John Lonzo Anderson author of Night of the Silent Drums, Scribners, 1975, rev. ed., MAPes MONDe Editore, 1992. Had this to say about his father, Rev. John L. Anderson. "My father was a ‘circuit-rider'—a country preacher. He had four churches, one for each Sunday in the month, and he rode to them on horseback, making the ‘circuit'; in a month that had five Sundays he didn't have a thing to do on the fifth one! Although he was a Northern Methodist preacher, he was preaching in the deep south, not as a ‘missionary,' but because there was a pocket of Northern Methodism in that (what was then) backwoods area of North Georgia, in the foothills of the Appalachian chain of mountains. During the week he was the principal of a country school. It was a busy life. My mother (Adella Brown Anderson) was a teacher in the school. She and my father were newlyweds when they took these jobs, and before they had been married even one year he was drowned trying to cross a swollen stream on horseback after a storm, on his way to work. This was ten days before I was born, so I never knew him and had to grow up without him."*

*To read John Anderson's auto-biographical sketch see THIRD BOOK OF JUNIOR AUTHORS edited by Doris De Montreville and Donna Hill, H. W. Wilson Co., New York, 1972.

Anderson, J. L.: Body of J. L. Anderson Found - Was Drowned Near Ellijay, Ga., Feb. 20, While Crossing Swollen Creek - Rev. J. L. Anderson, son of W. J. Anderson of Bloomington, mysteriously disappeared from Ellijay, Ga., last winter, and no trace of him could be found, although careful search had been made until April 29, when his body was discovered in a creek. The following account is taken from the Ellijay Courier of May 4: The remains of the late Rev. J. L. Anderson, drowned Feb. 20th at the ford of Owltown Creek 2 1/4 miles from Ellijay, were discovered by Grover Wood Saturday morning last in Shippen's millpond. The boy who made the discovery had come to the pond early to see about his trout line and found the body lodged against a boom log. The friends immediately gathered to the vicinity and made arrangements to recover and identify the remains. The coroner was sent for and held an inquest. The body having been in the water two months and nine days, was beginning to decay and the features were not recognizable. Deceased had on a pair of arctic overshoes, leggings, his vest, coat and mackintosh overcoat all being tightly buttoned. An examination of the clothing disclosed a number of papers, letters, memoranda, etc., and his watch was found in his right vest pocket. The papers were well preserved and were eligible, and thoroughly identified the body as that of Rev, J. L. Anderson, and the clothing he wore was identified by witnesses. A bruise and contusion on the left side of the head had evidently been produced before death, and was probably done by his horse. His watch had stopped at 6:55 o'clock. After the inquest the body was taken in charge by friends, a nice coffin was procured and the remains were given a decent, christian burial at the Jarrett cemetery. It is a matter of congratulation to all the friends of the beloved and unfortunate brother that the body was discovered. This and the positive identification by a legal inquiry will forever set at rest the surmise and false, calumnious reports that were crawling from mouth in certain quarters like slimy snakes in a pond of filth. Rev. A. F. Ellington, the pastor who temporarily succeed Bro. Anderson, performed the last offices for the dead. The find of Mr. Anderson's body and clearing up of the mystery surrounding his death are a great consolation to his family in their great grief.

Putnam County Herald
Published in Putnam County, Tennessee
10 May 1905
Vol. III, No. 14, Page 2