IZETT ANDERSON (1865-1932), with his brother PETER DUFF ANDERSON were the first of their family to come to Westmeath Township. They were sons of Immigrant Ancestor PETER ANDERSON (1826-1911), a native of the small town of Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland , and ELIZABETH DUFF (1836-1911) of Burnstown, near Renfrew, Ontario. Elizabeth Duff’s parents were IZETT DUFF (1804-1884) and CATHERINE MCDERMID (1826-1907).
Peter Sr. and his older brother John had come out from Scotland to make their fortunes in the colony of Upper Canada. Both brothers; John and his wife Kate Wallace and Peter and his wife Elizabeth would settle and raise their families in Burnstown, McNab Township, ON.
The children of Peter Sr. and Elizabeth Duff Anderson were:
1. JAMES ANDERSON would remain in Glasgow Station (Renfrew) area.
2. JOHN D. ANDERSON (1863-1948) m. Catherine Graham and he lived out his life in McNab Township on the farm where he was born.Anderson, John Duff
3. PETER DUFF ANDERSON (1868-1940), married Margaret Agnes Graham (1881-1959) in 1901, farming on the Bromley Line. Peter D.’s second name was Duff after his Mother’s maiden name. The middle initial was always used to set him apart from another Peter Anderson also farming on Bromley Line. Peter D.’s two sons Kenneth and Morris remained bachelors and are buried with their parents in the Westmeath Union Cemetery. Anderson, Kenneth
4. MARGARET “Maggie” ANDERSON (1860-1947) m. William Durbrow.
5. ELIZABETH CHRISTINA ANDERSON (1876-1951) married James MacIntosh and settled in western Canada. They would retire in Renfrew, Ont.
6. MARY DRUMMAND ANDERSON (1878- ) would marry William Harris. Bill was the railroad station master at Renfrew.
8. IZETT ANDERSON, (1866- ) named for his maternal grandfather Izett Duff; married Mary Jane Anderson (1880 – 1935), of Westmeath (no relation), in 1897 and together they had six daughters and four surviving sons. One son John had died in infancy. Mary Jane’s parents’ farm was across the concession road from Izett’s farm.
Izett came to Westmeath Township at age 30 in 1895 to take advantage of the land available from the Crown. With his brother Peter D., he cleared and drained side-by-side farms on the Bromley Line, on land now owned by his grandson John and Myrtle Bromley.
The Descendants of Izett Anderson & Mary Jane Anderson
In the 1901 Census Izett at 35 years and Mary Jane at 20 years had begun their family with two children Ernie (Peter E.) and Pearl (Margaret E). Izett’s bachelor brother Peter lived with them.
1901 Census
| Anderson Izett | M | Head | M | Oct 20 | 1865 | 35 |
| Anderson Mary J. | F | Wife | M | Apr 3 | 1880 | 20 |
| Anderson Peter Ernest | M | Son | S | Jun 14 | 1898 | 2 |
| Anderson Margaret | F | Daughter | S | Jan 3 | 1899 | 2 |
| Anderson Peter | M | Brother | S | May 6 | 1868 | 32 |
Back: Barbara, Roy, Susan, Ernest, Ellen, Irvin, Ida.
Front: Izett, Christina, Wallace, Pearl, Mary Jane.
In the 1911 Census, Mary Jane and Izett at 31 years and 45 years, are well on their way to having a large family. Two more daughters would be born to them; Christina (Chrissy) and Barbara. These two sisters would later marry two local brothers: Clyde and Herbert Wilson of the Seventh Concession, Westmeath Township. Chrissy would teach in the local Westmeath Public School when Clyde Wilson was overseas in World War II. After the war they moved to Sarnia, Ont. See WILSON entry.
