ANDERSON, Moses L.

Moses L. ANDERSON, a well-known and enterprising citizen of La Grange, Fayette Co, Tenn., was born in this county, July 29, 1838, and is a son of Joel and Laura G. (Roberts) ANDERSON.  The father was born in Halifax County, Va., in 1793, and died in Fayette County, July, 1841.  The mother was born in Chesterfield County, Va., in 1804, and died near La Grange in 1871.  They were married in Fayette County, Tenn., July 29, 1837.  The father in 1835 established a foundry at La Grange, but the last years of his life were spent in farming.  Politically he was a Whig and a consistent member of the Methodist Church; the mother was Missionary Baptist.  Our subject was an only child by his father’s second marriage; he had fine educational advantages, and attended school one year at the University of Virginia, and at the time the La Grange College was established, he spent two years in it, and after completing his education, he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. 

In 1860 he bought a farm three miles northwest of La Grange, where he lived until 1878, when he moved to La Grange, but has never sold any of his land.  For twenty-five years Mr. ANDERSON has been one of the leading citizens of Fayette County and owns 2,000 acres of land in Fayette County and in Denton County, Miss., and an extensive foundry at La Grange with a large manufacturing department attached, of cast plows, and in connection with the foundry building a steam cotton gin and a grist-mill valued at $5,000.  March 31, 1870, Mr. ANDERSON married Miss Maria B.  SMITH who was born in Marshall County, Miss., July 15, 1849, and to this union one son and four daughters have been born.  Mr. and Mrs. ANDERSON are worthy members of the Missionary Baptist Church and contribute liberally to its support.  He is a Democrat and a man who does a great deal to advance the interests of his county. 

Source:  Goodspeed’s History of Tennessee, 1887.