John Byers Anderson
Encyclopedia
John Byers Anderson (alternatively John Byars Anderson) was an educator, railroad contractor and United States Army
officer
who served in the American Civil War
as a colonel
and superintendent of the Union railroads in the Department of the Ohio
, Department of the Tennessee and Department of the Cumberland.
, on November 22, 1817. He graduated from Washington and Jefferson College in 1836. After graduation, Anderson moved to Kentucky to teach. In 1842 he and his wife opened two separate private schools for boys and girls in New Albany, Indiana
, known as the Anderson Collegiate Institute and Anderson's Female Seminary. He operated the schools until 1858. Charles Woodruff Shields
was a graduate of the Institute, and the missionary William Alexander Parsons Martin
served as professor of classics for one year at the school.
. In 1852, he was chosen chief engineer of a proposed road from the Ohio River
, below the falls to Sandusky, Ohio
; and then for three years, ending in 1858, he was General Superintendent of the New Albany and Salem Railroad
. All this was accomplished while still operating his educational institutions.
As his railroad work took more and more of his time, Anderson gradually withdrew from teaching. Finally, after 1858, he devoted himself wholly to railroading, although he apparently continued to provide some educational opportunities, opening his personal library to youths, including the future steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie
in Pittsburgh.
. In February 1859, he was advanced to the General Superintendency of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway
. In less than a year, however, Anderson was called to be Superintendent of Transportation on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad
, a position in which the opening of the American Civil War
found him.
appointed John Anderson as Railroad Director for the Department of the Ohio. In February 1862, Anderson was succeeded in this position by Daniel McCallum
, after the creation of the United States Military Railroad
. Subsequently, in November 1862, General William Rosecrans
appointed Anderson military superintendent of railroads for the Department of the Cumberland. McCallum relieved him of this duty in 1864.
. He apparently never assumed control of the railroad's construction, as urged by the company's president John Perry, but he did become financially involved. In 1868, he and his wife moved to Junction City, Kansas
, where his nephew John Alexander Anderson
was serving as a preacher. In 1873, his nephew became president of Kansas State Agricultural College in Manhattan, Kansas
, and in 1880, John Byers Anderson also moved to Manhattan, where he would remain for the rest of his life. While in Manhattan, Anderson served as president of the First National Bank of Manhattan.
In the 1880s, Anderson also served as president of the board of trustees of the College of Emporia
in Emporia, Kansas
. In 1888, on the occasion of his 50th wedding anniversary, he established the Anderson Memorial Library at the college through a donation of his book collection. Subsequently, in 1899, Andrew Carnegie
agreed to build a suitable building for this library as a memorial to Anderson, who had once opened his library to Carnegie. An inscription on the Carnegie library
in Emporia states: "In grateful remembrance of Mr. Anderson who opened his own private library for the working boys of Allegheny City, of whom Mr. Carnegie was one."
John Byers Anderson died at Manhattan on July 25, 1897.
from 1806 to 1831. His brother was the Rev. William Caldwell Anderson
, president of Miami University
from 1849 to 1854.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
who served in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
as a colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
and superintendent of the Union railroads in the Department of the Ohio
Department of the Ohio
The Department of the Ohio was an administrative military district created by the United States War Department early in the American Civil War to administer the troops in the Northern states near the Ohio River.General Orders No...
, Department of the Tennessee and Department of the Cumberland.
Education work
Anderson was born in Washington County, PennsylvaniaWashington County, Pennsylvania
-Government and politics:As of November 2008, there are 152,534 registered voters in Washington County .* Democratic: 89,027 * Republican: 49,025 * Other Parties: 14,482...
, on November 22, 1817. He graduated from Washington and Jefferson College in 1836. After graduation, Anderson moved to Kentucky to teach. In 1842 he and his wife opened two separate private schools for boys and girls in New Albany, Indiana
New Albany, Indiana
New Albany is a city in Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River opposite Louisville, Kentucky. In 1900, 20,628 people lived in New Albany; in 1910, 20,629; in 1920, 22,992; and in 1940, 25,414. The population was 36,372 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of...
, known as the Anderson Collegiate Institute and Anderson's Female Seminary. He operated the schools until 1858. Charles Woodruff Shields
Charles Woodruff Shields
Charles Woodruff Shields, DD was an American theologian. He graduated from the College of New Jersey in 1844 and at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1847....
was a graduate of the Institute, and the missionary William Alexander Parsons Martin
William Alexander Parsons Martin
William Alexander Parsons Martin was an American Presbyterian missionary to China and translator, famous for having translated a number of important Western treatises into Chinese, such as Henry Wheaton's Elements of International Law.He graduated from Indiana University in 1846, known at that...
served as professor of classics for one year at the school.
