Andrew Anderson (St. Augustine, Florida)
Encyclopedia
Dr. Andrew Anderson II was a physician, philanthropist, mayor and benefactor of St. Augustine, Florida
. Anderson commissioned multiple works of art to adorn a variety of public spaces in the City of St. Augustine, including the two statues of lions places at the approach to the famed Bridge of Lions
.
Anderson was the son of New York physician Dr. Andrew Anderson I an 1813 graduate of the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons. His father arrived in St. Augustine in 1829 aboard the schooner General Jackson along with his mother Mary and two sisters Hannah and Emily. Within a few years the elder Anderson had become a pillar of the community. In 1830 he was elected head of the local temperance society, St. Augustine alderman in 1833 and 1834, a justice of the peace and an elder of the Presbyterian Church
in 1839.
The elder Anderson's first wife Mary Anderson died on September 8, 1837. In 1838 he married Clarissa Cochrane Fairbanks a widow from New Hampshire, it is with Clarissa that he would sire Andrew Anderson the second, born in 1839. In the same year his father laid the cornerstone for what would eventually become the Markland Mansion
on the plantation he owned on land between the San Sebastion River and Maria Sanchez Creek. Soon after beginning construction on Markland his father perished in a yellow fever
outbreak which had struck St. Augustine.
in Andover, Massachusetts
between 1853 - 1854 then switched to a private school in Paris
, France.
Upon returning to the United States he entered Princeton University
then during the Civil War he escaped from Florida and went to New York where he entered medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
in New York City
.
He didn't serve in the military in the American Civil War
but did pay for a substitute in the St. Augustine Blues (Third Florida Inf., Co. B) as was accepted custom at the time. He also volunteered his services to the Union as a physician treating the wounded at the Second Battle of Fredericksburg. In 1865, after the South's capitulation he interned at St. Luke's Hospital
in New York City.
After returning to St. Augustine, Anderson immersed himself in the civic affairs of the city including sitting on the board that created the Peabody Free School, the local Republican Party
Secretary, alderman on the St. Augustine City Council and St. Johns County Commissioner as well as serving in the board of the Buckingham Smith Benevolent Association. In 1886 he would be elected mayor of St. Augustine.
Anderson would be a principal partner along with Frank H. Palmer and Edward E. Vaill in the construction of the St. Augustine Hotel, the most opulent motel in the city before the construction of the San Marco Motel. In 1880 he entertained President Ulysses S. Grant
, whose sister Julia was married to the post commander of St. Francis Barracks
, upon Grant's visit to St. Augustine.
and the Alcazar Hotel
. For a period of time Anderson (who had rented out Markland after his mother's death in 1881) lived in a third Flagler hotel, the Cordova
, which Flagler purchased from Franklin W. Smith
. During this time he maintained a small medical practice at the Alcazar.
. The best man at his wedding was his cousin William Harriman of New York, Henry Flagler attended with his wife and he also invited a large number of African-Americans which went against the social customs of the time.
Markland. He would sire two children with his wife (Clarissa and Andrew) and the family moved into Markland in January 1901. Mrs. Anderson died in Nova Scotia on September 12, 1912 in Chester, Nova Scotia
where they owned a vacation home. Anderson who died on December 2, 1924 is buried along with his wife at Evergreen Cemetery in St. Augustine.
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
. Anderson commissioned multiple works of art to adorn a variety of public spaces in the City of St. Augustine, including the two statues of lions places at the approach to the famed Bridge of Lions
Bridge of Lions
The Bridge of Lions is a bascule bridge that spans the Intracoastal Waterway in St. Augustine, Florida. A part of State Road A1A, it connects downtown St. Augustine to Anastasia Island. A pair of Medici lions made of marble guard the bridge, begun in 1925 and completed in 1927 across Matanzas Bay...
.
Anderson was the son of New York physician Dr. Andrew Anderson I an 1813 graduate of the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons. His father arrived in St. Augustine in 1829 aboard the schooner General Jackson along with his mother Mary and two sisters Hannah and Emily. Within a few years the elder Anderson had become a pillar of the community. In 1830 he was elected head of the local temperance society, St. Augustine alderman in 1833 and 1834, a justice of the peace and an elder of the Presbyterian Church
Memorial Presbyterian Church
The Memorial Presbyterian Church is an historic church located a 36 Valencia Street in St. Augustine, Florida. The church was built in 1889 by business tycoon and St...
in 1839.
The elder Anderson's first wife Mary Anderson died on September 8, 1837. In 1838 he married Clarissa Cochrane Fairbanks a widow from New Hampshire, it is with Clarissa that he would sire Andrew Anderson the second, born in 1839. In the same year his father laid the cornerstone for what would eventually become the Markland Mansion
Markland (St. Augustine, Florida)
Markland is a historic mansion in St. Augustine, Florida. Construction on the original part of the coquina shellstone mansion was begun by New York doctor Andrew Anderson Sr. in 1839 just prior to his death in a yellow fever epidemic. Anderson had first arrived in St...
on the plantation he owned on land between the San Sebastion River and Maria Sanchez Creek. Soon after beginning construction on Markland his father perished in a yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
outbreak which had struck St. Augustine.
Education - post-Civil War
Anderson and his family moved into a scaled back version of Markland in 1841. After attending receiving his preliminary schooling in St. Augustine, Anderson attended the Phillips AcademyPhillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
in Andover, Massachusetts
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1646 and as of the 2010 census, the population was 33,201...
between 1853 - 1854 then switched to a private school in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France.
