William Harrison Anderson

William Harrison Anderson was born on 25 June 1870, in Mexico, Indiana.[2][3] His parents were Elija and Neomi Pearson Anderson and he moved with them shortly afterwards to New Waverley, Indiana.[3][2] Anderson attended Battle Creek College at Battle Creek, Michigan and whilst there helped found the student foreign mission band.[1] He graduated in absentia, having agreed to join a Seventh-day Adventist Church mission to Africa.[1] Before leaving Anderson the United States married Nora Haysmer.[3][1]

Anderson arrived in Africa in 1895, with the aim of establishing the first Seventh-day Adventist mission on the continent.[3] Anderson proceeded through South Africa by rail to Mafeking and thence by a six-week ox wagon ride to Solusi near Bulawayo in the south part of Rhodesia.[1] He there founded the Solusi Mission.[3][1] The mission suffered early setbacks; the missionaries were forced to flee to Bulawayo for some months during the Second Matabele War of 1896–97 and many of the missionaries died of Malaria in 1898. A replacement party was also struck down by the disease and by 1901 Anderson and his wife were the only missionaries at the station.[1]

In 1903 Anderson arrived in the northern portion of Rhodesia to establish a mission station there. He found suitable land near Monze and agreed to acquire it from the local tribal leader. The land had earlier been claimed by another priest but he had failed to mark the acquisition in accordance with the local custom. Anderson complied with this requirement by carving a message in a tree trunk at the site and soon had founded the Rusangu Mission and farmstead on 5 September 1905.[5]

Anderson arranged for supplies to be sent from the Solusi mission and within a month was teaching 40 students at Rusangu.[5] Anderson was ordained the same year.[3] The rival priest returned to Rusangu and attempted to lay claim to Anderson's land. The matter was referred to the district commissioner who awarded the land to Anderson, in compliance with the local custom. Anderson's rival was awarded another plot of land on the far side of the river which was developed into a school and hospital.[5] Anderson received a $1000 grant from the Adventists' general conference in 1914 to install a borehole at Rusangu. The site is now a grade school, high school and university catering for 4,000 students.[5] Anderson married again on May 10, 1914, to Mary Perin.[2]

Anderson moved to Bechuanaland Protectorate in 1919, an area he was familiar with from his journey to Solusi.[3][1] Later that year Anderson published On the Trail of Livingstone in the United States, which is said to generated interest in African missionary work amongst the American people.[1][3] In 1922 he moved to the Portuguese colony of Angola and established several missions there.[1] Anderson was employed by the Seventh-day Adventist Church's Africa Division from 1930 to 1945 during which time he had responsibility for establishing new missions, organising meetings and advising new missionaries.[1][3] His area of responsibility covered from Cape Town to Lake Chad.[2] In this role he celebrated the 50th anniversary of the start of mission work at Solusi by pulling a wagon to the site.[1]

Anderson retired to the United States in 1945 and settled at Claremont, North Carolina.[6] He died at his home there on June 26, 1950 from a heart attack after carrying out gardening work. He had a daughter, Clarence Hinely.[2]