Railroad work
In the 1850s, Anderson turned his focus to railroad operations. In 1851, he supervised the construction of a road from New Albany to Corydon, IndianaCorydon, Indiana
Corydon is a town in Harrison Township, Harrison County, Indiana, United States, founded in 1808, and is known as Indiana's First State Capital. After Vincennes, Corydon was the second capital of the Indiana Territory from May 1, 1813, until December 11, 1816. After statehood, the town was the...
. In 1852, he was chosen chief engineer of a proposed road from the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
, below the falls to Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....
; and then for three years, ending in 1858, he was General Superintendent of the New Albany and Salem Railroad
Monon Railroad
The Monon Railroad , also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway from 1897–1956, operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana...
. All this was accomplished while still operating his educational institutions.
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
in Pittsburgh.
Pennsylvania Railroad
In November 1858, Anderson accepted the office of Superintendent for the Middle Division of the Pennsylvania RailroadPennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
. In February 1859, he was advanced to the General Superintendency of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway
Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway
The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway was a major part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system, extending the PRR west from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania via Fort Wayne, Indiana to Chicago, Illinois...
. In less than a year, however, Anderson was called to be Superintendent of Transportation on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Louisville and Nashville Railroad
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business...
, a position in which the opening of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
found him.
Civil War
During the Civil War, he served in the Union Army as superintendent of various railroads, first as a civilian and later with the rank of colonel. In November 1861, General William Tecumseh ShermanWilliam Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
appointed John Anderson as Railroad Director for the Department of the Ohio. In February 1862, Anderson was succeeded in this position by Daniel McCallum
Daniel McCallum
Daniel Craig McCallum was a railroad engineer and manager.McCallum was born in Scotland in 1815. In 1822 his family emigrated to New York when he was still a boy. In Rochester he spend a few years at elementary school, and didn't follow his fathers footsteps to become a tailor...
, after the creation of the United States Military Railroad
United States Military Railroad
The United States Military Railroad was an organization during the American Civil War that ran railroads for the Union Army wherever they were needed. It was established in 1862 under General Daniel McCallum.- Petersburg Campaign :...
. Subsequently, in November 1862, General William Rosecrans
William Rosecrans
William Starke Rosecrans was an inventor, coal-oil company executive, diplomat, politician, and United States Army officer. He gained fame for his role as a Union general during the American Civil War...
appointed Anderson military superintendent of railroads for the Department of the Cumberland. McCallum relieved him of this duty in 1864.
Postbellum
In 1864, Anderson left the Army and became interested in the Union Pacific Railway, Eastern Division, then being planned on a route through KansasKansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. He apparently never assumed control of the railroad's construction, as urged by the company's president John Perry, but he did become financially involved. In 1868, he and his wife moved to Junction City, Kansas
Junction City, Kansas
Junction City is a city in and the county seat of Geary County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 23,353. Fort Riley, a major U.S. Army post, is nearby...
, where his nephew John Alexander Anderson
John Alexander Anderson
John Alexander Anderson was a six-term U.S. Congressman from Kansas , and the second President of Kansas State Agricultural College ....
was serving as a preacher. In 1873, his nephew became president of Kansas State Agricultural College in Manhattan, Kansas
Manhattan, Kansas
Manhattan is a city located in the northeastern part of the state of Kansas in the United States, at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. It is the county seat of Riley County and the city extends into Pottawatomie County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 52,281...
, and in 1880, John Byers Anderson also moved to Manhattan, where he would remain for the rest of his life. While in Manhattan, Anderson served as president of the First National Bank of Manhattan.
In the 1880s, Anderson also served as president of the board of trustees of the College of Emporia
College of Emporia
The College of Emporia was established in 1882 in Emporia, Kansas, and was associated with the Presbyterian church. The college officially closed in 1974. The college campus was purchased by The Way International for $694,000 and was operated as the Way College of Emporia from 1975 until 1989...
in Emporia, Kansas
Emporia, Kansas
Emporia is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 24,916. Emporia lies between Topeka and Wichita at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 with Interstates 335 and 35 on the Kansas Turnpike...
. In 1888, on the occasion of his 50th wedding anniversary, he established the Anderson Memorial Library at the college through a donation of his book collection. Subsequently, in 1899, Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
agreed to build a suitable building for this library as a memorial to Anderson, who had once opened his library to Carnegie. An inscription on the Carnegie library
Carnegie library
A Carnegie library is a library built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and 1929, including some belonging to public and university library systems...
in Emporia states: "In grateful remembrance of Mr. Anderson who opened his own private library for the working boys of Allegheny City, of whom Mr. Carnegie was one."
John Byers Anderson died at Manhattan on July 25, 1897.
Relatives
John Byers Anderson was the second son of the Rev. John Anderson, a missionary and trustee of Washington & Jefferson CollegeWashington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College, also known as W & J College or W&J, is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States, which is south of Pittsburgh...
from 1806 to 1831. His brother was the Rev. William Caldwell Anderson
William Caldwell Anderson
William Caldwell Anderson was an American Presbyterian minister who served as the fourth president of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio....
, president of Miami University
Miami University
Miami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...
from 1849 to 1854.