighbors, and ancestors of the Andersons. Here are Masons, Elks, Methodists, Catholics, blacks, whites, Hawaiians, Native Americans, teachers, murderers, university deans, business women, homemakers, ministers, petty theives, cowboys, railroad men, chefs, and former slaves -- children and grandchildren of the black pioneers who first tilled the soil in this area. Some are relatively late arrivals in Greene County--they came because they had hoped for a good life here. Many are relatives of the thousands who fled because, at times, this had been a very difficult place to live.

Howard and Stella didn't write a history of the Springfield area. Instead they collected and preserved it -- warts and all.

For the experienced researchers, I'm sure no explanation is necessary, but for the novice, I have a few words of advice:

I enjoyed meeting the friends and family of the Andersons.

Judy. June 1999, revised Jan 2002.


CONTENTS

Page 3-5: Personal Records -- Anderson
Personal Records -- Yancey
Probate Records (From Slave census)
Page 6-9: Selected Census: 1870, 1876, 1880, 1920
Selected Marriage Records
Pages 10-55: Memorial records, obituaries, tombstone inscriptions, funeral home and cemetery records
Pages 56-59: History of Reedy Chapel A.M.E. Church, written by Stella Anderson
Membership List, 1954, Reedy Chapel AME Church
Papers found in first Reedy Chapel Pulpit Bible
Pages 60-77: Acknowledgments, Photos and Miscellaneous documents.


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