Upon returning to the United States he entered Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
then during the Civil War he escaped from Florida and went to New York where he entered medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, often known as P&S, is a graduate school of Columbia University that is located on the health sciences campus in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
He didn't serve in the military in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
but did pay for a substitute in the St. Augustine Blues (Third Florida Inf., Co. B) as was accepted custom at the time. He also volunteered his services to the Union as a physician treating the wounded at the Second Battle of Fredericksburg. In 1865, after the South's capitulation he interned at St. Luke's Hospital
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, an academic affiliate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, is a 1,076-bed, full-service community and tertiary care hospital serving New York City’s Midtown West, Upper West Side and parts of Harlem....
in New York City.
After returning to St. Augustine, Anderson immersed himself in the civic affairs of the city including sitting on the board that created the Peabody Free School, the local Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Secretary, alderman on the St. Augustine City Council and St. Johns County Commissioner as well as serving in the board of the Buckingham Smith Benevolent Association. In 1886 he would be elected mayor of St. Augustine.
Anderson would be a principal partner along with Frank H. Palmer and Edward E. Vaill in the construction of the St. Augustine Hotel, the most opulent motel in the city before the construction of the San Marco Motel. In 1880 he entertained President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
, whose sister Julia was married to the post commander of St. Francis Barracks
St. Francis Barracks
St. Francis Barracks is a historic structure constructed of coquina stone located on Marine Street in St. Augustine, Florida named in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. The barracks were constructed between 1724 - 1755 by monks of the Order of St...
, upon Grant's visit to St. Augustine.
Henry Flagler
In 1885, Anderson sold his land east of Markland to Henry Flagler as was the land of Anderson’s two half-sisters for the construction of two hotels the Ponce de León HotelPonce de León Hotel
The Ponce de León Hotel was an exclusive hotel in St. Augustine, Florida, built by millionaire developer and Standard Oil co-founder Henry M. Flagler and completed in 1888. The Hotel Ponce de Leon was designed in the Spanish Renaissance style by the New York architects John Carrere and Thomas...
and the Alcazar Hotel
Lightner Museum
The Lightner Museum is a museum of antiquities, mostly American Victorian, housed within a historic hotel building in downtown St. Augustine, Florida, USA. The building, in a Spanish Renaissance Revival style, is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.The museum occupies three...
. For a period of time Anderson (who had rented out Markland after his mother's death in 1881) lived in a third Flagler hotel, the Cordova
Casa Monica Hotel
hThe Casa Monica Hotel is a historic hotel located in St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States. The Casa Monica Hotel is one of the oldest hotels in the United States and is a member of the "" National Trust.-History:...
, which Flagler purchased from Franklin W. Smith
Franklin W. Smith
Franklin Webster Smith was an idealistic reformer who made his fortune as a Boston hardware merchant. He was an early abolitionist, defendant in a civilian court-martial in 1864, author, and architectural enthusiast who proposed transforming Washington, D.C...
. During this time he maintained a small medical practice at the Alcazar.
Alica Hospital
In May 1888 the St. Augustine Hospital Association to oversee Alicia Hospital located on Marine Street in a building deeded to the association by Henry Flagler. Anderson worked at the hospital as physician and chairman of the board of trustees and would be a trustee until his death.Marriage
Dr. Anderson married Mary Elizabeth Smethurst, 24 years his junior on January 29, 1895 in Trinity Episcopal ChurchTrinity Parish (St. Augustine, Florida)
Trinity Parish is an historic Episcopal Church at the corner of King and Saint George streets in downtown St. Augustine, Florida. It is the oldest Protestant church in Florida and has some of the oldest and most beautiful stained glass windows in the Episcopal Diocese of Florida.-History:The parish...
. The best man at his wedding was his cousin William Harriman of New York, Henry Flagler attended with his wife and he also invited a large number of African-Americans which went against the social customs of the time.
Markland. He would sire two children with his wife (Clarissa and Andrew) and the family moved into Markland in January 1901. Mrs. Anderson died in Nova Scotia on September 12, 1912 in Chester, Nova Scotia
Chester, Nova Scotia
Chester is an incorporated Canadian village located in and part of Nova Scotia's Chester Municipal District in the southeastern part of Lunenburg County.-History:...
where they owned a vacation home. Anderson who died on December 2, 1924 is buried along with his wife at Evergreen Cemetery in St. Augustine.
Civic contributions
- $50,000 donation to the University of FloridaUniversity of FloridaThe University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
for a pipe organ. - World War I Flag Pole with engraved bronze base (by Charles Adrian Pillars 1870-1937), dedicated on November 11, 1921. Located on traffic circle at the approach the Bridge of Lions.
- Life size statue of Ponce de LeónJuan Ponce de LeónJuan Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer. He became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown. He led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named...
on November 11, 1923, located on traffic circle opposite World War I Flag Pole. - MarbleMarbleMarble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
lions at the base of the Bridge of LionsBridge of LionsThe Bridge of Lions is a bascule bridge that spans the Intracoastal Waterway in St. Augustine, Florida. A part of State Road A1A, it connects downtown St. Augustine to Anastasia Island. A pair of Medici lions made of marble guard the bridge, begun in 1925 and completed in 1927 across Matanzas Bay...
(carved by F. Romanelli) one a replica of a Roman original the other a copy of one carved by Flaminio VaccaFlaminio VaccaFlaminio Vacca or Vacchi was an Italian sculptor. His sculptural work can be seen in Rome in the grandiose funeral chapel of Pope Pius V designed by Domenico Fontana at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore , in the Church of the Gesù and in the right transept of...
to copy the Roman original except with the opposite paw on the ball, both are on display at Loggia dei LanziLoggia dei LanziThe Loggia dei Lanzi, also called the Loggia della Signoria, is a building on a corner of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy, adjoining the Uffizi Gallery. It consists of wide arches open to the street, three bays wide and one bay deep. The arches rest on clustered pilasters with...
in Florence, Italy.