Barbara and Herb Wilson settled in Kirkland Lake, Ont. where he worked as a butcher and they had a summer cottage rental business. Barbara later retired to Beachburg with second husband Merv Hutchison.
| Anderson Izett | M | Head | M | Oct | 1865 | 45 |
| Anderson Mary J. | F | Wife | M | Apr | 1880 | 31 |
| Anderson Peter Ernest | M | Son | S | Jun | 1898 | 12 |
| Anderson Margaret Pearl | F | Daughter | S | Jan | 1900 | 11 |
| Anderson Ida E | F | Daughter | S | Aug | 1901 | 9 |
| Anderson James Roy | M | Son | S | Sep | 1904 | 6 |
| Anderson Susan A | F | Daughter | S | Mar | 1906 | 5 |
| Anderson Ellen | F | Daughter | S | Mar | 1907 | 3 |
| Anderson Wallace Izett | M | Son | S | Jan | 1910 | 1 |
| Anderson Peter | M | Head | M | Aug | 1869 | 41 |
| Anderson Margaret | F | Wife | M | Mar | 1880 | 31 |
Susie, Ellie and Wallace would also marry local people. Susie Anderson married Milton Bromley also from the Bromley Line and Ellie Anderson would marry Arndell McBride from the Eighth Concession, Westmeath Township. Wallace Anderson would marry Agnes McBride, a cousin to Arndell. Wallace would move to Sudbury, Ont. and work in mining.
Pearl Anderson and her husband the Rev. Wilfred Burbidge served as United Church missionaries in Korea and would take their sabbaticals in Westmeath visiting the large family. Burbridge_Pearl_90th_Birthday_The_Expositor_Brantford_ON They had a pastoral charge in Hamilton with the United Church and later lived in Toronto.
Roy Anderson worked for Hydro Quebec in various engineering and administrative roles and married a Nova Scotian sea captain’s daughter Linda Bigalow. Irvin Anderson was active in the farmer co-op movement and then worked for many years as an Ontario public servant and raised his family in Toronto.
Ida remained a spinster, trained as a nurse and assisted various family households in child-rearing and home management. She lived primarily with her older sister Pearl in Hamilton and Toronto and then later at Ellie McBride’s home in Westmeath. All the Andersons with the exception of Ernie are buried in the Westmeath Union Cemetery.
Back: Barbara, Roy, Susan, Ernest, Ellen, Irvin, Ida.
Front: Izett, Christina, Wallace, Pearl, Mary Jane.
Eldest Anderson son Ernie served overseas in the Great War
and later settled in Saskatchewan where he and his wife Rebecca operated a store. He had initially gone west to work in Dorothy and Gavin McAllister’s store. He would take his own life in 1941. Anderson, Rebecca . Anderson Rebecca
1935 Mary Jane Death. Izett and MJ Deaths Izett died in 1932 and Mary Jane in 1935. Mary Jane Anderson Memorial Record
Children, with Spouses and Grandchildren
of Izett and Mary Jane Anderson
- Peter Ernest Anderson (Ernie) m. Rebecca Alice MacInnes: Pherne, Faye, Allison, and Burns
- Margaret Pearl Anderson m. Wilfred Burbidge: Margaret, Allison and John
- Ida Elizabeth Anderson
- James Roy Anderson m. Lynda Bigelow: Heather and Susan
- Irvin McLelland Anderson m. Eliza Marguerite (Betty) Atchie: Mary Elizabeth and Nancy
- Susan Anna Anderson m. Milton Bromley: Allen, Robert, Ronald, John, and Dawn
- Ellen Anderson m. Arndell McBride: Harry, Arthur, Shirley, Murray, Izett, Gayle
- Wallace Izett Anderson m. Agnes McBride: Earl and Keith
- Barbara Anderson m. Herbert Wilson: Penny, Peter and Pat. Second marriage to Merv Hutchison.
- Christina Anderson m. Clyde Wilson: Judy, Bill and Joan
A comprehensive Anderson Family Tree has been compiled by Terris C. Howard: Anderson Family Genealogy
– This Anderson entry was prepared by Gayle McBride Stewart, granddaughter of Izett and Mary Jane Anderson.