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Below is a family biography included in the book, The History of Lauderdale County, Tennessee published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1886.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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Theophilus Anderson, a merchant of Curve, was born in Madison County, Tenn., November 13, 1840, and was the third member of a family of three sons and seven daughters born to J. B. and Martha W. (Sherman) Anderson, and is of English descent. His father was born in South Carolina in 1805, and came with his parents to Bedford County, Tenn., when a small boy, where he was raised and educated. In 1830 he moved to Madison County, where he married; in 1851 he moved to Lauderdale County, and settled near Tisdale Springs, and served as magistrate in his district for several years, dying in Haywood County, July 17, 1875. Our subject’s mother was born in North Carolina, and still lives in Haywood County. Theophilus Anderson followed farming until 1880; since then has been in the saw-mill and mercantile business. He enlisted in the Confederate Army, and belonged to the Sixth Tennessee Infantry, under Col. Wm. A. Stephens, of Jackson, Tenn., and was in the battles of Perryville and Chickamauga, and in the retreat from Dalton to Atlanta; was two years and six months in the quartermaster’s department, and in the army four years. Mr. Anderson was married in Haywood County, January 1, 1867, to Elizabeth J. Garrett, daughter of Henderson Garrett; one son, Floyd A., was born to this marriage. Mrs. Anderson was born in Madison County, in 1842, and died in Lauderdale County, in 1870. December 21, 1871, our subject was again married in Haywood County, to Mary E. Garrett, who was born in the same county, in February, 1844. Three sons and one daughter were born to this union: Eustace, John P., Ivan, and Florence E. In politics Mr. Anderson is a Democrat, he is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and was W. M. of his lodge, and, with his wife, belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church South. He is a member of the firm of Irvin & Anderson, at Curve, Tenn., and is an influential citizen of that place.

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This family biography is one of 116 biographies included in the book,  The History of Lauderdale County, Tennessee published in 1886 by Goodspeed.  The History of Lauderdale County was included within The History of Lauderdale, Tipton, Haywood, and Crockett Counties of Tennessee. For the complete description, click here: History of Lauderdale, Tipton, Haywood, and Crockett Counties, Tennessee

View additional Lauderdale County, Tennessee family biographies here: Lauderdale County, Tennessee

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