Married Louisa Mariah Kettle on 16 Sep 1869 in Brown Co., IN.

John Wesley Anderson, son of James and Melvina Skidmore Anderson, was born January 5, 1851 in Indiana. Orphaned when two years old, his parents died three days apart in 1853. John and his sister Sarah Elizabeth, born in 1847, and brother, George T., born in 1849, were raised by their grandparents and guardian, Uncle Mabry Skidmore.

Sarah married Carr H. Wells and died when 27 years old leaving a daughter Kitty. The body was brought from Indiana and buried on the Skidmore lot in Rose Hill cemetery.

George T., married Eliza Henderickson in 1869 in Indiana and moved in 1879 to the Ragan, Nebraska area where they remained the rest of their lives. They were parents of four children of whom 2 lived to adulthood. They were James Thomas and Anna Pearl. James Thomas was an educator and married to Nellie Rosser. They had three children. Anna Pearl never married.

John Wesley married September 16, 1869 to Louisa Mariah Kettle. Her parents were Thomas and Mary Bills Kettle. John and Louisa's first four children were born in Indiana. They were Hattie (Vorhees), George, Louetta (Mundell), and Mary (Mundell). In 1879 the family left Indiana and located in Nebraska. They lived in Phelps and Kearney counties, Nebraska where six more children were born; Sarah, Demma (Lane), Frank, Charles Wesley, Clara, and Earl. While living in Nebraska the children George and Clara died.

As with many homesteaders in that area, Mother Nature could devastate a crop or family in a short time. One summer John and Louisa stood admiring the marvelous crop of wheat and concluded that they would be able to pay their debts when the crop was harvested. An hour later the entire crop lay in ruin from a hailstorm.

The family then moved to Iowa in 1891, settling in Jackson township, Lucas County. Here were born Elry and Alma. Alma died of measles while a small baby. In 1898 John Wesley came home from working in the timber. He was quite ill and died within a few days. Louisa then moved to Lucas where she raised the family alone.

Hattie married Sumner Vorhees and had three children, Effie, Mamie and Bonnie. None of the descendants live in the area today.

Louetta married James Mundell and their son, Harry Mundell, and daughter, Golda (Rouse), live in and near Lucas.

Mary married William Mundell and their five children, all born in Jackson township, were Amy (Snook) who lives near Corydon, Clarence and Harold both deceased, Floy (Querrey) who lives near Derby, and Phyllis (Heston) who lives near Lucas.

Demma Mae married James Lane and had William, Helen, Ronald, Leona, Arther, Roy, Clarence and Alvin and also two children who died as small children. None of this family of their descendants live in Lucas County.

Frank's widow the former Tena Hart and their daughter Velma live in Des Moines.

Charles Wesley married Ida Gill and had two children, Ralph of Chariton and Arlene who died as a young girl. Ida passed away and Wesley then married Maggie Harp and their children were; Wayne, Evelyn (Heck), Harold, Marjorie (Irving), Donald, Betty (McKnight) and Marilyn (Runnells). Several of this family live in Charlton and surrounding area.

Elry moved to Minneapolis where he married and had one son James who lives also in Minneapolis.

Sarah and Earl were never married.

All of the children of John and Louisa Anderson are now deceased and several of them with their parents are buried in Goshen cemetery.

Source: Lucas County Genealogy Society, History of Lucas County, Iowa, Walsworth Publishing Company, Inc. (1978), page 710, Indiana State Library, 315 West Ohio Street, Indianapolis, IN, 977.701 L933Lu.