R.K. Anderson, My Grandfather

I decided to get started with a blog after discussing genealogy photos with my cousins and siblings. I figured this would be a good way to communicate information and share photos. I will start with my grandfather, Ralph Kirk Anderson, known also as R.K.Anderson. He was a minister in the pacific northwest and spent many years in Anacortes, Washington where he raised his family, built his home and church. 

Ralph Kirk Anderson 1886-1960

Pilgrim Congregational Church 

Window and plaque dedicated to him 

by his daughters

One of the things that inspired this new venture happened recently with my discovery of a new old photo. My cousin, Marilyn, had sent me a box of old family photos and in the box she had an envelope marked "unknowns". After scanning and editing a hundred or more pictures, I ventured into the Envelope of Unknowns. 

Then there was a tiny little tintype or ambrotype photo about as big as a man's thumb. It was small, dark, and smudged. I had no idea who it might be. So, I fiddled around with it in Photoshop Elements and the image that then filled the screen was that of my grandfather as a young man. 






I was thrilled and here is the final result:

Ralph Kirk Anderson as a young lad

I am happy to honor his memory with the initiation of my blog. Although I didn't get to know him well, relatives who did expressed much love and admiration. When I shared the photo with my cousin, David, I was richly rewarded when he said, 

"I am overwhelmed with gratitude for this picture. I see in his 

face such confidence, peace and vision for the best in people. 

I loved this man with all my heart and sill miss him." 

David's words, concise and warm, were ample reward for me and my labors as I seek to bring old photos back to life and strive to re-tread in their footsteps. and I, in turn, am grateful for my cousin Marilyn who sent the box of photos to me.

R.K. Anderson was born in Rock Falls, Iowa on August 20, 1886. He was the youngest child of seven children born to my great grandparents, James Jasper Anderson, (another descendant I have nicknamed him "JJ") and Mary Eliza Peck. This photo shows the seven Anderson siblings. From Left to right: Roscoe James Anderson, Mary "Ella" Anderson, Leo Burton Anderson, Levi "Archie" Anderson, Ralph Kirk (R.K. or Kirk) Anderson, and Hattie "Belle" Anderson

The Seven Anderson Siblings

And the next photo shows just the Anderson brothers. I wish I had a photo of the sisters together. 

Left to Right: Leo, RK, Archie, & Roscoe

I don't know much about his childhood years, but it is certain that he worked along with his siblings to maintain the family's farm in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa. They lived in Rock Falls, but then moved to Plymouth, Iowa. I suspect that one thing that precipitated the move was the flood that carried their home down the Shell Rock River away from its foundation. The story about the flood and images can be found on the post entitled, Mary Eliza Peck Anderson. But that flood and seemingly traumatic event was not the most definitive event in R.K.'s childhood. Instead, it was the frequent absence of his father, James Japser Anderson (aka JJ), that ultimately ended in a permanent departure and reported divorce. I have yet to discover any divorce records but Mary Eliza  had grown frustrated with JJ's frequent escapes from responsibility and family life and told him that if he departed unexpectedly again that she would divorce him. 

My mother, the  youngest daughter of Ralph Kirk Anderson, recalled that one of the unexpected departures occurred when R.K. was three years old, and that is why he never really knew his father. It is also known that R.K. ran away at the age of thirteen to find his father, but was unsuccessful in doing so.