Isaac Anderson (congressman)

Isaac Anderson (November 23, 1760 – October 27, 1838) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from 1803 to 1807. He also served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing Chester County in 1801.

Early life
Isaac Anderson was born on November 23, 1760, at "Anderson Place" in Charleston Township in the Province of Pennsylvania (in the portion that is now Schuylkill Township), near Valley Forge, the son of Elizabeth (née Morris) and Patrick Anderson and grandson of early settler James Anderson. His father was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. As a youth, he was known for his strength and wrestled.

Military career
At the age of 15, he served as carrier of dispatches between the headquarters of the Revolutionary Army under General George Washington at Valley Forge and the Congress, then in session at York, Pennsylvania. In 1777, he was present at the Battle of Warren Tavern near Paoli, Pennsylvania. He served three terms of service in the American Revolutionary War before reaching the age of 18, at which time he became an ensign in the Fifth Battalion of Chester County Militia. He was commissioned on May 24, 1779, as first lieutenant, Fifth Battalion, Sixth Company.

Political career
Anderson served as justice of the peace in Charlestown Township for several years. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing Chester County in 1801. He succeeded Abiah Taylor.

Anderson was elected as a Republican to the Eighth and Ninth Congresses. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1806. He was a presidential elector during the 1816 United States presidential election.

Anderson was engaged in agricultural pursuits and sawmilling. He was reported to have built the first lime kiln in Chester County. He wrote a history about his neighborhood in Chester County.

Personal life
Anderson married Mary Lane, daughter of Edward Lane and great-granddaughter of Samuel Richardson. They had eleven children, including Isaac and Sarah. He was a Methodist. His grandson Matthias J. Pennypacker served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He is the great-grandfather of Pennsylvania Governor Samuel W. Pennypacker. He was the grandfather of Medal of Honor recipient Everett W. Anderson

Anderson died at "Anderson Place" in 1838. Interment was in the family burying ground across the road from the family home near Valley Forge in Schuylkill Township.