About the Andersons

Tom and Ella Anderson

"Our forebears labored without wages. They made cotton "king." And yet out of a bottomless vitality, they continued to thrive and develop." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rev. Tom" or "T.J." Anderson and Ella D. Ward were born in Kemper County in the 1870's, just shortly after the emancipation of slaves. Tom and Ella, the first generation born free, settled in the Unity Springs community in Kemper County where they married in 1897.  The couple lived as farmers of the land to make a living.  Tom also was a minister in the community and Ella was known around the town for her green thumb.  They raised seven children:  Claudie (b.1897), Mary Lydia (b.1899), Johnie (b.1900), Dovie (b.1902), Navilla (b.1903), Harbour (b.1908), and JC (b.1910). 

Claudie being the oldest, was a refuge for her younger siblings as they journeyed to her home in the Midwest to make a better living in the factory industry instead of on the Mississippi farms.  She eventually settled in Los Angeles where she lived out her days.  Mary remained in the Unity Springs community and married Henry Roberts.  Johnie was widely regarded a a great mechanic and moved to Chicago to work in the auto industry.  Dovie became a teacher in Scooba.  Her husband worked for the railroad company and eventually he moved his family to the midwest as well.  Harbour remained in Kemper County living in the Newhope area working as a dairy and agricultural farmer.  JC worked a few odd jobs in the  Arkansas area, courtesy of the husband of his sister Dovie's connection with the railroad.   He eventually settled down in the Unity Springs area to marry and raise ten children while making a living as a farmer and cattle owner.

*This is not a depiction of Anderson relatives rather a portrayal of farm life in Miss. during the 1920s.