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Charles Anderson

No headstone for Charles. This is the area we believe he is buried.

No headstone for Charles. This is the area we believe he is buried.

Charles Anderson
1831-1907

Charles was born in 1831 to James and Alice Watson Anderson. He had siblings Oliver, Albert, Rachel, and Watson. (1) He is the great grandson of Joshua Anderson of Yardley who fought in the Revolutionary War and is believed to be buried in this general area near his descendants. Joshua donated a portion of the land that is now Slate Hill cemetery- from the edge of Joseph Sharp’s grave up to the center Wall. For more information of the 3 different sections of Slate Hill Cemetery please visit our History of SHC page. Joshua’s son Daniel was the father of James who was Charles' father. Charles’ mother Alice lived to the ripe old age of 94 when she died of consumption. (2)

Charles was known to be eccentric and lived with different members of his family most of his life. In 1880, while working as a carpenter, he lived with his brother Watson & Watson’s wife Emma. He never married. Later he is listed as a servant/laborer for the Riegle family, just down the road from Watson, in the 1900 census (4). He was known as an excellent musician, often being hired out for local events. He was often seen walking the streets of Yardley with his fiddle. (5)

As in life, Charles’ death was equally unusual. 8pm on Saturday Dec 21, 1907 was the last time Charles was seen (6). Sunday Dec 22 at around 3:30 his hat was spotted on the banks of Lake Afton by children heading home from Sunday School.(5) His body was later removed from the lake and his death was determined to be an accidental drowning in Lake Afton at age 77. (7). Though there is no remaining stone for Charles, we can only assume he was buried near the other Anderson’s here at Slate Hill, which is why we’ve determined this location for his memorial.

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