JAMES P. ANDERSON.—Descended from a sturdy old Danish family, and himself a native of Denmark, James P. Anderson is one of the most highly honored and respected citizens of Humboldt county, as well as one of the most prosperous. 

He came to California some forty-odd years ago, and has since that time resided continuously in •Humboldt county. The son of a farmer, he turned naturally to the soil in the new land, and has made a great success of farming and stock raising in this locality. As befitting one whose faith in the future prosperity of the county and of the state is an abiding one, Mr. Anderson has from the early stage of his residence here invested heavily in land, and today many hundreds of acres of the finest acreage in the county are owned by him. He is still active in the management of his affairs and spends his time between his different ranches and his residence in Arcata.

 

Mr. Anderson was born in Bornholm, Denmark, on one of the islands in the Baltic Sea, May 1, 1846. His father was Anders W. Anderson, also a native of Denmark, born in 1801, and died in 1870. He followed the occupa¬tion of farming for the greater part of his life and was very successful. The mother was Caroline Anderson, born in Denmark in 1810 and died in 1890. She was married to Mr. Anderson in 1840, and of this union six children were born.

 

The boyhood days of Mr. Anderson were spent on his father's farm, where he assisted with the regular work. He attended school, such as was afforded at that time in Denmark and received such other advantages as the time and country afforded. He remained at home with his parents until he was eighteen, and during the next three years served in local militia. At the expiration of this period he determined to come to America and seek his fortune in the new land, where the tales of wonderful opportunities gave such splendid impulse to ambition and youth. Accordingly he made the journey, and arrived in New York, April 29, 1867. In Warren County, Pennsylvania, he secured employment on a farm, where he remained for some time, also working for a time in a tannery in the same county.

 

Tales of the still greater opportunities offered in the rich farming districts of the far west continued to lure the young man, and he early determined to hoard his earnings, and as soon as they were sufficient to make the trip to California, hoping there to find the real "promised land." Accordingly, in 1869 he left Pennsylvania, making the journey to California by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and arriving in San Francisco in February of that year. From San Francisco he went to Stockton, where he found employment with the Central Pacific Railroad, then under construction. In the summer of the same year he was employed on a steamboat operating from Stockton to Fresno, on the upper San Joaquin river, and while working here contracted malarial fever, which necessitated a change of climate. As a result Mr. Anderson went to Sonoma County, where he secured work on a farm. In the winter he came to Humboldt county and went to work for Lawrence Ford, making stave bolts, remaining with him but a few months. Later he con¬tracted for the building of a canal from the slough up to the land-head of the tide water, where Creamery No. 1 now stands. After the com¬pletion of this task he went to work for H. S. Daniels (who at that time owned the ranch where R. W. Bull lives now) and remained with him for two years, being engaged in general farming. Mr. Daniels also owned a mountain ranch known as Angels Ranch, and after a time Mr. Anderson bought a half interest in this property and they engaged in farming and stock-raising in partnership. Soon after this arrangement Mr. Daniels sold his interests to J. Carlson; and in 1881, two years after the first purchase of the ranch, Mr. Anderson bought out the interest of Mr. Carlson and became the sole owner of the property. The ranch consists of farming and range land about three miles above Korbel. At this time it contained between seven hundred and eight hundred acres, and Mr. Anderson engaged in stock-raising and general farming. From time to time he has purchased adjoining acreage and today Angels Ranch comprises about twenty-five hundred acres and is known throughout the county as one of its best ranches. In his enter¬prises there Mr. Anderson has been especially successful.

 

When his children were of an age to attend school Mr. Anderson pur¬chased a ranch near Blue Lake and removed there with his family as Angels Ranch was too far from the town for the children to receive the proper advantages of school, with the then conditions of travel. Later, when they had completed the grammar school course, he purchased a twenty-acre place with large residence in Arcata, and removed his family there that the children might have the advantages of high school. Here he engaged in dairying for many years.

 

Mr. Anderson has always been interested in the purchasing and improv¬ing of acreage, and at the present time owns several valuable properties in the county. Among these the best known are Angels Ranch, which is operated under his own management ; an apple orchard at Blue Lake, which is one of the best in the county ; and the home property at Arcata. All of these have been greatly improved and developed since their purchase by their present owner and are today a credit to the county. Recently Mr. Anderson sold ten acres of his home place, sub-dividing it, and disposing of it as resi¬dence lots, it being known as the Anderson Subdivision. There is also a valuable ranch in Vallejo which he has owned for several years. Angels Ranch is devoted to raising sheep and Angora goats and general farming, raising full-blooded and graded Southdown and Shropshire sheep and Mohair Angora goats.

 

The marriage of Mr. Anderson took place in Arcata, Humboldt County, June 14, 1879, uniting him with Miss Emma Anderson, a native of Skaane, Sweden, born September 29, 1859. She came to the United States alone when she was yet a young girl, coming directly to Humboldt County, where she has since resided. Her parents, Christian and Hanna Anderson, came to California six years later and are well known residents of Humboldt County, making their home in Blue Lake. Mrs. Anderson has borne her husband nine children, eight of whom are living. They are : Mary Caroline, Mrs. Oliver Brown, of Blue Lake; Martha Elizabeth, Mrs. John Dinsmore, of Bridge¬ville; Hazel Hellen, Mrs. Lem Yokum, of Arcata; Edith Christina, Mrs. George Minor, of Glendale; Harry C., assisting in operation of the home farm ; James Paul, attending University of California; George C., attending high school, Arcata ; and Wilford, attending the grammar school.

 

Mr. Anderson attributes his success in no small degree to the able assistance and counsel of his faithful wife and helpmate, who has ever been ready and willing to share her part of the mutual trials and burdens.

 

Aside from his prominence in a business way, Mr. Anderson is one of the best known and most influential men in the community where he lives. He has taken time from his busy life to take an active part in all local questions that tend to the upbuilding and general betterment of the com-munity and is always to be found on the side of progress and social uplift. In politics he is a Progressive Republican, and he is a progressive in the truest sense of the word. He is also prominent in fraternal circles, being made a Mason in Arcata Lodge No. 106, F. & A. M.; he is a member of Humboldt Chapter No. 79, R. A. M., Eureka, and of Eureka Commandery No. 35, K. T. ; Islam Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., in San Francisco, as well as the Knights of Pythias, and with his wife and daughters is a member of Arcata Chapter, 0. E. S. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were raised in the Lutheran church, to which faith they still adhere.

 

Mr. Anderson is still active in business, and is enjoying the busy life as well as when he was not so prosperous. His success and attendant wealth have not been won without his having experienced many hardships and en¬during many years of bitter toil. His present position in the community is, however, not accorded him because of his wealth, but because of his reputation for honesty and fair dealing with his fellowmen, and his splendid qualities of heart and mind.